In the years since it first emerged on the scene in the late 19th century, soda has become an integral part of our everyday lives. And, as mass communication transformed culture into popular culture, soda was one of the things that managed to make the leap and find a permanent home in the popular zeitgeist. As such, it's no surprise that musicians, movie makers and even fine artists have found ways to leverage it to make a closer connection with audiences or to produce social commentary. In this post, the team that helps make our Sparkling CBD Soda great take a look at a few of the iconic references to soft drinks found in pop culture. Enjoy.
A Coke Billboard in “Blade Runner” - 1982
Blade Runner tells the tale of AI-enabled replicants (human-looking robots) attempting to avoid Harrison Ford’s futuristic bounty hunter in a dystopian Los Angeles of 2019. The film is widely considered to be one of the most influential films ever made creating a visual blueprint that’s been copied by everything from The Terminator to The Matrix while creating an entirely new category of art now known as “cyberpunk”.
With all that in mind, Blade Runner might seem a strange place to find Coca-Cola, but in several cityscapes of the decaying LA director Ridley Scott creates building-size animated advertisements for the iconic soda brand proving, in Scott’s own words, that “Coca-Cola is everlasting”. Coke also manages to make an appearance in the long-awaited follow up - Blade Runner 2049 - where we can plainly see an advertisement for Coca-Cola (in Hebrew) in the background of at least one scene.
“Orange Crush” by REM - 1988
Although a close examination of the words to the song “Orange Crush” suggest that lyricist Michael Stipe had more than soda in mind with lines like “I’ve got my spine, I’ve got my Orange Crush (we are agents of the free)”, the fact is more than a few people believed the song to be a homage to the popular soft drink of the same name when it hit the airwaves back in 1988.
That belief was bolstered by the fact that at that point in time Stipe seemed to make an effort to sing in a way that made it virtually impossible to decipher what he was saying. So people heard the words "Orange Crush" and thought "Oh, a song about soda. Cute" and didn't bother to try and figure out what else he was saying. (Imagine if he tried to sing "Sparkling CBD Soda” instead?)
The Coke Bottle as Art
Andy Warhol was synonymous with New York City and the Pop Art movement of the 1960s. These days he might be best known for his paintings of Campbell’s Soup cans but he also completed a series of paintings of Coke bottles at around the same time as the soup can paintings that were considered groundbreaking.
To drive home the point of how important Warhol’s Coke Bottle paintings are, one of them titled “Coca-Cola 3” sold at auction in 2013 for the tidy sum of $57.3 million ($74 million in 2023 dollars). We’re of the opinion that he could have completely revolutionized pop art if he’d lived long enough to paint our CBD Sparkling Soda cans, but we’ll never really know.
“Diet Mountain Dew” by Lana Del Rey - 2012
Is Lana Del Ray a genius or a clinically depressed woman who sings depressing songs? It's sometimes hard to tell, but we'll give her the benefit of the doubt. What we know for sure is that her 2012 song "Diet Mountain Dew" was a significant alternative hit about a less-than-ideal relationship she's struggling to free herself from. One of those "can't live with you, can't live without you" situations.
The reference to the tasty and popular soft drink seems to serve as a metaphor for the upside to the relationship, and then she contrasts that idea with lines expressing self-doubt and insecurity. (Actually, calling the song an “alternative” hit isn’t quite accurate as it’s sold millions of copies and the video of the song has tens of millions of views on YouTube.) During the song Del Ray asks “Do you think we’ll be in love forever?” We think it’s entirely possible...perhaps if they switch from drinking Diet Mountain Dew to drinking our scrumptious Sparkling CBD drinks instead.
Try Our Delicious Sparkling CBD Soda
Soda has become a huge part of our common experience. Whereas 100 years ago only a few had access to (or even heard of) soft drinks, today billions of cans and bottles of soda are sold every day in every corner of the world. If you’re looking for a unique soda experience that will tickle your tastebuds and open your eyes, order some of our delicious and refreshing CBD beverages today.