Coke Kills Voice Mail

I suppose you don't always think about Coca-Cola being a "cutting-edge" company. We usually reserve software and technology companies for that label. Coca-Cola is all about doing things consistently and cranking out an iconic product day after day. Not anymore.

Coca-Cola just launch a human resources initiative that kills voice mail. That's right, Coca-Cola employees will no longer be able to use voice mail. The reason is because it's just so darn time consuming, and frankly, nobody of any real efficiency uses it anyway. I personally think it's a great idea. I never use my own voice mail anyway. Text me, or I will just call when I see I missed your call. It's also a sign of the Millennial Generation, all 83 million strong, slowly starting to take over the American workplace. These are young adults, the oldest around 31 now, who were raised on technology, the internet, and a multi-tasking mentality. This generation's first representative to Congress was recently elected (she's a Republican, by the way), and they are now making Hyundai commercials with toys from the 1980s because, well, they are the demographic buying those kind of cars now. In twenty years those same toys will be doing Cadillac commercials.

Anyway, the death of voice mail at Coca-Cola is just another victory of Millennials Rising. In time, they will crowd out those pesky Baby Boomers, one of the most polarizing and privileged generations ever. (They are the ones leading grid-locks in Congress. They are also the ones born into the most economically advantageous period ever, when well paying union jobs were available for just a high school diploma, America had no competition because WWII made all of Europe and Asia bombed out, and you could go to college for virtually nothing if you so desired. Ironically, most Boomers see to forget this when they scold jobless, debt-loaded, Twitter-fingering Millenials for being "narcissistic") And P.S. Jean M. Twenge, you are an idiot.

So check your voice mail one last time, Boomers. You're irrelevancy is fast approaching, and Coca-Cola is helping to make it happen. 

Bottle Breakdown

Some news in the soda world. So the curvy Coca-Cola bottle is iconic. It's one of those American symbols. It's right up there with Chuck Taylor basketball shoes and the Chanel No. 5 bottle. I love that Coke bottle shape and think its a great move by Coke to fiercely protect it. Even in Australia.

Not similar enough

But a judge there didn't see it my light. After a four year battle, a judge in Australia said Pepsi's similar bottle in that country isn't enough of a trademark infringement. Coca-Cola now has to shell out Pepsi's legal costs for the lawsuit. Shame. It does go to show though that imitation is the best form of flattery. Coca-Cola has always been packaged better, and Pepsi knows it.

Santa is Back!

What this guy said. Seriously. I have been thinking it for years.

Basically, this blogger points out that Santa has been absent from Coke cans for three years. 2014 finally marks the return. I noticed the dearth of Santa when I started collecting soda cans back in 2012. Here's to many more years of Santa on the cans!

Happy Thanksgiving and Black Friday!

Yes, you read that title right. My wife and I are excited about both holidays. We are indeed thankful for the blessings we have in our lives, and then we go trample over people for cheap goods a mere few hours later. It's great. 

Black Friday!

Actually, we enjoy Black Friday because we love hanging out together in such a thrilling environment. Plus, we get all of our Christmas shopping done. By Sunday night, we should have all of our presents bought, wrapped, and stored in the attic until Christmas. See, we utterly desecrate the spirit of Thanksgiving so the month of Christmas can be spent in peace.

Anyway, I ran across this post from Coke last Thanksgiving all about Black Friday. My wife and I bring a little Coke for the road during our all night shopping, so I am glad Coca-Cola put this little fact sheet together. Go Coke! Coke taps into all seasons.

Doritos and Dew?

Pepsi owns Doritos. I've posted about the cross pollination between these two products before. The latest hybrid of Doritos and Pepsi involves Mt. Dew (which is Pepsi owned). Yup, we are talking about Doritos flavored Mt. Dew!

With Chips?

Don't get excited. This is just taste testing done at college campuses. But yes, there was a flavor reported to be Mt. Dewitos that tasted a little like nacho Cheese Doritos. I'll take a can of that if it ever comes out!

Turtle Power Cans

Sometimes I am just late to the soda can party. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles reboot has already come and gone. Honestly, I never saw it, although I was mildly interested. I also didn't know that Crush soda was doing a promotion for the film.

How did I miss this?

