Ecto Cooler was quite possibly the most successful movie product tie-in in history. Hi-C struck a deal in 1984 to promote the movie
Ghostbusters by developing a drink. Expected to last only as long as the movie, the drink was wildly successful beyond all expectations, and continued to be produced for the better part of two decades. The Ecto Cooler box featured the Ghostbusters character
Slimer, as did the commercials. Slimer left the box sometime around 1997, but Minute Maid did not discontinue the product until 2001, at which point it was renamed Shoutin' Orange Tangergreen. (It was around this time the Coca-Cola Company sold
Columbia Pictures--the studio behind Ghostbusters--to
Sony.) Slimer was replaced on the packaging by a similar-looking blob of lips. Besides the flavor the only other unchanged aspect of the product is that it is still being noted as
ecto cool on many store receipts.
In 2006, Shoutin' Orange Tangergreen was renamed Crazy Citrus Cooler.
Ecto Cooler is also the nickname of an alcoholic drink that is made by mixing a lemon-lime powder mix with vodka, sugar, water, and ice.
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