Bad Breath? Call the Listermen

In 1988, Listerine unveiled their Ghostbusters-like troop of bad breath fighters, the Listermen. They make their first and I believe only appearance in a commercial for a better tasting version of Listerine, Listermint.

In the ad, a couple are enjoying a bubbling hot tub. Things are looking to get romantic, but unfortunately the guy in the tub suffers from severe halitosis. Not only is it killing the mood in the tub, but it is bad enough to warrant a call to an elite hi-tech bad breath fighting force. The Listermen show up and go right to work. First blasting the guy in the mouth with their Listerbeam ray gun.

The beam seems to do the job, but that is only half the job for this commandos. They educate and berate this guy. Hoping that a combination and knowledge will prevent them from having to make a return trip.

The Listermen investigate the Halitosis Hot Tub

So who are the Listermen?

First you have Dr. Mark Myers. He is an inventor and founder of the Listermen. Brilliant and eccentric, the billionaire Mark Myers is obsessed with ridding the world of the scourge of sour mouth.

Next up is the mysterious weapon’s specialist, Blake Hart. Hart is the strong quiet type. We don’t know much about his past, but at some point he was saved by Dr. Myers in the jungles of South America and they have been tight ever since.

Finally, we have Robert O’Neil. The newest member of the team. O’Neil appears to be a clown, but inside he is a broken man. He uses his sharp wit to hold back the loss he feels from the death of his family. Who perished in a freak bad breath elevator incident. He has been a loyal Listerman ever since. His prowess cleaning mouths is matched only by his sharp tongue. Throwing out lines like “That’s right piranha breath,” you know he means business.

Do you have bad breath or know someone who does? Don’t think anyone can help? Well, the Listermen are out there. They will be there to clean your breath and much like Hans and Franz from the old SNL sketches, they are ready to pump, you up.