By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher, GwinnettForum
DEC. 29, 2020 | Many of us older Americans are the product of a one dimensional communications system…..that is, the sound of the radio. We grew up listening to the radio, just as later generations grew up with television, and children today with the new social media.
Starting in the early 1920s, radio was its own marvel. Even the president of the United States (FDR), saw the possibilities of calming a nation during the Depression with his fireside chats.
Words communicated via the airways were powerful. Soon radio started tinkering with words, especially in advertising, as music was the new dimension. The output was called “jingles,” Those messages were powerful, written with careful precision.
One particular jingle remains in my mind until today. You may remember the Pepsi Cola jingle.
Now recognize, of course, that growing up in Georgia meant that you were loyal to Coca-Cola. It seemed we kids all recognized it was a Georgia product instinctively. We were loyal to Coke. From time to time, a kid might drink a Pepsi, but this was not the norm.
Music may come to mind from the words to that jingle:
Pepsi Cola hits the spot, twelve full ounces, that’s a lot.
Twice as much and you get more too
Pepsi Cola is the drink for you.
Then, to reinforce the pinpointed message, it ended with this singing repetition: “Nickel, nickel, nickel, nickel……”
Now let’s analyze that jingle.
First is the name of the product, telling you that you get “12 full ounces,” and then emphasizes it by saying “That’s a lot!” Unsaid is that its big competitor, Coca-Cola, was a product then with only six ounces.
In effect, it almost says: “You’re not too smart to be paying the same thing but getting half as much.”
Now the next line, in case you missed it before: “Twice as much,” and then again a reinforcement, “and you get more too.” Looks to me like that jingle writer was aiming for the lowest common denominator level of intelligence, with it reinforced in this manner.
Then the punch line: “Pepsi Cola is the drink for you.”
The jingle is about to end, and now it merely tells you the price, which was the same as Coke: “Nickel, nickel, nickel, nickel…..” and disappears into thin air.
That is really superb targeted writing, getting across a point and no doubt selling Pepsi, even here in Georgia. Almost all my growing-up friends favored Coke, but one of my cousins, probably smarter than the rest of us, always doubled his refreshment with Pepsi. (Today he’s a millionaire.)
As Coke and Pepsi fought their wars on the radio, there was another Georgia drink we would sometimes buy. That was Royal Crown, a drink manufactured in Columbus, Ga., so we felt no disloyalty when opting for it. RC was similar in taste to Coke and Pepsi. RC drinks also came in 12 ounce size. RC also bottled Nehi fruit-flavored drinks, orange, grape, strawberry, and a terrible-tasting peach flavor. Ugh! You can almost still taste that weak peach flavor today!
One thing I don’t remember is any advertising from Royal Crown. That brand is still today in the grocery stores, though you seldom hear much about the company. Coke and Pepsi still are in a constant battle for your “taste test.” Today new dimensions have been added in advertising as television gives pictures as well as sound in the drink battle. And now color, too.
The refreshment wars continue. The jingle stays in my mind. How powerful messages are!
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
Follow Us