Patio (drink) explained

Patio
Type:Diet cola
Manufacturer:PepsiCo
Origin:United States
Introduced:1963
Variants:Root Beer
Orange
Imitation Grape
Imitation Strawberry
Dry Ginger Ale
Dry Club Soda
Dry Tonic Water
Diet Cola
Red Cherry

Patio Diet Cola was a brand of diet soda introduced by PepsiCo in 1963.[1] It was created in response to Diet Rite Cola. Fitness promoter Debbie Drake was Patio Diet Cola's spokesperson;[2] the drink was also marketed as a soda alternative for diabetics.[3]

In 1964, Patio released orange, grape, and root beer flavors. This flavor line was not meant to compete with brands like Orange Crush, but rather fill out the line. Patio sodas were available in the cold-bottle market: grocery and mom-and-pop stores. Advertising for Patio was comparatively scarce; at the time, bottlers were regionally franchised, and related advertising was necessarily local.

In 1964, Patio Diet Cola became Diet Pepsi.[3] The newly branded diet soda was advertised alongside Pepsi,[2] with the tagline "Pepsi either way", which replaced the slogan "Dances with flavor". Most of the remaining Patio line of flavors were phased out by the early 1970s, while a few survived until the mid-1970s.

Patio Red Cherry was available as a soda fountain choice at Bojangles' Triarc-franchised locations in central North Carolina, but no longer appears on the Bojangles website as of June 2024.[4] Patio Red Cherry was not a diet soda as it contained 58g of sugar in a 16oz serving.[5] [6] However, the "patio" logo on the fountain dispenser was substantially the same as that used on the 12-ounce cans of diet soda from 1972 through 1976 (which were accompanied by a design with spiral rows of balls).[7]

In popular culture

A print ad for Patio appears in the window of the bodega in the opening scene of "Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose" (1995, S03E04), an episode from The X-Files.

The creation of an advertising campaign for Patio was a featured plot of a three-episode story arc in the third season of the AMC television series Mad Men, first mentioned in the episode “Love Among the Ruins" (2009, S03E02). In the next episode, "My Old Kentucky Home" (2009, S03E03), the advertising agency hires an Ann-Margret look-alike. Finally, in "The Arrangements" (2009, S03E04), they use a riff of Ann-Margret's opening number from the film Bye Bye Birdie for their Patio television commercial.[3]

Flavors

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Iconic Diet Soft Drinks Made Advertising History . beverageworld.com . February 13, 2012 . June 19, 2013.
  2. Web site: Mad Men's 1960s Handbook - Patio Diet Cola . AMC Networks . August 2009 . June 19, 2013 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20130602155754/http://blogs.amctv.com/mad-men/2009/08/patio-diet-cola.php . June 2, 2013 .
  3. Web site: Top-Selling Soda Brands: Then Vs. Now . Minyanville.com . Diane Bullock . August 1, 2011 . January 20, 2021 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120829174102/http://www.minyanville.com:80/special-features/articles/cola-coca-cola-beverages-soda-news/4/1/2011/id/33648 . August 29, 2012 .
  4. Web site: Drinks & Sweet Tea Tri-Arc Bojangles NC & VA . 2024-06-02 . Bojangles' Famous Chicken & Biscuits . en-US.
  5. Web site: Patio Red Cherry - Tri-Arc Bojangles NC & VA . January 20, 2021 .
  6. News: Johnson . Hollis . Taylor . Kate . Bojangles' could be careening towards disaster after an aggressive expansion push — and a trip to the chain reveals why . January 20, 2021 . Business Insider . 12 March 2018.
  7. Web site: Patio Red Cherry Soda . Swain . Steven . flickr . 24 December 2011 . January 20, 2021 .