- - - Note:  This listing will only run for about 60 days each in the summer and the winter.  During the spring and fall it will not be offered while the seller is away and not able to ship any purchased items. - - -

NOTE:                    - - - Please see my many other 7Up UnCola billboards and posters for sale from the same era and award winning ad campaign. - - -  

If you're looking for a specific image and don't see it listed, please contact me since I have a number of other stunning #7UpUnCola billboards and posters that have not been photographed & processed, but will eventually be for sale. 

21" x 11" 7Up UnCola original vintage paper poster/poster offer

Title/Nickname:  "Un Un And Away" (aka: zeppelin, blimp).  Reverse side is a Poster Offer with 13 images

Illustrator:               Bob Taylor was an art director at the J Walter Thompson [advertising agency].  He also illustrated "The Youth Fare" (biplane) image.   

Rainlap Code #:     70-2 per the Rainlap Diagram on the back side of upper left panel A1 of my 21'x10' Size A billboard* version.  It was therefore the 2nd image issued in 1970 near the very beginning of The UnCola ad campaign.

Year:                      1970 (see copyright date in the bottom left corner - images 5 & 6)

Size:                       21" x 11" (= 53.34 x 27.94 cm) - 'Locker' Size D

Copy Number:        #2 of 2   This is ONE of only TWO known copies (maybe 3 at the most) of this image in this size with the text added.  The other premier copy #1 of 2 is in my collection and has less browning.  Finding one at all, and in this condition is a rare opportunity to own a piece of advertising and graphics history.

Poster Offers:         My collection of billboard and poster offers make NO MENTION of this variant of the butterfly image.  It was likely meant to be attached to the sides or rear of a 7Up delivery truck and was therefore not offered to the general public.  The simpler version of Butterfly & Bottle without any text was offered in 21'x10' billboard Size "A" ($8.50), 5'x3' Subway Size "B" ($2.50) and 34"x21" poster Size "C" ($0.75).  Copies in Size "A" & "C" are more commonly available, but any Butterfly version in Size "B" is extremely rare.  I don't even have the simpler version after 13 years of looking - the one copy I've seen got away from me.  The expiration dates of the 5 poster offers* I have are 12/31/69, 5/31/72, 9/1/72 & 6/30/74.  Prices ranged from $8.50 for the billboard down to $0.50.  The number of potential surviving copies of this image is extremely small.  - -  - UNBELIEVABLY RARE - - -   

Printed Signature:    Look for her signature under the bottom left wing.

Condition:                Very Good.  The poster paper is unusually thick and has soft uneven folds at about 8" on center and it has browned more than my other premier copy that I'm retaining, more noticeably on the left and right thirds.  A water bath and linen backing by a professional poster restorer could likely wash the stains out and make this poster really shine again.  There are two instances of paper lose at 1cm x 2 cm each.  One is in the bottom left corner and the other is along the right edge near the top.  There are 7 instances of tape residue on the back about 2" long.  The tape was removed long before I came to possess it.  There are no other modifications.  

This poster:

Image 1 is a composite image showing both sides of the poster:  the "Un Un And Away" (zeppelin) on the front side and the poster offer on the back. 

Image 2 is the front side of the poster.

Images 3-6 are closeups of the 4 corners and edges starting in the upper left corner.

Image 7 is the back side with the poster offer.

Images 8-11 are closeups of the 4 corners and edges starting in the upper left corner.  Please note that the calendar offered is for 1970. 

Image 12 is a double page spread featuring Bob Taylor and this image.  It came from a 1971 or '72 American Contemporary Graphics booklet* featuring many of "The UnCola" artists.

Image 13 is a double page spread from a Simpson Lee Paper quarterly "Dimensions" booklet* which was dedicated entirely to "The UnCola" ad campaign.  It dates to about the Fall of 1973.  Pages 3-4 features this image along with 2 others.  There are several documented errors in the artist attributions in this booklet.  Bill's wife, Pat Dypold was the most prolific of The UnCola artists and confirmed to me face-to-face that this was not done by another colleague (Ed George) as stated.

Image 14-22 are various billboard and poster offers that expired between late 1969 and 1974 that feature this image in several sizes.  Prices ranged from 21'x10' billboard Size A down to 21"x11" 'locker' Size D ($8.50 - $0.50).

