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May 25, 2012

I was never a coffee achiever - VIDEO

by Bob Sassone, posted Sep 4th 2006 11:02AM

CoffeeWow, I remember this ad like it was yesterday (though I don't drink coffee, I'm a tea guy), and looking back at it now, it's quite deranged.

It's the "Coffee Achievers" commercial from the mid 80s. It's all about how everyone - including famous celebrities! - can get things done in life by just drinking coffee! The celebrities include David Bowie (he really did look like a fashion mannequin back then, eh?), Kurt Vonnegut, Heart, and...Cicely Tyson? I guess she was one of the top stars of 1984. Or maybe just someone who really likes coffee.

How odd is this ad? Replace the word "coffee" with the word "caffeine" or "speed" and see what you think. It's basically saying, "hey, take this legal stimulent and you'll succeed!"

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Mark

Funny story behind that commercial - in many ways, it was the impetus to some of the pioneers in the specialty coffee movement (the folks concerned more about quality, and less about the caffeine hit) to amp up their game and really start promoting themselves as something culinary.

By the 1990s, the specialty coffee moment was starting to really take off (no, I'm not talking about Starbucks). The "attitude" by the big four companies in coffee (P&G, Kraft, Nestle, Sara Lee) promoting a buzz and a wake up drug continued, but the public was being exposed more and more to a beverage that not only kept you alert, but could tingle and tempt the taste buds with a myriad of flavours.

September 04 2006 at 3:47 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply

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