7-Up/Uncanny In Cans
Artist
John Alcorn
United States, 1935 - 1992
Date1969
Dimensions35 1/2 x 58 1/2 in. (90.2 x 148.6 cm)
ClassificationsPoster
Credit LinePoster House Permanent Collection
Object numberPH.6635
DescriptionOn the verge of bankruptcy in 1968, the 7Up Company hired the advertising agency J. Walter Thompson to revamp its public image. Focusing on the youth market, the agency dubbed the brand the “Uncola” (in reference to the fact that the counterculture was often described as “un-American”) and put out an open call to illustrators to submit designs. John Alcorn and a handful of other designers from Push Pin designed billboards for the campaign throughout the late 1960s and early ’70s. The images were also promoted to students in magazines as book wrappers or dorm-room decor, available in four different sizes. While this design was used as a billboard, this size was specifically created as merchandise. This image, one of the most popular designs in the series, was turned into a seven-foot-long illuminated sign that was used in bars and snack shops around the country to attract customers. It also made a brief cameo in the cult film Vanishing Point (1971).On View
Not on view
1960