"The UnCola" story: 

My listings come from the largest, one-of-a-kind collection of 7Up UnCola posters and billboards in the world.  To learn more about this award winning ad campaign, search for in-depth articles by Collectors Weekly (Collecting 7Ups Most Beautiful Hallucinatory Billboards), Dangerous Minds (The UnCola 7Up And The Most Psychedelic LSD Friendly Ad Campaign of All Time) or DJ Food's (7Up The UnCola Posters) blogs.  Alternately, search <7Up UnCola> on flickr dot com and you'll quickly find out more about these art competition winning advertising images issued in the late 60's & early 70's: 

These outdoor ads (billboards) were commissioned by the J. Walter Thompson [advertising] Co. of Chicago (JWT) between 1969 and the mid-1970's.  I consider them the "Midwest Mad Men".  Most of the 54+ extremely colorful billboard & poster images were illustrated by invited outside freelance artists who were allowed to sign their names on the originals if desired - not all did.  If their design was selected, they received $2,000 for the final artwork.  My collection includes at least one each of over half of the billboards and only my duplicate copies are being offered for sale.  A few images were produced in-house at JWT, and never with the artist's name on them.  JWT wisely chose to invite only up and coming artists and not well known graphic stars so as not to let their notoriety overshadow the 7Up product itself.  FYI - Peter Max did NONE of the 7Up posters, contrary to popular belief.  This famous ad campaign increased sales by 30% in a short time and rescued Seven Up from near bankruptcy.  Since then they've lost their fizz.

Many of the artists have gone on to great fame in the graphics community Milton Glaser (I [heart] NY logo) (Mad Men final Season 7 poster; co-founder of Push Pin Studios), Seymour Chwast (co-founder of Push Pin Studios) with Isadore Seltzer (Push Pin), John Alcorn (Push Pin), Barry Zaid (Push Pin), Kim Whitesides, Jacqui Morgan, Simms Taback (1st Happy Meal Box in Smithsonian & Caldecott Honor for children's books), Skip Williamson (underground comics), Robert Abel (1st Tron movie animations), Charlie White III (permanent collection at MOMA), John Craig, Ray Lyle, Heather Cooper, Nancy Martell, Roger Chouinard, Pat Dypold, Bob Taylor, Tom Kamifuji (original rainbow logo for Apple), Bill Bosworth, Ed George, Joanne _ and probably several others. 

From time to time Seven Up offered other billboard and poster images to the general public for prices ranging from $0.50 to $1.50 for posters and $3.50 up to $8.50 for billboards.  My collection also includes a number of billboard & poster offers that helps me to pin down issue dates.  

Check out this recent 69 second 7Up Vintage Limited Edition Art Series video that features several 7Up UnCola images from my collection: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fd8EonCcyAs  

0:31      "Butterfly & Bottle”

0:33      "The UnUsual”

0:35      "UnCanny In Cans”

0:36      “See The Light”

0:40      “# Un In The Sun”

0:41      "Wet Un Wild”

Check back regularly to see my rotating stock of other poster offerings, including many more smaller 7Up UnCola posters.

- - - Please note that ALL of my images are "All Rights Reserved" and are posted for educational purposes only.  Please do the right thing and contact me in advance if you wish to discuss the use or reuse of my images and provide a link to my originals.  I would also ask that I be given a "first look" at any 7Up UnCola billboards or posters before you market them to the general public in return for my extensive investment in time, money and research, including interviewing some of the surviving artists.  Thanks, and enjoy. - - -

This is a vintage item and is not in perfect condition.  Please view all of my high resolution photos and contact me if you would like to see any more.  Shipping will be to verified addresses only.  A Delivery Confirmation may be required.  International sales will be shipped via eBay's Global Shipping Program only.  International buyers are responsible for all import fees, taxes and customs delays and I will not mark this as a "gift" to circumvent import fees.  

Local pick-up in Dallas, TX is OK (contact me before paying). 

* = As a clarification, this listing is for one vintage poster.  All other objects included in the listing photos are for reference only unless noted otherwise.  Shipping will originate from U.S.A. Zip Code 75287.