Blast from the Past: Soda Pop Commercials!

I've been blogging for over 3 years, and I know a lot of readers I have today never read the blog when I started. So, I decided to rerun a few of my favorites (with updates, of course).  I ran this post a long time ago, and since then, several of the videos disappeared from the YouTubes. So, I've made a replacement here and there.  See how many of these you remember.

Old soda pop brands have been reappearing in the grocery store, lately. Fresca never really went away, and  comes in different flavors now, but it's still sort of a niche product. And Tab has come back, at least to Las Vegas. I'm a big soda drinker, so it is fortunate that I only drink the diet versions. Unless the rumors are true about the various artificial sweeteners. Then I'm screwed. But I'm not sure there is anything worse than high-fructose corn syrup.

I did some searching for classic soda commercials when the old Tab jingle started to ring in my head (probably a side effect of those sweeteners). I found a lot of them, though was unsuccessful finding "RC 100" (RC 100 percent! You'll wonder where caffeine went! RC 100 regular and sugar free!). Here are some of the better ones.






1. Tab - Before there was Diet Coke, there was Tab. What a beautiful drink!  If you want a trippy experience, look at a can of Tab with a pair of red and blue 3D glasses on!

2. Fresca - I thought this soda was gross when I was little. Love it now, particularly the peach flavor.  Mixes great with vodka (vitamin V) too!

3. RC Cola - The undisputed loser of the 80s cola wars is RC Cola, which has forever more been an also-ran. But back in the 70s, it looked like they still might have a shot. "Me and my RC" was almost as big as "Be a Pepper!"  This commercial predates that slogan, but the RC in a circle logo was brand new then, and it's BACK now!

4. Shasta - I want a pop! Shasta is these days regarded as half a step above store-brand. But back in the 80s, they had a big push with this ad, which I didn't remember as quite so loaded with beefcake. But there it is. This has to be one of the earliest examples of mainstream homoeroticsm. . .but that's just my opinion.

5. Diet Pepsi - This song, "Now You See It, Now You Don't" is probably the Pepsico's best jingle ever for the brand. Very catchy. They should really bring it back, don'tcha think?

6. Slice - "We've Got the Juice!" Yes, they were toying with 10% fruit juice formulations back in the 80s, and Pepsi was still searching for a lemon-lime brand that would stick. It didn't (we have Sierra Mist now). My favorite slice flavor was apple, which I wish they'd bring back.

7. Dr. Pepper - You can't do a piece on retro soda ads without David (An American Werewolf in London) Naughton's  "I'm a Pepper!" It really was a craze.

8. 7Up - One of the better ads of the bunch, with musical styles through the decades. They ought to redo this one, with 80s, 90s, and 00s music styles.