[UPDATED 3/21: It’s come to my attention that this ad is probably a fake!]
I was recently tweeted by Paul Murphy, an anti-obesity advocate in Ontario. Paul’s Twitter icon is this magazine advertisement from 1955, which made my eyes bug out:
The ad copy reads:
This young man is 11 months old – and he isn’t our youngest customer by any means.
For 7-Up is so pure, so wholesome, you can even give it to babies and feel good about it. Look at the back of a 7-Up bottle. Notice that all our ingredients are listed. (That isn’t required of soft drinks, you know – but we’re proud to do it and we think you’re pleased that we do.)
By the way, Mom, when it comes to toddlers – if they like to be coaxed to drink their milk, try this: Add 7-Up to the milk in equal parts, pouring the 7-Up gently into the milk. It’s a wholesome combination – and it works! Make 7-Up your family drink. You like it . . . it likes you!
While there’s a similar ad floating around the Internet that’s most definitely a fake, I believe this one is legit. (I found a copy in the Duke University online archive, among other places.)
I’d like to say a lot has changed since this ad came out, but I’m sure I’m not alone in occasionally spotting a toddler with a plastic soda bottle at his or her mouth. At least soda companies are no longer pitching their drinks to parents as wholesome baby fare. That’s progress, I guess.