7-Up Feels So Good Comin’ Down

I am an occasional drinker of 7-Up, but I would not describe myself as a raving fan. Most of my youthful experience drinking it were when I was not feeling well (and they stopped carrying Bubble Up in our area).

Because I am not a strict drinker of lemon/lime soda, I have really come appreciate to appreciate ads that I remember for it.

The Feels So Good Comin’ Down ad campaign premiered in 1986 and did not run for very long. It didn’t get the saturation to be as quotable as some earlier 7-Up ads, but it etched pretty well into my memory. It is the clever combo of association 7-Up, cooling rain, and a clever slogan. All of this is of course a testament to the ad people at Leo Burnett who came up with it.

They had assorted commercial with different tones and musical influences. The one thing they all had in common was the use of rain and the slogan. For example, this commercial shows the heat of the city. Heat so hot that you need to sit out on your fire escape to get relief. But you can get more relief if you just add some 7-Up and the magical rainy vibes that it brings with it.

Did you ever notice how many “let’s stay cool” moments in advertising take place on fire escapes in the 1980s? I wonder if that is why I have so many positive associations with fire escapes? They are cool-looking, but they must be a logistical nightmare to film on.

On the other end of the spectrum you have this straight-forward testimonial style ad for Diet 7-Up from 1987 that stars John Goodman. It has very little in common with the other ads of its type until you get the slogan and rain imagery at the very end.

These are just two of over a half dozen commercial that featured this slogan. Combine that with the innumerable print ads and I can see why, even though it didn’t run long, this ad campaign was so memorable. Not as memorable as others, but still very memorable.