The company had its share of ups and downs — including bankruptcy in the 1920s — but it bounced back during the Great Depression with a clever offer: a 12-ounce bottle for the same five cents competitors charged for half that size. That bargain made Pepsi a household name, and it never really left.
From there, the brand grew up right alongside American culture. Pepsi was a lunch-counter staple in the 1940s, a picnic and beach-day companion in the 1950s, and a familiar face in TV ads by the 1960s. Each decade brought new slogans and promises, some of which are pretty funny to look back on today. In the 1950s, for example, Pepsi was pitched as the drink that would help keep you slim — because nothing says diet plan like a soda with sugar.
That mix of ordinary moments and eyebrow-raising claims is part of what makes Pepsi history fun to revisit. It was there in the background of family dinners, teen hangouts and road trips, all while advertising itself in ways that now feel more like comedy than persuasion.
Below, we’ve collected vintage Pepsi clippings from across the decades so you can see the arc for yourself: the humble pharmacy beginnings, the nickel bottles, the “modern” diet promises, and everything in between.
Pepsi-Cola: The drink that puts the sun out of business (1907)
PEPSI-Cola is an absolutely pure combination of pepsin — that’s what your stomach needs these days — acid phosphate and the juices of fresh fruits.
PEPSI-Cola invigorates, refreshes, creates a healthy appetite and prevents sleeplessness without being of itself in the slightest degree “heavy.” Say PEPSI-Cola to the Soda Fountain — 5c — and beware of imitations.
Vintage Pepsi-Cola ad – Old-fashioned soda fountain (1908)
If you want the best drink at the fountain, say PEPSI-COLA to the soda man. The coolest summer drink for hottest summer days — the most delicious and refreshing too.
“My! Pepsi makes me feel ready for a good day’s work” (1916)
Nothing to put you in prime fighting trim — to make you feel like work — like Pepsi Cola.
Clears your mental decks for action — exerts just the bracing and invigorating effects needed to start the day right and keep at top speed through the long afternoon.
For all thirsts, Pepsi-Cola
One of the times to say Pepsi-Cola… to your “friend wife” (1916)
Just when you get home in the evening, after a long, hot, sticky day — and you’re tired and thirsty — that’s the time to say “Pepsi Cola” to “friend wife.”
That long, thin, tinkly “ice-bergy” glass just seems to sharpen up appetites for dinner…
Pepsi Cola is the drink for you cartoon (1947)
Why Pepsi-Cola keeps you slim (ads from the 1950s)
Ask any modern woman how she arranges to stay so slim and trim — and she’ll probably credit her same choice of lighter food and drink. Today’s Pepsi Cola fits right in with this modern diet trend. Reduced in calories — never too sweet — today’s Pepsi refreshes without filling.
Pepsi-Cola: Such fun to be with (1956)
It’s the wonderful people around you who make this such a great time to live in. Such lovely, slim-waisted women! Such lean, good-looking men!
Thanks to today’s sensible eating habits, today’s active people keep their waistlines slender — and feel fine. Their up-to-date taste is for the lighter, less-filling foods and drinks. Pepsi-Cola goes right along with this sensible trend in diet…
Pepsi: Refresh without filling (1956)
Glance in the mirror, lovely lady. Be glad you’re so slender, so easy to dress, so admired wherever you go. Then take time to bless your own good sense for making you what you are.
It’s your modern taste for the lighter, less-filing foods that give you that slim waistline — and keeps you always feeling fine and fit for fun. Pepsi-Cola goes right along with the wholesome trend in diet. Today’s Pepsi, reduced in calories, is never heavy, never too sweet. Have a Pepsi and refresh without filling.
Have a Pepsi — the modern light refreshment.
Today’s active people for the light refreshment (1958)
The modern sun-lover loves — and follows — the modern trend toward lighter food and drink. And the results are astonishingly slim, trim and beautiful.
Pepsi-Cola, of course, is the favored refreshment here. Today’s Pepsi, reduced in calories, is never heavy, never too sweet. Have a Pepsi and refresh without filling.
Footloose and fancy-free with the light refreshment (1958)
Ever so smart, so debonair (1959)
What’s so fair… so brimming with trim, good looks and vitality… as today’s up-to-date Americans? They favor the new light look. And everything in the land reflects their preferences.
Move toward the light look. Look smart. Stay young and fair and debonair. Be sociable. Have a Pepsi — the lighter Pepsi of today, reduced in calories.
The sociables prefer Pepsi – Vintage ad (1960)
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- Includes 12 (24oz) cans of Pepsi Cola Soda Pop
- The bold, refreshing cola born in New Bern, NC in 1898 and still bottled in the USA
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- 10 count of Pepsi 7.5 ounce sleek, mini cans—little cans, epic satisfaction
- The bold, refreshing cola born in New Bern, NC in 1898 and still bottled in the USA
- Perfect for parties, meals, and celebrations big and small
- Includes 6 (16.9 fl oz) bottles of Pepsi Cola Soda
- The bold, refreshing cola born in New Bern, NC in 1898 and still bottled in the USA
- Perfect for parties, meals, and celebrations big and small
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