Gini is a French lemon

soft drink A soft drink (see § Terminology for other names) is a drink that usually contains water (often carbonated), a sweetener, and a natural and/or artificial flavoring. The sweetener may be a sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, fruit juice, a su ...

created in 1971 by

Perrier Perrier ( , also , ) is a French brand of natural bottled mineral water obtained at its source in Vergèze, located in the Gard ''département''. Perrier is known for its carbonation and its distinctive green bottle. Perrier was part of the ...

and which was purchased by

Cadbury Schweppes Cadbury, formerly Cadbury's and Cadbury Schweppes, is a British multinational confectionery company fully owned by Mondelez International (originally Kraft Foods) since 2010. It is the second largest confectionery brand in the world after Mars ...

in 1989. It has been manufactured by

Suntory (commonly referred to as simply Suntory) is a Japanese multinational brewing and distilling company group. Established in 1899, it is one of the oldest companies in the distribution of alcoholic beverages in Japan, and makes Japanese whisky. Its ...

for many years. It is well known in France, where its slogan is "La plus chaude des boissons froides" ().

Advertising

The drink is particularly known for its advertising strategies. The brand has often flirted with innuendo and sexuality in its advertising notably in a 1970s campaign featuring the Argentinian boxer

Carlos Monzón Carlos Roque Monzón (7 August 1942 – 8 January 1995), nicknamed Escopeta (''Shotgun'' in Spanish), was an Argentine professional boxer who held the undisputed world middleweight championship for 7 years. He successfully defended his title 14 ...

surrounded by naked women leaping from a stallion in the desert and seizing an "erectile" bottle from the sand. The most well-known advertisement was from 1983, directed by and with music from

Serge Gainsbourg Serge Gainsbourg (; born Lucien Ginsburg; 2 April 1928 – 2 March 1991) was a French musician, singer-songwriter, actor, author and filmmaker. Regarded as one of the most important figures in French pop, he was renowned for often provoca ...

. The clip featured the French actor Pierre Cosso sharing his Gini and girlfriend with another man. Further ads featured couples drinking Gini after having had sex with the byline "À quand remonte votre dernier Gini ?" (). The brand was associated with the group

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philo ...

in a 1974 advertising campaign. In return for appearing in the advertisement, the brand sponsored the group's short 1974 tour in France. In his autobiography, the band's co-founder and drummer

Nick Mason Nicholas Berkeley Mason, (born 27 January 1944) is an English drummer and a founder member of the progressive rock band Pink Floyd. He is the only member to feature on every Pink Floyd album, and the only constant member since its formation in ...

describes being followed around by a "frightful gaggle of groovy people in dark glasses and leather jackets sporting, gigantic Gini bitter lemon signs". Roger Waters wrote a song about the experience called "Bitter Love" and claimed that the money received was donated to charity following accusations of the band selling out.

References

External links

* {{citrus sodas Lemon sodas French drinks French brands