Never Cover Your Mouth.

VML's award entry calls bad breath one of the most common anxieties and one of the least discussed: people avoid the subject, cover their mouths and step back. The need comes up often, but the entry says the category can feel too direct to talk about openly, so Mentos needed a social idea that raised fresh breath without shaming anyone.

Footballers cover their mouths when they talk on the pitch so lip-readers can't follow them. During the FIFA Arab Cup in Qatar, from 1 to 18 December 2025, Mentos partnered with the sports app 365Scores and had a team watch every match live. Whenever a player covered his mouth, fans instantly got a push notification saying a player had just covered his mouth and asking whether they needed a Mentos, under #NeverCoverYourMouth, and each alert unlocked a limited-time Mentos offer. Stadium boards, outdoor ads and reactive social posts kept the gesture going between matches, and influencers and fans copied and remixed it.