This document discusses the history of 7up advertisements from the 1940s-present and the use of its mascot Fido Dido. It notes that 7up positioned itself in the 1940s-50s as part of a conformist lifestyle. Fido Dido was created in 1985 and licensed to PepsiCo in 1988 but did not gain popularity until the 1990s. When launched in India in 1992, Fido Dido failed to connect with Indian audiences as a foreign character without control over its adaptation. 7up struggled in India with an inconsistent marketing strategy and positioning confusion.

1. 7 up
From Fido Dido to the Present
History & Analysis of
Advertisements of the Soft Drink

2. Contents
• History

3. History
•Throughout the 120 years of soft drink manufacturing
and marketing, three brands have traditionally led the
pack: Coca Cola , Pepsi Cola , and 7up .
•Although 7up got left behind in the so-called "cola
wars" of the 1960s and 1970s, the lemon-lime
alternative was a consistent third-place finisher for
most of the 20th century.

4. You Like It…It Likes You
• Reflecting the conformity of the 1940s-50s, 7up
advertisements from this era positioned the
beverage as an important part of a conformist
lifestyle.
• During the "You Like It... It Likes You" years7up
prescribed a very specific lifestyle to American
consumers in their print advertisements. The
message? By drinking 7up, you will be able to
conform to the lifestyle that you see in the
advertisements. If you follow this lifestyle, you
will be liked.

5. You Like It…It Likes You
There are two primary components to
7up's prescribed lifestyle:
• Happiness. Happiness is encouraged
throughout the 7up advertising corpus
from the 1940s and 1950s, often through
suggestions to "Keep Smiling." The
suggestions become forceful at times, as
the advertisements suggest rejection,
fatigue and misery if the lifestyle is not
adopted via a bottle of 7up.

6. You Like It…It Likes You
• Traditional Family and Gender Roles.
Implicitly (through graphical depictions) and
explicitly (through admonitions in the copy),
7up advertisements from this era advocate
close adherence to traditional family roles.
This generally means docile servitude for
women, physical work and leadership for
men, and light-hearted play for children.

7. Fido Dido: The Start
• Fido Dido was created by Joanna Ferrone
and Sue Rose. Rose first developed the
character in 1985 on a napkin in a restaurant.
• They later stencilled Fido on T-shirts with the
credo: "Fido is for Fido, Fido is against no one".
• Fido Dido was licensed to PepsiCo in around
1988, but the character did not receive much
attention or popularity until the early 1990s on
numerous products, particularly stationery.
Later, he was replaced with Cool Spot as the
brand mascot.

8. Fido Dido: The Start
• Fido Dido reappeared in the 2000s and is still, as
of July 2010, used on cans and advertising for
7up in countries worldwide.
• Fido Dido has been licensed to PepsiCo
and Slice brands in markets outside the United
States; 7 Up, a product of Dr Pepper Snapple
Group, is licensed to PepsiCo for manufacture
and distribution in markets outside the U.S.
• Fido Dido is also used on PepsiCo's Turkish soft
drink Fruko.

9. Fido Dido in India
• 7 Up was launched in India in
1992. It had a wonderful start
becoming the largest selling
brand in the category by 2002 .
• When launched in India, 7Up
also bought in the famed
mascot. Fido came to India in
1992 along with the brand but
had a very erratic relationship
with 7 Up.

10. 7up in India
• Despite being in the Indian market close to 19 years, 7
Up was not a successful brand.
• The fault lies in the confused marketing strategy
adopted by PepsiCo with this brand.
• When the brand was launched, the lemon flavoured
drink segment was perceived to be a small market
with the market leader Limca ruling the market. But
both Coca Cola and Pepsi was not interested in
developing the category or the brand for a long time.
Limca was killed by Coca Cola while Pepsi after the
initial enthusiasm dropped investing in 7 Up.

11. Problems Faced by 7up in India
• The problem with 7 Up was two fold:
1. Company’s lack of interest in the brand.
2. The positioning confusion of the company.

12. Fido is a Foreigner
• When launched, 7 Up was positioned as a cool
drink. The brand used Fido Dido and certain
imported commercial to position the brand as a
cool drink for the youngsters.
• But the mascot and its international style failed
to impress the audience. Every one liked Fido
Dido but there was no connect with the mascot
and the Indian audience.
• The company was in a dilemma because 7 Up
had a strong association with Fido Dido but Fido
Dido had a disconnect with the Indian audience.

13. Fido is a Foreigner
• Fido Dido was a
foreigner and hence
the lack of connect was
evident. The brand was
really confused on how
to use Fido Dido in the
Indian market.

14. Fido had Problem Adapting…
• Fido Dido trademark does not belong
to Pepsi but belong to the founder
Joanna. Hence the mascot is highly
controlled by the owner and not the
brand.
• This lack of control has prevented
Pepsi from Adapting Fido to Indian
audience. It does not have the
freedom to change the mascot's
personality. This is an awkward
situation for the brand where it had a
wonderful mascot but could not
change anything about the mascot.

15. Fido was Gone for a While
• Seven Up and Fido Dido
had a short affair. In 1995
PepsiCo globally stopped
using Fido Dido and in
India too the company
stopped using the mascot.
Later in 2003, the brand
began using Fido Dido but
again it was a half-
hearted approach.