THE SEVEN-UP COMPANY | UN STORY | 1972

How One Bottle Became the "UN" of Its Era / Seven-Up "UN STORY"

A 1972 TV commercial for 7-Up, titled "UN STORY." Back then, psychedelic billboards lined America's highways, and "Uncola" had become a catchphrase among young people.

The problem

In 1967, 7-Up was mostly drunk as a stomach remedy or a cocktail mixer. With the country split apart by the Vietnam War and the counterculture, J. Walter Thompson Chicago brought in a single idea: "not a cola."

The insight

The hippie generation had been labeled "un-American" and "un-establishment." Uncola took that label and turned it straight into the brand name. Instead of competing on how similar it was to cola, 7-Up chose to take pride in being different.

The idea

With just the two letters "UN," 7-Up turned itself into the drink of the counterculture. Psychedelic billboards, and a TV spot featuring Geoffrey Holder.

What happened

The Uncola campaign ran from 1969 to 1975, and by 1972 7-Up had become the third-biggest soda brand in America. There's also a record of it winning a Grand Prix.

Afterthought

"UN STORY" — the story of UN. A piece of work that packed the spirit of rebellion and freedom into just two letters. I couldn't track down all the details, but the naming alone says plenty.

Awards

Cannes Lions Grand Prix 1972

Three more the bear picked for you

Slowly Putting Away the Black / GUINNESS "BLACK POT"

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GUINNESS | BLACK POT | 1976

Slowly Putting Away the Black / GUINNESS "BLACK POT"

This Guinness ad won the Grand Prix at Cannes in 1976. It seems to pair two quiet moments: a player sinking the black ball in snooker, and someone slowly drinking down a Guinness. "Slowly putting away the black" — both are about putting away something black, and neither should be rushed.

"You can give the car back" became a promise of trust / HYUNDAI "ASSURANCE"

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HYUNDAI | ASSURANCE | 2009

"You can give the car back" became a promise of trust / HYUNDAI "ASSURANCE"

It was 2009, right after the Lehman shock. In a time when nobody was buying cars, Hyundai said something strange: "If you lose your job within a year, you can give this car back." It was a promise nobody in the industry had ever made.

A Question the Beer Industry Asked in 1962 / UNITED BREWERS ASSOCIATION "WHO SAYS BEER IS A MAN'S BEVERAGE?"

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UNITED BREWERS ASSOCIATION | WHO SAYS BEER IS A MAN'S BEVERAGE? | 1962

A Question the Beer Industry Asked in 1962 / UNITED BREWERS ASSOCIATION "WHO SAYS BEER IS A MAN'S BEVERAGE?"

In 1962, an American beer industry association asked a simple question: "Who says beer is a man's beverage?" Behind that single line, you can sense a real intention to change the times.