The 16 Best Soda Commercials Of The 1980s

The 1980s gave the world a dose of pop culture that's still making beautiful noise over four decades later. Artists like Michael Jackson and Madonna got us into the groove, TV shows such as "Golden Girls" and "Cheers" made us raise a glass, and films such as "Back to the Future" and "Batman" took our imaginations to new heights. Not to be overlooked are the commercials that also helped define the era — soda ads in particular, many of which were promoted by or promoting the stars and films mentioned above.

The Takeout took its own time machine back to the '80s to reminisce and sip on the best of all those bubbly ads, listed below in chronological order. Fair warning — after journeying on this nostalgia trip, you may end up overloaded with too many good vibrations from all the amazingly classic jingles that still kick it. These are good problems to have, so drink it up, dear readers.

To help establish itself in the market, orange soda Sunkist turned to agency Foote, Cone & Belding. They came up with 600 campaign ideas, eventually settling on a "Good Vibes" theme. The Beach Boys were then paid $1.5 million to rework their 1966 hit "Good Vibrations" to blast in the Sunkist ads. The commercials feature well-tanned, beautiful blond folk frolicking by the beach — and of course, knocking back a Sunkist to soak in these sunny moments. These ads, which featured activities such as frisbee and football tossing, windsurfing, and ATV off-roading, help to further sell the California dream.

The campaign earned marketing success honors bestowed by Marketing & Media Decisions, a mention in "Marky" Mark Wahlberg's own song "Good Vibrations," and even an encore in 2007, with Gym Class Heroes covering the jingle on behalf of Sunkist. In his biography, aptly named "Good Vibrations," Beach Boy singer Mike Love admitted he didn't love the soda: "If I was driving my Range Rover through the Mojave Desert and it broke down, I would first drain my radiator fluid and drink that before I had a Sunkist."

In 1984, Michael Jackson was about to embark on a farewell tour with his band of brothers — The Jackson 5. They struck a deal with Pepsi to star in two commercials facilitated by the ad agency BBDO and "Beat It" music video director Bob Giraldi. One of those ads is probably best forgotten, as it resulted in an on-set accident that caught Michael's hair on fire and caused severe burns. The other ad wound up one of the best commercials of the decade.

The spot featured a group of youths, dressed up and dancing just like their idol, Michael Jackson. The best dancer of the group was played by Alfonso Ribeiro, who eventually moonwalked right into Michael himself. This causes shocked looks, a joyful dance-off, and plenty of sips of Pepsi, of course. It's all jazzed up thanks to an amazing, rewritten take on "Billie Jean." Jackson and his elder brothers pass the baton to the youth, to the tune of "You're the Pepsi generation / Guzzle down and taste the thrill of the day / And feel the Pepsi way." In the '80s, everyone was totally feeling that Pepsi way.

A figure appears in a hallway with his back to the camera, clad in a flashy red leather jacket. The person breaks out a familiar dance, and for a second, audiences probably thought Michael Jackson was at it again. However, this is a Diet Coke commercial, not Pepsi, and the figure reveals himself to be an overly game "Weird Al" Yankovic. Guess if you can't beat 'em, you have to get the guy who parodied "Beat It" with "Eat It."

While the ad also features the likes of musician Kim Carnes, comedian actor James Coco, and the animated "Ghostbusters" logo, the draw here is Yankovic. He pops up a second time, now playing himself and donning a more comfy Hawaiian shirt. He holds a Diet Coke in one hand and a slice of pizza in the other, taking the most exaggerated and quick bite of said pie. With so much hilarity in so few dedicated seconds, one wishes the entire ad were solely centered around him.

In the mid-80s, Dr. Pepper wanted to zero in on the core 13-25-year-old consumer market and turned to agency Young & Rubicam, which dreamed up some theatrical ideas based on popular works of sci-fi and fantasy. 32 million dollars were spent to create seven ads directed by Bob Brooks. The likenesses of Godzilla, Little Red Riding Hood, and even a "Star Wars" Mos Eisley-like cantina were ripe for riffing in these commercials, united under the message to "Hold Out."

One of the best of the bunch was centered around the Queen of Hearts from Lewis Carroll's "Alice in Wonderland." In the ad, the Queen is dismayed at being offered a generic diet soda, but thankfully, Alice comes to the rescue with a sugar-free Dr. Pepper. The attention to detail — especially the costuming and set design — was a thing of utter beauty. If only they made a full-length film.

Welcome to Earth — "sometime in the future," as viewed by Pepsi in 1985. In a setting that looks straight out of "Total Recall," an archeological professor played by Bill O'Connell takes his students on a tour of fossilized relics from the past, such as a baseball, and an electric guitar that was used to "gyrate in pain." Then they stumble upon a dusty item not even the professor can identify: A can of Coke. Get it? Burn.

