# Q: Grocery Store Soda Aisle in the 1970s **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 18, 2016, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-grocery-store-soda-aisle-in-the-1970s/763211 "2016-08-18T20:52:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![AllShookDown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d9b06d/32.png) [@AllShookDown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AllShookDown)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2016, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-grocery-store-soda-aisle-in-the-1970s/763211/61 "2016-08-25T15:02:34Z")
I actually found a time-lapse video of them being stacked. It won’t work as an embedded link so I hope this works, or you can at least find it from this. > **[1965 time lapse grocery store shelf filling up with six-packs of...](https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/video/time-lapse-grocery-store-shelf-filling-up-with-six-packs-news-footage/2038-233)** > > 1965 time lapse grocery store shelf filling up with six-packs of bottled soda / educational That doesn’t seem to work so if you go to Getty Images and search for 2038-233 you should find it. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2016, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-grocery-store-soda-aisle-in-the-1970s/763211/62 "2016-08-25T15:29:14Z")
That video shows something similar between the layers, but not the same as in the OP. The ones we recall rolled up as the stock was diminished (like the blow out party favors retracting). The underside had the product/company logo printed in rows so that it always showed as the divider furled/unfurled. Damned difficult to describe. ---
**Author:** ![AllShookDown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d9b06d/32.png) [@AllShookDown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AllShookDown)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2016, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-grocery-store-soda-aisle-in-the-1970s/763211/63 "2016-08-25T15:56:47Z")
Ok, I was mistaking the darker green across the bottom of the cartons for the roll-up advertising. Which you can find pictures of if you search for soda roll up advertising or somesuch, but I was unable to find any pictures of it in use. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2016, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-grocery-store-soda-aisle-in-the-1970s/763211/64 "2016-08-25T20:54:21Z")
Aha! “soda roll up advertising” did it! I didn’t think to add the word “advertising” to my searches, but that did the trick. [Here](http://www.ebay.com/itm/NU-GRAPE-SODA-Soft-Drink-VTG-ROLL-UP-SHELF-ADVERTISING-30-1-2-X-6-3-4-PLASTIC-/252436530754?hash=item3ac663c642%3Ag%3AZ2sAAOSwNSxVE0Hk&nma=true&si=58tlzUTOnPXqsJepyspkhjzw0gE%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557) are some pictures of one for Nu Grape soda. Thanks, **AllShookUp** ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2016, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-grocery-store-soda-aisle-in-the-1970s/763211/65 "2016-08-25T21:15:06Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > Sorry. I tried to sidestep the hijack but it kept chasing me. You started the hijack and you were the one who kept it going. It seems like you hijack a lot of threads with your advertising/marketing hatred. ---
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2016, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-grocery-store-soda-aisle-in-the-1970s/763211/66 "2016-12-10T21:18:51Z")
I read through all the posts. Good thoughts, but nada. I am not picturing the price tags that would pop into the shelving. If I find a picture or can draw an image, I’ll post an update. I may even read out to some grocery association (everybody has an assc.) and see if they recall. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Downtown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Mr\_Downtown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Downtown)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2016, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-grocery-store-soda-aisle-in-the-1970s/763211/67 "2016-12-12T06:06:24Z")
I suggest you carefully reread post 25, and look at the photos linked to in post 64. ---
**Author:** ![doubleminus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5daacb/32.png) [@doubleminus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doubleminus)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2016, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-grocery-store-soda-aisle-in-the-1970s/763211/68 "2016-12-12T21:21:04Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > And I said that’s really another topic entirely, nothing much to do with anything in this thread except asking the question. You want an answer? I’ll give you an answer: social nullification. The same force that ended the idiocy of Prohibition. Brought on by counter-education challenging the assumptions about consumer needs and values brought on by sixty or so years of intense marketing efforts that have defined a world willingly screwing itself into disaster to have that endless “freedom of choice” - which is demonstrably nothing of the kind, but a complex and rigged marketing game designed to extract maximum profit from the population. > > You really can’t bitch about how grasping, self-serving and manipulative Donald Trump is without realizing that nearly all of the consumer goods industry is exactly the same, doing the same shuck and jive