Remember OK Soda?

If one was to bottle weirdness with a dash of 1990s apathy, you'd essentially have OK Soda.

Way back in 1993 Coca Cola had this crazy idea to market a soda that pretty much didn't give a shit. The end result was a bland, mostly monochromatic looking can with an abstract look and really off beat advertising to back it up. The idea almost mocked mainstream consumerism, with it's overwhelming projection of mediocrity and obscurity.

OK Soda was released in select test markets around the US to gauge interest in the product. I happened to live in one of those areas. Seeing the can in a store for the first time was perhaps the strangest, but most memorable consumer experience in my life. There I was, barely a teenager, standing in front of my local convenience store drink cooler. In front of me is a familiar assortment of drinks of different sizes and flavors. Each and every one of them presented in a neat, colorful and eye catching container...and then I see the drab gray comic book inspired OK Soda can.

"What the fuck is this?!"

There was no other way to put it. I was a young kid at the time but still, this clearly went against every thing I've learned in my life so far as a consumer. The product had boring colors. It didn't promise fun. It had nonsensical messages on it. But at that very moment, something "clicked". It was different, wacky, carefree and fun. It wasn't trying to be impressive, almost the opposite in fact. Someone was thinking so far outside of the box it was almost brilliant in its concept.

OK Soda had several different can designs, all bizarre but fun. Wacky slogans, phrases and even a 1-800 number to call and listen to random musings about "OK-ness". There was nothing quite like it at the time. Even now, there is nothing quite as indifferent and unconventional as OK Soda. Though, Vince Offer pitching the ShamWow is another good example of obscure marketing. Definitely more abrasive than you're average As Seen On TV ad. It was almost condescending at times but quite silly and almost nonchalant about peddling the product.

But alas, the general population didn't know what to make of OK Soda and its run ended less than a year after its release. It's legacy lived on years later online in newsgroups, eBay, and countless retrospective articles. For me, it still lives on with the OK sticker that I managed to get from Coca Cola as part of a promotional 'OK care package'. But more importantly it lives on as the moment that consumer advertising made sense to me - flashy graphics and promises of a better life are generally bullshit. At least with this product they were honest, it was simply OK. Sometimes things that are a little different and a little creative are refreshing.