Director Joe Pytka assembled top-notch talent to make this imaginative ad a reality, including artists and effects companies who worked on "Star Wars," such as Ralph McQuarrie and Apogee. Director Joe Pytka noted on his own website, "The commercial went on to win the Grand Prix at Cannes, and by some accounts, forced Coca Cola to change its formula and come out with 'NEW' Coke, that eventually became a marketing disaster."

"Ghosbusters" was the highest-grossing film of 1984, and its theme song topped the charts. Coca-Cola owned the company that released the film — Columbia Pictures — and took advantage of the popularity of both to create a whole new soda size: a 3-liter bottle called the Thirst Buster.

The theme song's singer, Ray Parker Jr., was drafted to sing the praises of giant new plastic bottle size, by tweaking the lyrics to: "You want to make a splash / You want to watch your cash / Who you going to call? / Thirst Buster / When your thirst is tall / Don't drop the ball / Who you going to call? / Thirst Buster / Don't be afraid of no thirst." The "Thirst Buster" 3-liter lived on shelves until at least 1997 before being retired.

In 1986, Mountain Dew played it cool with the new campaign "Dew It Country Cool." The ads all featured hip young people having the same types of fun that those Sunkist "Good Vibrations" kids were having at the shore, but in a more inland setting.

Watching monster trucks tackling rugged terrain, the simplicity of rope swinging into a river, or the cream of the crop – wakeboarding with the help of a horse – were all washed down perfectly with a can or glass bottle of the Dew. What really sold the visuals was the jingle: "Being cool, you'll find — is a state of mind, of refreshing attitude. Things get hot. Cool is all you got. Dew it country cool — Mountain Dew." Skateboarding legend Tony Hawk appeared in one of the ads, and reflected on Facebook: "I'm hoping that above all else, this will be our legacy."

Pierce Brosnan always oozed a certain air of charm and sophistication. He put those skills to work on the detective series "Remington Steele," and he seemed a natural to become James Bond. It was actually the show's network contract that prevented him from succeeding Roger Moore in 1986. While his moment would eventually come to play 007, his consolation prize at the time was essentially playing the secret agent in a series of Diet Coke ads; shaken, not stirred.

These ads truly showed the James Bond brass what they were missing with a literally well-suited Brosnan. He even did his own stunts, including one infamous ad where he rode on the side of a train going 40 mph to avoid a gang of ninjas. He sidesteps them and then magically appears inside a train car, with a Diet Coke in hand and a lovely lady by his side. It all wraps up neatly with Brosnan giving the camera a knowing wink.

In the '80s, "Max Headroom" was a slick, cyberpunk talking head, played by Matt Frewer. This digital character had his own TV show, graced the cover of Newsweek, and became a beyond-energetic spokesman for the fledgling New Coke product.

The "Catch The Wave" campaign was created by McCann-Erickson and ran for 3 years from 1985 to 1988. It featured spots directed by Ridley Scott, and cast such co-stars as Michael Jordan and Run-DMC. Dave Vadehra of Video Storyboard Tests Inc. told the Los Angeles Times in 1986 that, "After Mean Joe Greene, this is the best commercial that's come out of Coke."

The wise-cracking Max always spoke directly to his fellow Cokeologists, and tried to have them avoid saying the "P" word: Pepsi. All the ads were gems, but one of particular note was native only to Australia. Max catches a tanning sunbather off guard, telling her she doesn't seem to need much else ... besides a Coke. While the ads raised the profile of Max Headroom, both he and New Coke now seem like forgotten relics of a bygone time.

"(Sittin' on) The Dock of the Bay" is one of the most relaxing songs ever recorded. Sadly, Otis Redding never lived to see its success. He passed away in a plane crash a year before "Dock" became a number one hit in 1968, the first posthumous song to do so. He also never lived to see it reworked into the totally chill and catchy jingle that sold Hires Root Beer almost two decades later, to the tune of "Sippin' My Hires All Day."

In a 1987 syndicated column for Copley News Service, copywriter Chris Thompson perfectly summed up the phenomenon of using oldies in modern ads: "Music affects our emotions. And we feel when we hear music from the past, a different time in our lives." He added, "What advertisers want to do is cut through the clutter. They love to get you emotionally involved. The use of those classic songs is a real good device for doing that."

By the 1980s, 7-Eleven had long established itself as the go-to convenience store for a wide variety of wants and needs. Still, with competition in the air, it wanted to remind consumers of all it had to offer — including quality sandwiches and a robust selection of VHS rentals. In a series of eight ads drummed up by the agency Hill, Holliday, Connors, Cosmopulos of New York, the unifying theme was don't bother going to a million other places because 7-Eleven is "Where the good things come easy."

