Chelsea Handler and 7-Up

I've always had a soft spot for the soda 7-Up.  I remember drinking it as a kid.  It was popular in our house because caffeine was denied. 7-Up was a good candidate for picnics, birthdays, and other celebrations.  I guess comedian Chelsea Handler has a soft spot for 7-Up too.

2013 Sunkist Can

She appeared in a online video telling folks not to bother with New Year's resolutions because they can just have a 10 calorie 7-Up instead.  This is funny of course because we all know that most New Year's Resolutions are some variation on the motif of losing weight.  Never mind I guess if your New Year's resolution is to complete college, finish a book, or finally crack that lingering lung cancer. Weight loss is where it is at and Chelsea Handler and 7-Up 10 can make it happen.

Coke's Super Bowl Ad

It's never out of season to discuss a Coca-Cola Super Bowl ad.  After all, Coca-Cola helped define the art form of the Super Bowl ad with the infamous "Mean Joe Green" commercial.  So while the world is thawing up in late April, I thought I discuss the "It's Beautiful" Coke ad from Broncos vs Seahawks 2014. In case you missed it, the ad is a montage of the song American the Beautiful in various languages in a cast of many races.  The message is clear; Coca-Cola makes America and America is great because our differences rock.  It does give you a warm feeling watching it.  It hearkens back to the Hilltop Coca-Cola commercial, all those teenagers singing on an Italian hill holding Coke bottles.  Only this time it wasn't targeted at the world but just at America.  Right at Uncle Sam's striped hat.  Works just as well. You can check out the ad here.

2013 Fiji Coke Can

There was some backlash against the ad, as there usually is with any good Super Bowl ad.  Some folks were offended that America was portraying all these immigrants (that could be illegal for heavens sake!) singing in their native tongue one of our sacred songs (threatening the eradication of English, omygosh!).  The fact all these different kinds of people were drinking OUR DRINK probably made them even madder.  It would be comical if it wasn't more sad.  The only thing sadder than liberals trying to poison Coke is conservatives being offended by it.

Pepsi Sign Trumps Building

Do you want to know about a famous Pepsi sign?  Sure you do.  It's located on the East River in New York City.  Pepsi built it in 1936.  How important is this sign?

2013 Mt. Dew Canobie Lake Park Can

Well, the sign is so important that an apartment building going up behind it has been designed for the sign.  That's right, the bottom floors of the building a recessed 12 feet to make the vintage sign respectfully gets its due.  In fairness, the sign was actually placed there intentionally in 1999 as nostalgic decoration.  It had actually sat atop the company's bottling plant on Long Island until the plant was demolished.  Still, keep in mind America that while The Great Obesity War rages with soda as a prime target, we are still willing to modify skyscrapers to accommodate the so-called culprit.  More power to 'em!

Pepsi Wins CUNY.

I was surprised this summer to learn that the City University System of New York had been waging a war against Coca-Cola.  They wanted the soft drink banned from its campuses.  At first I thought this was yet another skirmish in the Great Obesity War, but it turns out I was wrong.  It was actually political.

2013 Pepsi NFL Can

Students were upset about Coca-Cola's alleged tactics against union leaders in Columbia.  They also dredged up complaints of Coca-Cola discriminating, that most sacred of politically correct words, against fellows in New York City.  Of course, they accepted Pepsi with open arms provided they paid handsomely, of course.  How does 21 million dollars over ten years sound?  Interestingly, Coca-Cola was only paying $60,000 a year.  Guess it's not surprising Pepsi won.  Funny how no one ever complains about discrimination against the company that can't pay as much.

Coca-Cola Slogans and Can Draft Number 8

Here is the weekly post of my first great can draft.

2012 London Olympic Coke Can 6 of 6

The previous Coca-Cola slogan was 1923's "Enjoy Thirst."  This only lasted a year and was replaced by this

1924: "Refresh Yourself"

Ah, once again, it reminds my of selling Coca-Colas a type of sport's drink. Which makes me reflect on when I happen to enjoy Coke, or any soft drink really, the most.  If I am sitting around doing nothing, yes, even lethargically watching a football game, Coca-Cola does't really hit the spot too much.  It's when I'm up and about and my blood sugar feels low that I crave a Coke. Most recently, one of my favorites is to crack a can open when cooking dinner for the family when I am cutting vegetables, manning the stove, and mixing ingredients together.  It helps me from snacking on the unprepared meal.  Point is, before sports drinks existed, Coca-Cola and other soft drinks really were the laboring man's refreshment.  The advertisement was surely no lie for the meat and potato American.    

Brown Sprite

Everybody remembers the charm of Crystal Clear Pespi back in 1992.  The nation was going through a clear frenzy, and Pepsi wanted to get on the bandwagon.  The product sold well initially, but then consumers backed away once the novelty wore off.  I mean, if it tastes the same, what's the difference beyond aesthetics?  And if you are can collector like me, you don't even see the drink anyway unless you pour it in a cup.

2014 Wal-Mart Pineapple Soda

A clever humor troupe recently capitalized on this forgotten marketing ploy by releasing a video of a daffy Pepsi executive attempting to market "Brown Sprite." (He's humorously oblivious to the fact Pepsi doesn't even own Sprite.)  He presents a commercial for the product, played cleverly on a VCR, that markets Brown Sprite as a product for the dark and polluted times we live in.

As I watched the commercial, I couldn't help but realize the commercial used the same soundtrack as the original Crystal Clear Pepsi commercial that aired in 1992. It even played off some of the same motifs: a guy soaring through the sky and the message "right now" is the correct time in history for the drink.  I admittedly laughed aloud.  Firstly, because the video was funny, but secondly, because since I am an amateur cultural historian of soda brick-a-brac, I actually picked up that the commercial the executive shows actually parodies the original.  I don't think many people would have caught that.  Then again, not many people blogged about that actual commercial as I did, and not many people collect soda cans.

But I do.

Yes, I do.  And it is the "right time" for you to start as well.

Summer Can Countdown 5

Road Trip!  April is here, there is one month to go, and I am eager to get started on plans for a big, wide, luscious summer 2014.  And what says summer better than a road trip with a nice cool can of Coca-Cola gliding along the highway with you in a cup holder?

Coca-Cola Summer Can 5 of 6 2013

If you are interested in taking a road trip this summer and would like to check out some soda landmarks, here are three I suggest below.

The World of Coca-Cola Museum in Atlanta Georgia.

New Bern, North Carolina where Pepsi was invented under the name 'Brad's Drink" in 1893

The Dr. Pepper Museum  in Waco, Texas, the city where Dr. Pepper was invented by Charles Alderton around 1885.

There.  That's a nice little summer triangle of traveling to get your summer started!  And oh, yeah. You can toss your bikes on the roof of you car too just like in the can so you can get a little exercise after drinking all that soda.