Un More Time Drum

Black and white illustration of a drum set on a white and black background

In 1967, with 7-Up facing bankruptcy, advertising executives at Chicago’s J. Walter Thompson Company pitched a hippie-focused rebranding of the soda. They nicknamed the drink “The UnCola,” derived from the term “un-American,” which was associated with the antiwar protests and counterculture movement of the 1960s. The campaign consisting of colorful, and at times psychedelic, cartoons ran from 1969 to 1975. Slogans included “Un in the Sun,” “Uncanny in Cans,” Un & Un Is Too,” and “We Un Wild.” Much of the UnCola campaign ran on billboards but also included posters, buttons, and “Fallpaper,” a paper product that could be used as wallpaper or wrapping paper. 7-Up sales rose 30 percent in the first few years of rebranding. The campaign tapered off in the mid-1970s.