One of the eight ads centered on 7-Eleven's famous Big Gulp fountain soda, in its "Super" 44-ounce form. It showed befuddled customers inside Circle K, Burger King, Taco Bell, and McDonald's, mocking all these rivals for their lack of large sizes, tiny ice allowance, and how they didn't offer both Coke and Pepsi products. The thematically on-point ”It Don't Come Easy" by Ringo Starr played in the background, while a soft and assured voiceover by actor Edward Binns clued us all in that 7-Eleven is "where you can always get your favorite soft drink fixed by someone who knows just how you like it — you!"

Pepsi leaned on the talents of many celebrities in the '80s, with Michael Jackson as its leading figurehead. However, that didn't mean there wasn't room for more Michaels. Enter Michael J. Fox, who was already well-acquainted with Pepsi, having asked for a "Pepsi Free" in "Back to the Future." While there were several ads that employed his awkward, boyish charm, the best of the best was called "Apartment 10-G."

The spot sees Fox's beautiful new neighbor asking not to borrow milk, but a Diet Pepsi. Cue the "Danger Zone"-like music. Sadly, he's all tapped out at home, so he's off and running to find one in the rainy streets, dodging danger left and right. After finally obtaining one and handing it over, another beautiful roommate appears with the same thirst-quenching request. For Fox, some things are truly worth the trouble. The ad was a hit with viewers – it supplanted the "California Raisins" in popularity, and proved a critical darling by winning top honors at that year's International Film & T.V. Festival.

William Sanderson made quite a career as a character actor in the '80s. His signature role was the deadpan Larry on the hit TV show "Newhart," who inexplicably had two brothers named Darryl. Another fruitful source of income — and providing even more laughter — were his three delightful years as the key pitchman for A&W Root Beer.

His monotone delivery and folksy charm suited the ads perfectly, and saw Sanderson playing himself in a series of fish-out-of-water scenarios. These included being a lanky person surrounded by muscled-up folks at a gym, or poolside with a bunch of fancy people who like boring food and beverages. Sanderson told The Paducah Sun in 1989, "I'm scared to take myself too seriously."

One particularly funny ad saw a refined woman excited about a blind date with "a big Hollywood star," and slams the door when she sees it's Sanderson in a hunting cap and a bouquet of corn. Another classic found his child prodigy son, played by "Saved by the Bell" alum Dustin Diamond, inventing a Rube Goldberg-esque contraption that makes the perfect root beer float.

Pink was having quite a moment with teens in the mid-80s. Molly Ringwald dazzled with the color in the hit 1986 film "Pretty in Pink," and a year later, agency Leo Burnett U.S.A. posed the question "Isn't it cool in pink" to help launch the new Cherry 7Up line. Well before Steven Spielberg made a splash in "Schindler's List" with the girl in a red coat standing out amid black & white, 7Up worked a similar magic in this campaign with small flourishes of pink.

The monochromatic ads featured a typical boy-meets-girl narrative, with parts of their clothing tinted pink. The most memorable of the ads came in 1988, starring a pre-"Friends" Matt LeBlanc acting cool to win the heart of actress Terry Farrell. The launch of the soda went quite well, as it captured 1.7% of the market in just a year. That optimism fueled the release of a Dr. Pepper-like drink called 7Up Gold, which didn't end up being such a medal winner.

Tim Burton's "Batman" was a rousing success both on-screen and off, including merchandising such as a branded cereal that helped net an additional $500 million in retail sales. There were also mutually beneficial tie-ins, including a partnership with Diet Coke. While the brown cola didn't make a cameo in the film, Alfred the butler (Michael Gough) found time within his busy schedule to appear in a soft drink ad. This commercial was actually shot during the film's production on its London set, landing a marquee spot on the highly anticipated VHS release, as well as a marketing blitz on TV screens.

The plot of the ad found the stately Wayne Manor down to its last Diet Coke. The dutiful Alfred phoned ahead to the "Gotham Corner Store" to let them know a gentleman in a "rather difficult to miss" black car — aka the Batmobile — was on his way to pick it up. While Batman was busy running the errand, Alfred stayed at home enjoying the final DC at HQ. While purely a commercial venture (which helped subsidize the price of the VHS for customers), fans were happy to see any additional adventure from Tim Burton's new cinematic world.

After joining forces with Batman for a bubbly ad, Diet Coke teamed up with Indiana Jones for one of the decade's best ads. A longer version was to appear on the trilogy's home video releases in February of 1990, and a shorter one hit the airwaves in the 1989 Christmas season. Hot on the heels of the summer's "Last Crusade," Indiana Jones lent his likeness to an impressively staged commercial directed by Academy Award nominee Richard Rush.

It was hard not to be on pins and needles watching a woman take a break from her "Last Crusade" viewing to venture on "A Journey to the Kitchen," looking for something to drink while avoiding snakes, pitfalls, and booby traps. The ancient grail knight crusader from the film is heard uttering his famous line, "Choose wisely." After the woman finally procures a Diet Coke from the fridge — and is saved from impending doom by Indy and his trusty whip — the crusader chimes in again that after her harrowing experience, she "has chosen wisely."