I'm actually a little disappointed I didn't notice. I would have tried to collect the set. Instead, I ended up finding the Donatello can in a cooler at the local comic shop the other day. I shelled out a dollar for it. So I do have one. What's even more discouraging is they created a whole new flavor for Leonardo. It was Berry Punch. All the turtle flavors appear below.

Leonardo: Berry Punch

Raphael: Strawberry

Donatello: Grape

Michelangelo: Orange

April O'Neil: Pineapple

What my can looks like.

It's actually a swell promotion for Crush. The sodas match up with each turtle's eye-band color. And of course April O'Neil wears that odd yellow suit (I bet she is secretly the daughter of Curious George's dad) so her color is pineapple yellow. Pretty neat, really. And yes, as I finish typing this, I am actually feeling pretty glum about missing the boat on this. Maybe I will be able to trade for the others someday. I need to be more aware of the soda world.

Coke Wins the 2014 Elections!

If you paid attention to the 2014 midterm elections in the United States, you saw that Coca-Cola crushed the event. Yes, Coke is taking power and Pepsi is now regulated to the sidelines with a pretty much lame duck President.

Yes, I know it's really all about Republicans and Democrats and not about Coke and Pepsi. Still, I think its fair to say Coke can be a Republican symbol and Pepsi and be the Democratic one. The unofficial party colors can make a case for that. Republicans are red like Coke and Democrats are blue like Pepsi. Still not convinced? Well, I've said it before. Look at the advertising. Coca-Cola advertises old school. Coke is all about Christmas, cuddly polar bears, buying the whole darn world a Coke because its just so familiar and grand, just like the G.O.P. And Coke has Taylor Swift, a wanna-be pop star trying to "shake off" her country roots. And country music is conservative, my friends. And come on, Coke starts with a "C" just like "conservative."

Meanwhile, Pepsi is all about being hip, edgy, and on the cutting edge. Pepsi is about being you. Screw the establishment. Be an individual. A "taker" if you have to. X-Games stuff. Squat in the street in front of a corporation's high-rise and get blasted with tear gas. Go team You! And of course they have Beyonce. Forgive the stereotyping, but African Americans make up a solid base of the Democratic party. And then there is that whole new Pepsi symbol that mysteriously appeared in 2008. You know, the curvy Pepsi logo that looks an awfully lot like Obama's rising-sun-faux-agrarian campaign symbol. Yup, Pepsi is definitely Democratic.

So what does this mean? It means get ready to chug some Coke people whether you crave it out not. At the very least, all that Coke is gonna is going to at least block you from enjoying a Pepsi from the the White House anytime soon.

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween from Cans in the Basement!

All Halloween Cans Brought Up From 'Da Basement

Pepsi and Coke Skirmish on Halloween

Pepsi and Coke slugged it out with a Halloween ad recently. Pepsi released an ad of a can of Pepsi dressed with a Coca-Cola cape as a costume. The caption read, "We wish you a scary Halloween!" Implying, I suppose, that Coca-Cola is scary, especially when it is a Pepsi that you want.

Hallow-Soda Wars

Not one to be bullied, Coca-Cola responded with the same ad. They only changed the caption to read, "Everyone wants to be a hero." Obviously, this implies that Pepsi only wishes it could be as awesome as Coke. Epic.

Jones Hallow-Three

As promised, the third 2013 Halloween Jones Soda Can.  This one looks particulary grisly with a zombie eyeball plunging towards the table.  The flavor is carmel apple.  Tasty.

2013 Caramel Apple Jones Halloween Soda Can

Critical Soda Fact Number 3

My whole philosophy of soda can be summed up in the following quote by American pop artist Andy Warhol.

"What's great about this country is that American started the tradition where the richest consumers buy essentially the same thing as the poorest.  You can be watching TV and see Coca Cola, and you know that the President drinks Coca Cola, Liz Taylor drinks Coca-Cola, and just think, you can drink Coca Cola, too.  A coke is a coke and no amount of money can get you a better coke than the one the bum on the corner is drinking.  All the cokes are the same and all the cokes are good. Liz Taylor knows it, the President knows it, the bum knows it, and you know it."

