Tricky Russian marketing

I chew gum when I’m in Belarus, though I don’t often chew gum in the USA. The difference is Dirol, a Russian brand. I particularly like their lemon flavor, though I also enjoy the mint and the lime. It’s not too expensive and it’s always right there at the checkout line at the grocery store, so I usually have some in a pocket somewhere.

Last autumn, my packages of gum kept disappearing. One day I’d know where it was and the next day I wouldn’t, so I’d have to open a new package. They all reappeared at once when we came back this winter, so I haven’t had to open a new package until today. I bought this one, mind you, the day we arrived. I had to: it was a new flavor, Dirol for Him. The picture on the package shows a cool drink with mint leaves floating in it, so I bought it and it’s been sitting there near my desk for a couple of weeks.

Today I re-lost my last package of Dirol lemon. It’s still three-quarters full, but after it stayed lost for a day or two, I decided I could open the new Dirol for Him as I walked out the door. Amazingly, the Dirol company has arrived at a flavor that every man knows but has never tasted. Worldwide, wherever there’s a urinal, there’s a janitor who throws in little candies whose aroma apparently covers up whatever smells might otherwise waft up from down there. This gum tastes exactly like what I imagine those urinal candies taste like. I’m not going to finish the package, but I have to acknowledge Dirol’s understanding of the male psyche.

Speaking of Dirol, I copied the picture in the second paragraph from advertising on the internet. But while I was looking for it, I found another interesting picture, perhaps not from an official Dirol ad: