Like an over-reliance on digital effects and “special edition” re-cuts of decades-old films, the pop culture world can also sarcastically thank George Lucas for the proliferation of tie-in merchandise. Not that this type of thing was invented for Star Wars—that film and its sequels just set a new standard, the adventure in space that launched a thousand Happy Meals, bedspread patterns, and snack foods. But as the term suggests, the shelf life of a tie-in hews closely to its inspiration’s stay in the zeitgeist; rare is the case like Hi-C Ecto Cooler, the citrus-flavored outcome of a partnership between Minute Maid and the producers of The Real Ghostbusters. Introduced to promote the animated spin-off of 1984’s Ghostbusters, Ecto Cooler was manufactured from 1987 through 2001, outlasting the animated adventures of its spectral mascot—the Venkman-vexing phantom Slimer—by a full decade. The only Ghostbusters-licensed product that could best the carpet-wrecking abilities of Kenner’s Ecto-Plazm, Ecto Cooler mimicked Slimer’s otherworldly shade of green, a quality that survived the ghost’s departure from the packaging and the product’s ultimate re-branding as Shoutin’ Orange Tangergreen. The real deal has been locked up in the Coca-Cola Containment Unit since the turn of the 21st century, but in a testament to Ecto Cooler’s staying power, to recreate the original recipe abound.
