# Certs

Certs was a brand of breath mint that was noted for the frequent use of "two mints in one" in its marketing. The original "classic mints" were disc-shaped without a hole and sold in roll packaging similar to Life Savers and Polo. Certs was one of the first mints to be nationally marketed in the United States and had been a fixture at American drug stores and convenience stores since its debut on the market in 1956. It was discontinued in 2018, possibly because it contained partially hydrogenated cottonseed oil, an ingredient which has not been allowed in food sold in the United States since then.

## History

Certs Classic Mints were developed by American Chicle and introduced into the North American market in 1956. The "Certs" name originated from its approval by Good Housekeeping (as in "certified by Good Housekeeping"), a magazine that, then as now, bestowed the Good Housekeeping Seal on products that pass its quality and reliability tests. In 1962, the company was acquired by Warner-Lambert. Within Warner-Lambert, confectionary brands, which included Certs, Chiclets, Dentyne, Halls, and Trident, were placed into its new Adams division (named after the American Chicle founder). In 1988, sugar-free Certs Mini-Mints sweetened by Nutrasweet were introduced as a Tic Tac competitor. In 1997, Certs Cool Mint Drops were introduced in response to Altoids' rapid growth during the 1990s. Pfizer acquired Warner-Lambert in 2000. Citing that confections is a "noncore" business, Pfizer sold its Adams portfolio to Cadbury for $4.2 billion in 2002, which beat Nestlé in a bidding war. Mondelez International, then called Kraft Foods, made a hostile takeover of Cadbury in 2010 for $19.5 billion. The Certs name ceased to be mentioned by Mondelez as one of its brands in December 2013.

## Description

Certs were classified as mints, but they contained no oils of any mint plant. Instead, as has long been advertised, the mints contain "Retsyn," a trademarked name for a mixture of copper gluconate, partially hydrogenated cottonseed oil, and flavoring. It is the copper gluconate in Retsyn which gives Certs its signature green flecks.
Certs were originally shaped as simple circular tablets with beveled edges and "CERTS" embossed with the "C" enlarged and surrounding "ERTS". The shape later changed to have a toroidal bulge on each face without a hole; "CERTS" and "RETSYN" were debossed near the circumference.

## Variations

Certs Classic Mints were available in assorted fruit, cinnamon, peppermint, spearmint,wintergreen and Fruit flavor.
Certs Mini-Mints, and later as Certs Powerful Mints, were small Tic-Tac-like mints available in peppermint, spearmint, and wintergreen.
Certs Cool Mint Drops, described as a "breath drop", were medium-sized oval-shaped mints. They came in flavors named "cinnamint", "freshmint", and peppermint, and fruit flavor.

## Advertising

In the 1960s and 1970s, Certs was heavily advertised on American television with a famous campaign featuring two attractive young people earnestly arguing over the proper classification of the mints. The one participant would assert, "It’s a breath mint!" The other would assay a rebuttal by stating, "It’s a candy mint!" This taxonomic dilemma would finally be resolved by the unseen announcer, who would achieve synthesis by explaining that Certs was "Two, two, two mints in one!" Saturday Night Live lampooned the ads with a fictitious product called "Shimmer", with Gilda Radner's argument "It's a floor wax!" vs. Dan Aykroyd's "It's a dessert topping, you cow!" being resolved by announcer Chevy Chase's declaration that "New Shimmer's a floor wax and a dessert topping!". Indeed, the phrase "Two, two, two [insert almost any word or short phrase here] in one" remained an American idiomatic expression into the 21st century.
In 1999, the United States Customs Service classified Certs as a candy mint for tariff purposes, since candy was taxed differently from oral hygiene products. In the ensuing suit before the United States Court of International Trade, Cadbury introduced expert testimony that Certs stimulate the flow of saliva, thus flushing bad odors from the mouth, and that its flavors and oils mask bad breath. But the court ruled that, since Certs did not contain anti-bacterial ingredients, they were, indeed, simply a candy mint. This ruling was, however, overturned at the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, making Certs legally a breath mint. The Supreme Court of the United States is not known to have received any such writs of certiorari as would enable it to hear the case or exercise appellate jurisdiction.