I love that quote.  I mean, I read it and wish to weep tears of carbonated high fructose corn syrup. Coca-Cola is the great equalizer.  If Coca-Cola was only available in the Brazilian rain forest as part of a biannual religious ceremony, manufactured by tribal priests through a secret process passed down through generations, if it was a sacramental drink that only select anthropologists and a few privileged celebrities could taste, it would be classified as ambrosia. Since its not, it's hip to disdain it and claim sensual superiority in other things.  But our man Andy sees through that bull. Good for him.

The Boon of Mexican Coke

Sodaphobes are making steady gains in the decreasing the popularity of American's favorite beverage. Through ads, public policy, and shaming, soda sales are down. Which makes me think of Mexican Coke. What is Mexican Coke?

Yummy Mexican Coke

Mexican Coke is Coca-Cola make with real sugar. Since the New Coke disaster in 1985, Coca-Cola in the United States has been sweetened with high fructose corn syrup. For purists, the Coke imported from Mexico made with real sugar simply tastes better.

Sodaphobe

So, let's imagine a world in which the Sodaphobes have essentially won. It's a world where out of shame or health, folks don't buy as much soda anymore. Now, the high fructose corn syrup is used in Coca-Cola because it's cheaper. But in a world where people don't buy soda as much, it becomes essentially a luxury product indulged in occasionally, you know, like those high end chocolate bars. Which means Coke just might go back to regular sugar in all their Coke to give their product a touch of class and nostalgia. The extra cost won't matter at that point. People won't be buying Coke to guzzle it, but simply to enjoy it.

Will Enjoying Coke Old-School Be the Way of the Future? 

In short, Mexican Coke just might be what is needed to keep those cans coming into the basement in fifty tears.
 

Jones Halloween Soda: Candy Corn

True to my word, here is the second 2013 Jones Soda for Halloween.  It's a scrumptious looking Candy Corn flavor.  Admittedly, this was the best tasting of the bunch, and it was also the most exotic, which is what Jones Soda is known for.  Your "treat" appears below.

2013 Candy Corn Jones Halloween Soda

Crucial Soda Fact Number Two

The most iconic soda commercial is the so-called "Hilltop" released in 1971 for Coca-Cola.  It's a collection of teenagers from around the world singing "I'd Like to Buy the World a Coke" on top of a hill in Italy. It's significant for two reasons.  First, it was the precursor to the folksy "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing."  Yes, that day camp campfire song was originally all about Coca-Cola.
Secondly, it marked the beginning of Coca-Cola marketing itself as the go-to brand for harmony, nostalgia, world peace, diversity high-fives, and all those other warm fuzzy things. The message was simple; everyone in the world enjoys a Coke, so there is always something we have in common.  All these years later Coca-Cola is still getting mileage from that pristine ideal.

Soda Sugar Fighting Dream Team

So we've all heard of team work, and soda companies aren't above the old fashioned mantra of working together. Sure, these guys are competitors, but they also know they need to preserve the market they all compete in. They also need to preserve the country's goodwill.

To appease the strident calls of an annoyingly vocal few that soda is THE moral epidemic of our times, Coca-Cola, Dr. Pepper, and Pepsi have pledged to reduce the number of sugary calories consumed Americans by 1/5 by 2015.

Wowsers.

I mean, I've heard of pledges to increase gas mileage in cars, but this is a completely different beverage-of-change. Interestingly, former President Bill Clinton announced the initiative, which I think is kinda cool. I always remember him as the man who took a swig of Diet Coke during his video taped testimony for all of that icky Monica Lewinsky stuff.

"Bill"

I'm not quite sure what this means. Note that it is a reduction of the total number of sugary calories. It doesn't mean a can of Coke is gonna reduce its calories by 20 percent, although I suppose the companies could just downsize the product, charge the same amount, and end up making more money while keeping the pledge.

Actually, I suspect it is simply going to be the way the beverage market is moving. People want more diet, more energy drinks, more juices, so that is what these companies will sell. Tally up all the sugary calories sold in 2025, and I suspect with little intervention it will already be lower.

Still, I think its cool and I think it good marketing and that's why soda is so darn dope. It's a product that can packaged, sold, and defined as anything. Christmas, summer barbecues, and even weight loss initiatives.

Will anyone bother to follow up on this in 10 years? Probably not. And there is no penalty if it doesn't happen. Hopefully your little can collecting blog will still be around in 2025, and I will post a follow up.

Jones Hallow-One

Halloween is four weeks away.  To celebrate, your favorite blog, good old Cans in the Basement, will be displaying the 2013 Jones Halloween Soda Cans.  For a "treat" to go with this "trick", I will also provide a helpful soda factoid. These are useful facts; they are things everyone who wishes to be taken seriously in the soda world needs to know.

Halloween Soda Factoid Number One

Do you know the original name of Pepsi?  It certainly wasn't Pepsi.  It was originally called Brad's Drink and was created by Caleb Bradham in 1893.  What can you do with his tidy piece of data? Well, if you have a friend named Brad, you can ironically offer him a Pepsi.  "Dude, Brad my man, seriously, lemme buy you a Pepsi.  It's your drink after all."  Of course, this will be harder to do as the years wane on since the name Brad, at least in America, has been dropping steadily since 1975. It was at it's peak in 1975 as the 98th most popular baby name in America.  It has been dropping ever since. Thankfully, however, Pepsi sales haven't suffered the same fate.

Dr. Pepper Cherry 2014 Football Can

I want to get back in the style of just posting and popping cans up on the website. I've been lately trying to get all academic by discussing current soda news with the shoddy pictures of my cans. (All of those previous Diet Coke summer cans have such poor lighting!) For the next few weeks, I just want to call 'em as I see them. I will say a little bit about the can, slap up a picture, and forget about it. I'll probably start doing the soda research again in a few months. So for now...

Dr. Pepper has usually had a series of scholarship cans for the autumn. This year it seems they are just content to advertise a little football on ESPN. I enjoyed this beverage at work today between carrot sticks and grapes during lunch. (See, I am wise enough to counter all that sugar with a little healthy eating.)

In truth, I don't find Cherry Dr. Pepper as good as it sounds. Regular Dr. Pepper is swell, but the Cherry version just feels a little too chemical to me. Of course, I also took a swig of it after eating a kernel of candy corn (okay, so I'm maybe not that healthy), which made a terrific surge of fizz in my mouth I wasn't expecting. Maybe that had something to do with it. Anyway, I snapped a picture of the can before my lunch break was up just for the blog, and of course you, my dear soda reader.

Surge is Back

It's time to end the Buy-a-Coke from series. That was a summer thing. It's October now, and summer is long over. But before I start posting new cans, I need to share this news. It should be old news to you if you follow the soda world, but in case you missed it, a hit soda was brought back by popular demand.

Back from the 90s!

Yes, the soda Surge by Coca-Cola is back. Enough people on social media campaigned to get the product back. I posted about it about it over a year ago on this blog. It's currently available only on Amazon.com. If enough folks buy it, it will back on store shelves. So buy it people! (And yes, I am waiting to get a can to post.)

Buy a Coke from Mr. Gates!

Our next Coke celebrity is none other than one of the world's wealthiest people.  It's Bill Gates! Sure, Bill doesn't really need the money. That's part of the gag in this commercial where he tries to buy a Coke while working late.  He is out of money, so he gets not Coke. You see him walking down the darkened hallway asking to borrow some money.

2014 Summer Diet Coke Can "Go-Getter"

Actually, Bill has always been a Coke supporter.  When Microsoft first started, among other perks, employees had access to free Coca-Cola.  Now that sounds like a place I'd life to work at, especially if they let me keep the cans. Ironically, it also means the commercial was inaccurate...maybe Bill was moonlighting at a rival company that night.  Food, or actually drink, for thought...

Mr. Bill "Billions" Gates

Buy a Coke from LeBron and Yao!

This post will bring you two Coke cans and two Coca-Cola celebrities. Here, we see NBA stars LeBron James and Yao Ming in a Coca-Cola commercial for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.  You can see it here. It's actually quite good.

2014 Summer Diet Coke Can "BFF"

In the commercial, Lebron and Yao try to one up each other by slinging out American and Chinese icons. LeBron whips out a cowboy and Yao whips out panda bears. Their duels escalates into a massive parade of objects, until they both whip out a Coke. Hey, now!  How about that? The conflict then disappears, because we all know Coke is great everywhere in the world. They toast, Yao Ming says, "Cheers", and LeBron mumbles something in Chinese, which I am assuming also means cheers. What a smart guy!

Yao Ming

LeBron James

Again, more old-fashioned Coca-Cola love.  Seriously, its one of the most brilliant advertising themes in history.

Buy a Coke from J-Lo!

Our next Coca-Cola celebrity is Jennifer Lopez.  Jenny did a Coca-Cola commercial back in 1998. You can watch it here.

2014 Summer Diet Coke Can "Dad"

The commercial is very much in the usual vein of Coca-Cola's desiring to make its product synonymous with love, family, good times, and happy thoughts.  We see Jennifer Lopez as a movie star, as a kid at her own birthday party, auditioning her way through rejection, and sipping Coca-Cola through it all. While Pepsi has Britney Spears and Michael Jackson dance amid sparks and bright lights, Coca-Cola just keeps it real.

Buy a Coke from Michelle

Our next Coca-Cola spokes person brings the Coke to us ice cold. (She what I did there?) Michelle Kwan, Olympic figure skater, appears in Coca-Cola ads. I read somewhere she gets a little flack by being a Coke speaker while also an Olympic athlete, but I mean, seriously, folks, Coca-Cola is one of THE BIGGEST Olympic sponsors.  Them and McDonald's.  So give Michelle and the other athletes a break.

2014 Summer Diet Coke Can "Pal"

Here is Michelle, sharing a stunning leap and a Coke with the world! Looking good!

Buy a Coke from Charlie Rose!

I thought my run of Coca-Cola cans for the summer of 2014 was done. Coca-Cola had their share-a-Coke campaign, and I listed celebrities who endorsed Coca-Cola. Turns out there were more cans than I expected. Coke Zero released share-a-Coke cans and so did Diet Coke.

2014 Summer Coke Can "Star"

This is means there are far more celebrities to unearth as Coca-Cola folks. So here you go.

I know.  You are like, who is this guy?  Well it's Charlie Rose, a guy who hosts a talk show on PBS. I was watching it the other day, struggling to stay informed with the world, and I noticed the show is brought to us buy the sponsor....Coca-Cola! Buy the world a Coke, Charlie!

Buy a Coke from Elton!

Our next Coca-Cola celebrity is Elton John.  You can see Elton John tickling the ivories about Diet Coke being "the one" here.

"Buy a Coke for a Buddy"
2014 Summer Coca-Cola Can

If you notice, outside of Bill Cosby, many of Coca-Cola's celebrities are musicians.  I mean, lets be honest, being able to sing and dance a jingle is a big deal for a soft drink company.  So if you are looking to following in their footsteps and getting your own Coca-Cola endorsement paycheck, you better not flunk out of music class.

Buy a Coke from Taylor!

Our last Coca-Cola celebrity is arguably the most prominent as of this writing.  It's none other than the girl-next-door super star Taylor Swift.  You've probably already seen oodles of her Diet Coke commercials, but you can view a brief one here if you have been late to the party.

"Buy a Coke for a Friend"
2014 Summer Coca-Cola Can

So we've covered Bill Cosby, Whitney Houston, Paula Abdul, and Taylor Swift.  There are others, but I am out of the friendship cans currently, so those celebrities will have to wait.  I hope you've enjoyed these celebrity endorsements.  I'm sure the celebrities enjoyed making them to. Remember, they got paid for them.

Buy a Coke from Paula!

Our next Red-Side-Of-The-Cola-Wars celebrity is Paula Abdul.  Here,you can view a catchy jingle laden commercial of Paula Abdul singing and dancing to the greatness of Diet Coke.

"Buy a Coke for a Legend"
Summer 2014 Coca-Cola Can

Paula Abdul was actually a double-threat for the Pepsi competitor.  While Paula's popularity waned for a while, perhaps making Pepsi executives breathe a sigh of relief, she came into prominence again with the success of the reality show juggernaut America Idol, which was also a big Coca-Cola peddling machine.  It was as if Paula's Coke enthusiasm shined all over again.

Buy a Coke from Whitney!

Our next celebrity profile that took the Red side of the Cola wars is Whitney Houston.  You can get a glimpse of an 1980s Diet Coke commercial by Whitney here.

"Buy a Coke for Your Soulmate"
Coca-Cola Summer Can 2014

My brief research for this post was actually rather sobering. While every other celebrity I searched for under the tags Coke gave me a smiling advertisement of the celebrity swigging Coca-Cola with a proverbial thumbs-up.  Unfortunately, searching for Whitney Houston and Coke did not bring up Coca-Cola advertisements.  It's sad, really.  Stay off drugs, people.

Buy a Coke from Bill

Since Coca-Cola's summer advertising is about buying your friends a Coke, I thought it would be nice to profile some of Coca-Cola's best buddies.  Instead of you buying them a Coke, they are trying to sell you one!  Our first is Bill Cosby. You can see him in a commercial for the controversial New Coke in 1985 here.

"Buy a Coke for your BFF"
Summer Coke Can 2014

It's unique to be a Coca-Cola spokesperson.  Pepsi is the brand that is far more celebrity driven. Let's give cheer for over the next couple of weeks for the underdog celebrities who had the guts (and generous paychecks) to take the Red side of the Cola Wars.

Share-A-Coke!

So this is the real deal.  Coca-Cola pulled this stunt overseas a while back.  They decided it was hip enough to try in Coca-Cola's home land: The Name-On-A-Bottle Stunt.

Coca-Cola World Cup Can
Can 2 of 3

It works like this.  Coca-Cola markets itself as a feel good soft drink, the kind of soft drink you would share with your friends.  So when you see your friend's name on the Coke bottle in your local five and dime, your encouraged to buy it and share a Coke!  I actually think its a pretty swell campaigan.  Do you want to know if your name made the Coca-Cola cut?  You can check here.

Coca-Cola Loses in the SCOTUS.

It's back to Coca-Cola for the next several weeks.  I have several new Coca-Cola cans that need to be posted.  This is great because surely you heard the latest legal news.  A while ago I posted that Coca-Cola was being sued because of a juice drink.  It went all the way to the US Supreme Court.

Coca-Cola World Cup Summer Can 2014
Can 1 of 3

Turns out Coca-Cola lost.  Yup, their Blueberry Pomegranate 5 Juice Blend doesn't fly because the amount of blueberry and pomegranate are such a small percentage of the drink.  It counts as false advertising.  The world will sleep safe knowing the average juice consumer has been protected by the highest court in the land.

Mt. Dew and Doritos Cupcakes

The next time someone gets on your case for chugging soda, shrug and say, "Hey, It could be worse."  How worse?  How about Mt. Dew cupcakes topped with Doritos?

2013 Mountain Dew 

Such a recipe appeared online earlier today. It's a great match, really, since Doritos is owned by Pepsi which manufactures Mr. Dew.  Here, you can watch a video of how to make these bad boys of Sugarville.  You know what, I think I just might try to make these.

Dewing the Dew in School

Do you want to hear another story of anti-soda elitism?  Of course you do.  Well, in Florida an elementary school made headlines for serving students Mountain Dew before state exams.  A grandmother found out and went on the war path.

2011 Mountain Dew Pitch Black

Too bad the grandmother didn't sip a little Mountain Dew to help her own critical thought.  Turns out the practice had occurred for the past ten years, based on empirical research that kids test better when their energy isn't low.  So the school had always offered trail mix and a small Dixie sized cup of Mountain Dew before the tests.  No kid had to drink it; it was just an offer.  (And by the way, the school had been having some of the highest test scores county.)  But it's wasn't enough to appease to sugar-phobic grandmother.  Thanks to her, kids can have trail mix before tests, but they can only wash it down with water.  Thanks a bunch, Gram.

Sport Cars and Soda

I've mentioned before that I'm a huge fan of the Coca-Cola Freestyle machine.  It makes the most delicious drinks and looks amazing.  And guess what?  Here is a fun fact about it.

2013 Mountain Dew Code Red

The Coca-Cola Freestyle machine's curves were designed by none other than the same Italian company that plots out the curves for a Ferrari.  That's right. Getting you to that high tech soda fountain was so important that they literally made it look like a sport's car.  So find one near you and tank up on the sugar!

Can Draft and Coca-Cola Slogan Number 19

Can 19 is posted!

In 1942, Coca-Cola trimmed their awkwardly longest slogan ever and left us with a Dr. Pepper-one-of-a-kind-type-slogan of "The Only Thing Like Coca-Cola is Coca-Cola Itself."  Leaving the uniqueness behind, Coca-Cola decided to add a little more big hearted hospitality to their slogan in 1948.

1948: "Where There's Coke, There's Hospitality"

I like it.  I lived in the Philippines for two years and whenever you visited someone they would serve you a soda as refreshment, usually Coca-Cola.  It was sign of hospitality I found lacking when I returned to the States.  Perhaps if we brought this 1948 slogan back we'd see a little but more kindness to folks who stop by to visit.

Sprite Fights Cancer!

Yeah, yeah, we know that soda is bad and makes people fat and is corrupting the world with bad business practices.  At least that's what wealthy, elite, Democrats tell us. Well imagine their faces when you tell them this little tidbit from your soda research: Sprite helps fight cancer!

2013 Mountain Dew White Out

Turns out researchers discovered that flat Sprite helps an anti-cancer drug be absorbed into the body more effectively.  Who knew?  So next time you chug a Sprite, know that you are not only supporting the NBA, but a tiny niche of cancer research.

Defunct Color Changing Mt. Dew Cans.

I started my soda can collection in February 2013.  This means I was too late to collect some unique cans, notably ones released in 2012 by Mountain Dew.

2014 Mountain Dew Baja Blast

In the summer of 2012, Mountain Dew released cans with special ink that changed color when exposed to different temperatures.  In other words, the cans changed from purple to green when they got cold.  I missed out.  It would have been particularly nice since as I keep my "cans in the basement", they would have probably been caught in an in between color shift in the cool, but not cold, basement air.  Oh well, maybe they will release them again someday.

Coca-Cola Goes to Court

People usually only pay attention to the Supreme Court of the United States when one of those hot topic cases are playing out such as gay marriage or Obamacare.  Well the Supreme Court listens to the soda related cases too, as this one with POM Wonderful suing Coca-Cola over a Minute-Maid juice drink.

The Offending Label, Which I Now Want to Find in Can Form

The drink in question is called Pomegranate Blueberry, which is actually a blended drink with five juices, but it has less than 1 percent each of blueberry and pomegranate juice. The Supreme Court is deciding if the label counts as false advertising.  So next time you want to be a Supreme Court justice and take part in the big, political cases, remember you have to sit through the soda company ones too.

Dr. Pepper Vanilla Float

My wife went out to visit friends last night and came home with an amazing can for me.  I didn't even know it was available.  And now, you can't argue, that can looks pretty swell, doesn't it?

2014 Dr. Pepper Vanilla Float

Grim Soda News

The news is grim again folks.  Soda sales have gone and chugged off a cliff once again.  At this rate we will all be skinny Europeans by 2025.

1999 Jar Jar Binks Mountain Dew

Soda sales dropped 3 percent in 2013.  That's an even bigger stumble of sales than 2012 where it dropped 1.2 percent.  In fact, according to my source, soda sales haven't been this bad since 1995. What to do, what to do?  I'll tell you what.  I need to find out what new soda debuted in 1995.  I need to find that superhero soda that pulled the soda market back onto its sugary legs again.  Then we need to either throw advertising dollars at that super soda, or tweak it, and then throw advertising dollars at it to get the industry back on course.  Lemme do some research and I'll post about it soon.

World Cup 2014 Exit Plan

Coca-Cola has always been a big sport sponsor.  They just got off the Sochi Olympics where they released a shy set of 3 Coke cans.  The next big sporting event?  They 2014 World Cup in Brazil. That means soccer, folks.

2013 Caffeine Free Mountain Dew

Yup, soccer isn't too big in the United States, so don't expect to see any World Cup cans here. But Coke is armed with a marketing blitz for the World Cup down in Brazil with all its traditional feel good celebrating vibe...unless...unless what?  Unless there is rioting in the streets and other crazy stuff happening during the World Cup this June and July.  Apparently many Brazilians aren't to pleased about the extravagant spending on the World Cup.  (And just wait till they see the bill for Rio in 2016.)  So what's Coca-Cola doing?  Turns out they have a rapid exit plan for their advertising should things turn ugly.  No one wants to see happy people sipping Coke on billboards while buildings burn down and folks are looting cash and Pepsi from the local store.  Those Coke people, they think of everything!