510 Green Street
Remember when Timothy Leary and Ken Kesey oversaw integrated 7up ad campaigns and everything was sunshine and flowers and rainbows and acid trips? Yeah, I’m a Reagan era baby, I don’t either. While I do remember the dots, I was born a little too late for the psychedelic portion of 7up’s Uncola campaign. Fifteen years too late to be exact. Launched in 1967, the Uncola campaign was designed to appeal to the cutting edge youth demographic and, “set 7up apart from its competition and became part of a counter cultural(sic) that symbolized being true to yourself and challenging the status quo.”
The pictured signs were all designed by illustrator Peter Max and were part of a multi-year campaign involving commercials, ads, street signs, and extensive merchandising. Some of these seem to have held up better than others. Despite being 40+ years old, the plastic liquor store signs on California Street and Grant Avenue are surprisingly well preserved whereas the metal signage on Green street, while gorgeously patinaed (especially around the rivets), is showing it’s age.
To see other examples of Peter Max’s work for 7up visit their company website. To see other examples of pre-uncola 7up signs that I’ve shot go here and here.
1461 Grant Avenue
1565 California Street
510 Green Street - Close Up Image
Really like these, nice captures.
A wonderful collection of old signs.
Nice finds, but a few of your facts are incorrect. Timothy Leary and Ken Kesey had absolutely nothing to do with the UnCola ad campaign. It was the Midwest Mad Men at J. Walter Thompson [ad] Company in Chicago that orchestrated the campaign. They solicited artwork in about 1968 from artists well known or not in a competition format. Peter Max did submit examples, but his was not selected when the client (7 Up) reviewed the work anonymously. Peter Max did eventually work on the trippy TV ads from the 70′s. John Alcorn did every single one of the signs above.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/30559980@N07/7341323138/in/set-72157623502964435
http://s1229.photobucket.com/albums/ee467/btreat29/7Up%20UnCola%20Billboards%20and%20Posters/
The last 2 links point to pre-UnCola 7Up logos.
i purchased an old garage and wrecker shop, 14 years ago, and their is one of these signs there, but i was told it was from the early 60″s, and came from a artist design john alcorn?? who really did this work? mine is on a large metal pole on the side of building? any help, i would appreciate some info about it? thanks, kathy
Yes, this artwork was either designed by John Alcorn directly, or it was a derivative of his work by in-house artists.