Fizzy drinks

Nostalgia is a very tricky thing because it is so subjective.  One person's memories are rarely another's, so one of the things I realised early in my research is that I need to concentrate on items which are likely to be ubiquitous in particular periods of recent (British) history.

Like sweets, fizzy drinks can take many of us back to a quixotic childhood.  There are a number of triggers available here so I thought I'd examine a few aspects which can aid the creation of artefacts for games.

First is branding and advertising.  Few of us who lived through the 1970s will have forgotten the "lip-smackin'-thirst-quenchin'" adverts for Pepsi.

Full 1974 advert available on YouTube

Companies like Cresta ("It's frothy, man") Corona built up general brands; specific products like Barr's Tizer and Irn-Bru have also gained a prominence over the years.  Strong advertising campaigns have left a similar legacy for non-fizzy drinks like Kia-Ora ("I'll be your dog") and Um Bongo ("they drink it in the Congo").

Then there's stuff on the periphery, like Soda Stream.  It has never really gone away, but went into decline a couple of decades ago and an attempt at re-launch a quirky, high-end product in the early 2010s has not really caught on in the UK as much as in the rest of Europe.

The drink receptacles themselves are of great interest to me.  In the mid-1980s fizzy drinks cans changed appearance, and it is increasingly difficult to find examples of older can designs.

First was the shape of the can: older cans looked more like baked bean tins, but the introduction of necking made the top and bottom of the can pull inwards to both strengthen the can and reduce metal usage.

Also introduced around the mid-1980s was the stay-push tab.  This replaced the older ring-pull which was associated with litter and many a cut finger.

Ring-pulls are, in themselves, an iconic image of the 1970s, possibly because this decade represented the height of sales of the older style of can.  Certainly a very useful item to add to the ambient period feel of a scene.

I've talked about the appeal of old-style Lucozade bottles before, with the orange cellophane wrap and medically dubious healing powers.  Another iconic item to embed in a scene.

Finally the last thing I want to mention is the wide range of flavours available.  Modern sales analysis techniques have left consumers with a pitiful range of products, and too many companies seeking to grab market share of existing big-selling flavours (e.g. my local Tesco stocks four different brands of Aero rip-off chocolate bars, all available in chocolate, orange or mint only).

The 1960s-1990s saw an explosion of obscure flavours -- strawberryade, pineappleade, limeade & lager, to name a few.  So, not only can I offer old-style can designs & forgotten brands, but there are also fantastic nostalgic flavours to consider:

Fizzy drinks offer an easy way to set period and to trigger nostalgic affect, and they can form a natural set of objects to assist with gameplay (obstacles or platforms).  I anticipate that they will be very useful in my project.