and deception to its own benefit… except that it \*has \*been “president” for many decades. This. And then you have the great freedom of voting for Trump or Hillary (unless you live in Ca, NY, Tx, etc. and your vote doesn’t really count), the freedom getting bankrupt if you are sick, the freedom of owing 200K after finishing a degree - that confers upon you the freedom of the minimum-wage employment of your choice, the freedom of not missing one day of the abovementioned employment even when you raise small kids. Yea. But 50 brands of chips and 50 ways to kill someone with 50 different guns you may freely choose. Oh, and many, many screens around you for reading and watching your choice of big/medium/small brothers all telling you the same thing. Isn’t freedom great ? ---
**Author:** ![AllShookDown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d9b06d/32.png) [@AllShookDown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AllShookDown)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2017, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-grocery-store-soda-aisle-in-the-1970s/763211/69 "2017-01-08T16:51:42Z")
I happened across this item on Etsy just now. > **[Vintage Coca-cola Spring Roll Shelf Liners Featuring Classic - Etsy](https://www.etsy.com/listing/205278368/vintage-coca-cola-spring-roll-shelf?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=shelf%2Bpaper%2Bcola&ref=sr_gallery_1)** > > This listing is for two (2) vintage Coca-Cola plastic shelf liner rolls. The fronts feature the classic Coca-Cola logo three across and the back is off-white with no logos (although the front logos and colors can be seen). They were originally used... ---
**Author:** ![AllShookDown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d9b06d/32.png) [@AllShookDown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AllShookDown)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2017, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-grocery-store-soda-aisle-in-the-1970s/763211/70 "2017-01-08T17:00:22Z")
i can’t get a link to work. A search on Etsy for “shelf paper cola” brigs back ones for Coke, Diet Rite and Pepsi. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2017, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-grocery-store-soda-aisle-in-the-1970s/763211/71 "2017-01-09T14:03:37Z")
> [@Frank](#): > > [This](https://www.google.com/search?q=generic+food+black+and+white+label&biw=1600&bih=805&tbm=isch&imgil=uNo9BOPNFh9xDM%253A%253BI7LJVG4g6rNvdM%253Bhttp%25253A%25252F%25252Fgbnfgroceries.blogspot.com%25252F2014%25252F01%25252Ffrom-misc-foods-aisle-generic-brands.html&source=iu&pf=m&fir=uNo9BOPNFh9xDM%253A%252CI7LJVG4g6rNvdM%252C_&usg=__jsUncFvc_E3Uc_bB9rZ7xnJYaDQ%3D&ved=0ahUKEwju7LDsvdLOAhVHYyYKHfniBAcQyjcIKQ&ei=A5u5V67fBsfGmQH5xZM4#imgrc=JU_Oe0H48dNaHM%3A) is all we need. Reminds me of Penn State’s football uniforms. I remember the 8 packs of glass bottles more than any 6 packs of bottles. Cans often came in packs of 6 with plastic rings holding them together, I don’t see much of that anymore. I guess I like the current plastic 20 oz or half liters as well as anything, but I miss the 24oz bottles that disappeared several years ago (I’m looking at you, Mayor Bloomberg!). I wish all restaurants would carry all brands. Some people definitely prefer Coke, some prefer Pepsi, if I ran a restaurant I’d carry them both so that everybody can be happy. Nothing worse than having a good meal ruined by having to drink the brand you don’t really care for. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2017, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-grocery-store-soda-aisle-in-the-1970s/763211/72 "2017-01-09T20:48:16Z")
Good thought, **Bob** , but the drink suppliers make that very difficult. They will offer inducements like free use of dispensing equipment or discounts on product in return for the restaurant selling their brands exclusively. Would the extra volume make up for the higher cost to the establishment? I don’t know, but tend to doubt it. If it did you’d see it more often. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2017, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-grocery-store-soda-aisle-in-the-1970s/763211/73 "2017-01-09T20:51:32Z")
> [@control-z](#): > > I remember 8 as well. Our local Kroger has this cool little window at the back of the store where you could sit an 8-pack carton on a wheeled conveyor to deposit them for refill. I remember doing that as late as 1986/7 then the 2 liter bottles became popular because they could be sold for as little as 89 cents ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2017, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-grocery-store-soda-aisle-in-the-1970s/763211/74 "2017-01-09T23:53:19Z")
Regarding flimsy bottles, I don’t recall them being flimsy at all, but I do remember we couldn’t leave unopened bottles out in the garage in winter or the pop would freeze and shatter the bottles. ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2017, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-grocery-store-soda-aisle-in-the-1970s/763211/75 "2017-01-10T01:03:58Z")
> [@bump](#): > > the advent of the plastic 2 liter bottle in the Houston area sometime in the early 1980s. > [@delphica](#): > > the introduction of two liter in the early-ish 80s, and I was in New York state. Early '80s? I’m sure we had those in Iowa in the '70s, when I was still working at the supermarket… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-grocery-store-soda-aisle-in-the-1970s/763211.md?page=3)