The so-called Cola Wars happened after our Rogers years in 1956-1960, but the two companies were having skirmishes since the early 1900’s. Each went head-to-head with marketing campaigns and slogans throughout their history. These slogans entered our collective subconscious.
I never knew the “backward” South produced the two soft drinks that became popular icons world-wide, until I arrived in the South in 1978.
Coca Cola began as a patent medicine in a pharmacy in Atlanta, GA. Coke seemed to have a bit of trouble deciding on a good slogan during our Rogers years. They had five of them!
1956 - Feel the difference, Makes good things taste better
1957 - Sign of good taste
1958 - Refreshment the whole world prefers
1959 - Make it a real meal
1960 - Relax with a Coke, Revive with a Coke
Pepsi began in another drugstore in New Bern, North Carolina, 40 miles from where I live. Apparently Pepsi felt secure with their advertising during our years atRogers. They stuck with just one slogan:
1958-1961 Be Sociable, Have a Pepsi
Do these Pepsi and Coke slogans ring a bell in your subconscious? The cola wars were not to flame up until the 80’s, but each company produced memorable slogans and jingles during the entire century. Our time was just past the midpoint of that century. When a Rogers class of ’60 graduate hears “Be sociable, Have a Pepsi,” she may easily recall our time at John R. Rogers.