Heads-Up 7-Up

November 16th, 2022

Vintage advertisements and what they can tell us about how nostalgia is created. What is this picture's story?

Text from the picture as it is rather small:

Large paragraph style text: "This young man is 11 months old - and he isn't our youngest customer by any means. For 7-Up is so pure, so wholesome, you can even give it to babies and feel good about it. Look at the back of a 7-Up bottle. Notice that all of our ingredients are listed. (That isn't required of soft drinks, you know - but we're proud to do it and we think you're pleased that we do.) By the way, Mom, when it comes to toddlers - if they like to be coaxed to drink their milk, try this: Add 7-Up to the milk in equal parts, pouring the 7-Up gently into the milk. It's a wholesome combination - and it works! Make 7-Up your family drink. You like it...it likes you!"

Small text on the left side with bottle and toys: " Avoid limitations served from taps or cup-machines. Seven-Up is sold in bottles only."

Small text under the bottle the baby is drinking from: "Watch "Soldiers of Fortune". For exciting adventure, see this 7-Up TV show every week"

Analysis

Color

The advertisement above is mostly black and white with a few exceptions. These exceptions are the two bottles of 7-Up, the words "does it" at the bottom of the image, and the toys behind the 7-Up standing straight at the bottom of the image.

Typography

The largest font used is for 7-Up and " Nothing does it like Seven-Up" where they spell out 7-Up in order for it to appear larger. The second largest font is used for, "Why we have the youngest customers in the business". Then the smallest print is used for a paragraph explaining how pure and wholesome 7-Up is. The font with the most fun is used on the bottle with "7up".

Composition

This advertisement consists of two pictures and some text. The first picture is of a baby drinking a 7-Up and is the largest portion of the advertisement. The second picture is of a 7-Up in front of toys. The text focuses on young and Seven-Up. I have noticed that the advertisement goes big picture, small picture, big text, small text, big text. They also have a 7-Up on either side of the advertisement and color them to stand out against the rest of the picture.

The Story

The story this advertisement is telling is clearly that 7-Up is pure, wholesome, and something that you can trust. Although we would be shocked and worried for a child we saw drinking soda at this age in modern times, in 1955 when this soda advertisement was released, 7-Up was only known by this given name for 5 years. Indeed, &-up used to be known as Lithiated Lemon soda and was associated with hospital use (MeTV Staff, 2015). The first know use of the term 7-Up was used in 1950 as seen below.

Figure 2

Something associated with hospital use would likely not cause alarm in mothers in the 1950s. In fact, soda was the least of mothers' mistakes as many of us have heard from time to time the saying, "rub a little whiskey on their gums" during the teething period for babies. Using alcohol to quiet babies was common practice until around the 90s (Sillers, 2016). If you would like to read more about the uses of alcohol and teething throughout history, feel free to read more here.

Now that we understand the calmer approach to soda and babies, let us return to the story that is being created in this advertisement. People have now associated Lithiated Lemon soda with the hospital and settling stomachs for a few decades and a similar soda (the very same) is out in stores with a brand new name and claims to be ideal for fussy infants who do not want to drink their milk. Words such as wholesome, pure, young, mom, toddlers, and mix gently with milk, are used to purify the drink and take away any fears. Then the bottle of 7-Up is placed in front of the toys, the only other items that are colored. These toys are soft in color and sweet looking. Lastly, &-Up proves it can be trusted without anyone having to ask as they explain their ingredients list is on the back of every bottle with pride without being required.

7-Up is creating a story of a healthy family atmosphere with TV shows every week, mixing soda with infant's milk to soothe a fussy child, speaking directly to mothers about trust, and offering help.

Conclusion

As we all know they were successful and that can be proven if you have ever played Heads-up Seven-up, or had your father get you a 7-Up when you had a stomachache as mine did when I was a child. Although it may not be the most popular drink, as it has been advertised against Coca-Cola throughout the years, it is still popular where it counts. Not many sugary drinks or treats can boast success when it comes to parents' trust.

References

Powell, B. A. (2010). Figure 1. Vintage soda ads: Can you spot the fake? Grist. Retrieved November 16, 2022, from https://grist.org/article/food-vintage-soda-ads-can-you-spot-the-fake/.

Sillers, J. (2016, December 7). Alcohol and teething: An oral history. Retrieved November 16, 2022, from https://vinepair.com/articles/alcohol-and-teething-an-oral-history/

Staff, M. T. V. (2015). Figure 2. A history of 7UP told through 14 fascinating ads. MeTV. Retrieved November 16, 2022, from https://www.metv.com/stories/a-history-of-7up-told-through-14-fascinating-ads.

Staff, M. T. V. (2015, October 1). A history of 7up told through 14 fascinating ads. MeTV. Retrieved November 16, 2022, from https://www.metv.com/stories/a-history-of-7up-told-through-14-fascinating-ads

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