Um Bongo
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Um Bongo is a mixed tropical fruit juice drink sold in the United Kingdom, manufactured by Gerber Juice Company Limited under the name Libby's in Milnthorpe, Cumbria. Um Bongo was first created in 1983[citation needed].
Advert
Um Bongo is particularly famous for its long running (sung) slogan of "Diana Drinks It In The Congo", used with the accompanying animated television advert since the 1980s.
The song was sung by Tony Jackson, a member of the band 'En-Rage', best known for their 1992 number 4 chart hit, "Run to You". The music and lyrics were composed by Andy Blackford, now creative partner in the advertising agency KB49,[1] and are available here: Um Bongo Website. The jingle was produced by Andre Jacquemin, musical composer, arranger and producer to Monty Python[citation needed].
Gerber Foods Soft Drinks Limited only exports its products to Europe and, therefore, it is very unlikely that Um Bongo is drunk in either the Republic of the Congo or the Democratic Republic of the Congo[citation needed].
Formula change
In 2003 Um Bongo went though a change in its famous formula which resulted in most of the original ingredients being removed; this was to comply with new regulations about the amount of sugar and artificial favourings, as the drink is marketed towards children[citation needed].
New "Um Bongo-100% juice" now only contains 3 fruits: bananas, oranges and pineapples. This resulted in new packaging for the product, on which much reference to the Congo has been removed. "New" Um Bongo can still be bought from Tesco, Asda and Waitrose supermarket[citation needed].
Um Bongo Tropical
Libby's have, over the past 6 years, received many complaints about the change in formula, which has resulted in their deciding to bring back the original Um Bongo formula in 2009. "Classic" Um Bongo has been renamed "Um Bongo Tropical" and has also been repackaged from original cartons into new plastic 250ml bottles. They will also be moved to the chilled section. Libby's have set up a website along with Facebook and YouTube accounts, to help inform customers and fans of the drink as to when the new drink will be place into the shops. It is hoped that a roll out of the new product will take place during 2010[citation needed].
Other versions
Libby's created two other type of fruit drink since 1980.
Libby's - Moonshine, which lasted until 1992, contain mainly more domestic fruits such as strawberry, raspberry, apples, blackberry, cherry.[2] The animated adverts contained the slogan "Moonshine, looks pretty weird but it tastes just fine".
In 1999, Um Bongo gained a sister drink called "Um Ognob", where Bongo was spelled backwards,[3] but it was removed around 2002.
References
- ^ Andy Blackford's Official website
- ^ [1] moonshine advert
- ^ "P&P packs and promotions". Grocer. William Reed Business Media. 1999-07-03. Retrieved 2008-10-06.