This soda isn’t great — it’s not even good; it’s just OK. OK Soda was a short-lived canned soft drink produced by Coca-Cola from 1993 to 1995. The slogan was simply “Things are going to be OK,” and the product only ran in nine select test markets, as did the jaded post-modern advertising that targeted Generation X. The black-and-white cans were emblazoned with cartoon faces designed by “Ghost World” graphic novelist David Clowes and included tiny stories, which were dubbed “coincidences.”
There was even a 1-800-I-FEEL-OK hotline, where callers answered true or false prompts and could record their own stories — a disclaimer stated that “your comments may be used in advertising or exploited in some other way we haven’t figured out yet,” according to an article by Michael Shulman reprinted in a McSweeny’s book.
And then there was a physical chain letter with coincidences, where OK-Soda lovers could write their own story and pass it on. Some of them appeared on one of OK Soda’s television commercials. Some vending machines with OK Soda included prize cans, which included a t-shirt or hat, along with some change for a real soda.
Everything about OK is weird, but also brilliant. It’s the kind of advertising that just doesn’t happen today, but would have a greater chance of succeeding if it did so. Had OK Soda come out 20 years later, it probably would have been more than OK.
