RC Cola is Better than Pepsi or Coke, by Q. Reyes – Artistic Warfare #66
April 18, 2010 Q. Reyes 0 Comments
There’s no denying that RC Cola tastes better than Pepsi or Coke. This is a fact that discerning soda drinkers throughout the world have known for many years. What’s the problem? Marketing.
RC Cola doesn’t have the money to hire the Michael Jacksons, or Britneys, or Shakiras or animate cute polar bears and run propaganda campaigns on television. They don’t have the connections to partner up with the McDonald’s or KFC’s of the world in order to sell their beverage.
RC Cola is for real people. Real poor people. You know why? Because their price is right, but their quality is better. I’m not saying Pepsi or Coke don’t have their valid merits – they’re beverages that get the job done, as well. I’m speaking of people buying into marketing rather than true taste.
For example, Shasta is a “no-no” even for poor people. Even though their price is right too, there’s something extremely suspicious about .99 cents for 8 gallons of soda. The math just doesn’t add up. On top of the price being suspiciously low, if you don’t drink your Shasta 4-liter within 2.2 seconds of opening it, it goes flat. Not just flat… but disgustingly flat.
I’m hoping not to offend anyone with my observation today, and I hope my Shasta comments weren’t too harsh or politically incorrect. I could dig in deeper and start calling out other sodas, such as Walmart’s American Fare or Big K soda (from the east coast), but I think I’ve ruffled enough feathers with crowning ROYAL CROWN as the ultimate soda for the working class.
Royal Crown Soda– the official blue collar drink!
Martha Thomases
April 19, 2010 - 4:38 am
And what about people with no collars? What are we supposed to drink? Or don’t you Hollywood types care about Real Americans?
Alan Coil
April 19, 2010 - 9:50 am
I grew up with RC Cola. Nostalgia tells me it WAS the beat.
Royal Crown Cola also seemed to have more carbonation than Pepsi and Coke. I once had to stop mid-belch because it was time to breathe. That was one long belch.
R. Maheras
April 19, 2010 - 2:10 pm
Well, at least Alan and I agree on something. I also grew up drinking RC Cola, and even today, it’s a nice carbonated diversion. In that regards, it’s just like Green River — my other childhood soft-drink favorite.
To me, RC always seemed sweeter than Pepsi (which, in turn, is sweeter than Coke). It also seemed to go flat faster than the other two bigger-name colas.
The thing about both RC and Green River is they were a rare treat in my childhood household. There would be one 16 oz. bottle divided amongst us five kids — with some left over in the refrigerator after the rationing was done.
Which is why when I was finally old enough to get a paper route, one of the first things I did when I first got paid was buy as much pop and candy as I could possibly eat. And after I got that out of my system, I used my dough to buy comics — what else?
Vinnie Bartilucci
April 19, 2010 - 4:54 pm
I was involved in the PR campaign for Royal Crown Draft Cola, which was designed to look more like a beer bottle label. Needless to say it got reamed by the Well-Meaning Busybodies. It tasted pretty good.
RC, and more specifically, Diet Rite soda is quite good. Their tangerine flavor is very popular with The Wife and is sweetened with Splenda and thereforw doesn’t give her taste buds the heebie-jeebies.
Mike Gold
April 20, 2010 - 9:55 am
When it comes to Green River, I’m right there with Russ. In fact, in a couple hours I’m going to a grocery store in Westport CT that imports the stuff — in bottles, no less. Along with (sigh) Dad’s Root Beer.
As for RC… I LOVED the stuff when I was a kid. I was pissed when the old Wimpy’s chain dropped it for Coke. Either RC disappeared, or I did: it isn’t available out here in the northeast. But a couple months ago, Adriane and I were in Chicago at Challengers Comics and Conversation (a great store on the near-northwest side) and we stopped at one of those usually awesome hot dog / Italian beef shacks nearby. Whereas they had Coke signs outside, they served RC on-tap inside. Adriane and I were very excited about that.
We tasted the stuff. My daughter was born in 1975, I was born in 1950. We both agreed it tasted exactly the way we remembered it as kids. Exactly. But we didn’t care for it as much as we had. Decades of Coca-Cola drinking, I think.
It’s possible to get bottled Coke with REAL cane sugar. It’s usually imported from Mexico and sold at Mexican groceries, but you can often find it in Kosher-For-Passover sections at the appropriate times (which just passed). Now THAT’S as close to the Real Thing that is permissible… under law.
R. Maheras
April 20, 2010 - 10:57 am
RC and Green River are still available in the major grocery stores in the Chicago area, and the Bristol Farms food store chain in Los Angeles sells RC Cola. As a matter of fact, I bought a six-pack of RC the other day at a nearby BF branch.