Tic Tac were first introduced by
Ferrero in 1969, under the name "Refreshing Mints". In 1970, the name was changed to Tic Tac, after the distinctive clicking sound made by the pack being opened and closed. Besides the original mint and orange flavours, several new varieties were added, including aniseed, cinnamon (or "Winter Warmer"), an orange and lime mix (in 1976), spearmint, peppermint, Powermint, sour apple, mandarin, tangerine, berry, fresh orange, strawberry, wintergreen, pink grapefruit, orange and lime together (in 1978), cherry, passionfruit (in 2007), pomegranate (in 2010), mango, lime, and popcorn (2014). The grape flavour was eliminated in 1976 because of health concerns about the red dye
amaranth (FD&C Red #2), a suspected
carcinogen. Other offerings have included holiday gift packs for
Christmas,
Easter,
St Patricks Day, and
Valentine's Day. Since 1980, the Tic Tac slogan in the United States has been "The 1½
Calorie Breath Mint." In the United Kingdom, France, Republic of Ireland, Italy and Australia, Tic Tacs are noted as being less than two
calories with the slogan "Two hours of Tic Tac freshness in less than two calories." In Canada, New Zealand and Australia, and used once in the United States, the Tic Tac slogan is "It's not just a mint, it's a Tic Tac." In India, the Tic Tac slogan is "Refreshment to be shared." During the 1990s, "double packs" were introduced, featuring a regular Tic Tac container with two flavours inside. Available combinations included Tangerine and Lime, Orange and Grape, and Berry and Cherry. In 2006, Tic Tac introduced a "Bold" edition with more intense flavours of Mint and Fruit. During May 2010, Australia's Trademark Registrar office rejected Ferrero's application to trademark their Tic Tac container as "not being unique enough to distinguish its products from other manufacturers." Tic Tac sometimes provides limited editions to promote films and television shows, such as a banana and mandarin flavour for the 2015 movie
Minions. Orange Tic Tacs featured prominently in the 2007 film
Juno, in an orange box with white colour mints as sold in Canada and Brazil. Film promoters distributed boxes of the mints prior to the film's release. The Simpsons were also a part of a marketing campaign with four different flavours featuring custom The Simpsons labelling; Blueberry, Bubblegum, Buzz Cola, and Donut. Tic Tac introduced a limited edition
Coca-Cola flavour in 2020, and
Sprite in 2023. == Manufacturing ==