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Before becoming the well-known soft drink, we recognize today, 7Up was first marketed in 1929 as Bib-Label Lithiated Lemon-Lime Soda (Click Americana Vintage & Retro Memories, 2023). Its most notable ingredient was lithium citrate, a compound that is still prescribed in modern medicine to treat bipolar disorder.
Lithium acts as a mood stabilizer and helps regulate emotions, but it carries significant health risks, strict contraindications, and potential drug interactions. For example, it must be avoided by people with severe kidney disease, cardiovascular problems, low sodium levels, or certain thyroid and calcium disorders (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, n.d.). Although lithium is FDA-approved for bipolar disorder, its exact mechanism of action remains only partly understood.
When Charles Leiper Grigg introduced Bib-Label Lithiated Lemon-Lime Soda in October 1929, just weeks before the Wall Street Crash, the inclusion of lithium fit within a larger trend. In the late 1920s, stock prices climbed to unprecedented heights as many families invested borrowed money in the booming market. But in October 1929 the market crash boom ended, and on Black Monday and Black Tuesday, stock values collapsed by nearly 25% in just two days. Prices continued to fall and by 1932, the market had lost almost 90% of its peak value (Richardson et al., n.d.). The Federal Reserve Bank of New York stepped in during the crash by lending to banks, lowering rates, and buying government securities, which helped keep commercial banks open and prevented a total financial shutdown. Many lost their life savings overnight, grew fearful about paying bills, and cut back on major purchases like automobiles, which were often bought with credit (Richardson et al., n.d.). As demand declined, businesses cut production and laid off workers. Rising unemployment fueled fear and uncertainty, transforming a stock market crash into a full-scale economic downturn that triggered the Great Depression.
At the time, many sodas and mineral waters were marketed as health tonics, claiming benefits for digestion, energy, and mood. The promise of mood-lifting effects was especially appealing during the economic uncertainty of the Great Depression (Richardson et al., n.d.). By 1932, advertisements even claimed that 7Up could neutralize acidity in the blood, “correct hangovers, and provide a restorative effect after alcohol consumption (Baccellieri, 2025). However, by 1948 lithium was banned from beverages in the United States, leading to the reformulation of 7Up into the lithium-free version still sold today (Click Americana Vintage & Retro Memories, 2023).
When 7Up was introduced in the rapidly evolving soft drink market, it was competing against drinks like Coco-Cola and Pepsi. Coca-Cola was introduced in 1886 by pharmacist John Pemberton and originally contained coca leaf extract, which included trace amounts of cocaine, along with caffeine from kola nuts. Though it was marketed as a remedy for headaches and fatigue, the cocaine was removed by 1904 amid tightening regulations and public concern (Donovan, 2014). Pepsi, created in 1893 as Brad’s drink and renamed Pepsi-Cola in 1898, was marketed as a digestive aid, containing sugar, caramel, lemon oil, nutmeg, and kola nuts, but never cocaine. By the time 7Up appeared with lithium citrate in 1929, Coca-Cola had already removed its controversial stimulant, while Pepsi was positioning itself as a sweet, refreshing cola (Donovan, 2014).
In its fight to compete with Coke and Pepsi, 7UP launched the Uncola campaign, which turned its differences from colas as a marketing tool. 7UP was promoted as a refreshing, health-oriented soda and from 1967 to 1985, the famous Uncola campaign, developed by the J. Walter Thompson agency used posters featuring surreal and psychedelic art that appeals to the rebellious spirits emerging during the hippie movement (Donovan, 2014). Though its role in the soda market has shifted over time, 7Up has continually adapted and rebranded. Its existence in the current market is a reminder of how sodas greatly impact social movements and have shaped tastes and trends far more than most people realize.