Orangina is a carbonated soft drink with a combination of orange and tangerine flavours. It was originally produced in French Algeria, and later in France, after Algeria's independence.
Its brand extends from both its unique flavour to its unique bottle: a pear-shaped affair with a texture similar to that of a peel from a citrus fruit.
Orangina is pronounced "O-ron'-zhjeh-nuh", not "Orang-EYE-nuh" or "Orang-EE-nuh". Correct pronunciation can currently be found in sound form via the official site.
Orangina is popular in Europe, but is also somewhat known in North America. The production for North American customers originally took place in Canada whence the product would be imported to the U.S.A, but recently Orangina began being produced in Hialeah, Florida for American customers. Orangina is also produced in Vietnam by Fosters Vietnam under licence and exists in Carrefour branches in Taiwan.
Recently new flavors of Orangina have emerged in Europe, such as Orangina Rouge, which is made from blood oranges and contains caffeine and guarana. It is significantly more sour and bitter than regular Orangina. Other flavors such as the "les givrés" (frosted) series also exist in Europe.
In France, Orangina is also very famous for its advertisings: they almost always show people dressed into Orangina bottle costumes (or soft drink-related costumes, at least).
The most famous one was the Orangina Rouge costume person (played by Maurice Lamy), who was depicted as a mad chainsaw-wielding killer (since the drink was based on blood oranges, a "horror" context was created), attacking a family in a car who travelled through the forest. This was the origin of the very popular catchphrase: "Mais pourquoi est-il si méchant?" uttered by a child (But why is he so evil?) and then replied by Orangina Rouge in the as famous catchphrase: "PARCE QUE!!! Ahahaha!" (BECAUSE!!! Ahahaha!)
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