1969 21'x10' 7Up UnCola Psychedelic John Alcorn billboard poster soda ad sign

Description

Giant 21' x 10' 7Up UnCola original unused vintage paper billboard
NOTE:                    Please see my many other 7Up UnCola billboards and posters for sale
Title/Nickname:    "UnCanny In Cans"
Illustrator:               John Alcorn
Rainlap Code #:     69-6 per the Rainlap Diagram on the back side of upper left panel A1
Year:                      1969
Number of Panels:  12
(each panel is 43" wide x 59" tall with 1" overlaps at interior edges to shed rain water)
Assembled Size:     21'-1" x 9'-9"      (= 253" x 117", or 643 cm x 297 cm)
Copy Number:         2 of 2 in my collection.  I'm only aware of about half of a dozen total copies in existence so this is - - - EXCEPTIONALLY RARE - - -.
Printed Signature:    l
ocated in the bottom center brown band
Condition:                Near Mint.  There is typically one tiny thumb tack hole in the top right and the top left corners of many of the panels, indicating that it may have been briefly displayed.  There are a few slight separations (1/2" to 1.5") at the most creased fold lines (these were all originally shipped folded).  There's no paper loss, no tape added, no notable imperfections or any other modifications to this giant 51 year old poster.  A couple of top center edges may be slightly thin.  The colors are amazingly vibrant.
This billboard:
John Alcorn
was the 4th member to join the prestigious "Push Pin Studios" co-founded by Seymour Chwast,
Milton Glaser and Edward Sorel.
http://pushpininc.com/about/pushpin/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Alcorn_(artist)
There are numerous derivative works generated using the rainbow, bordered flowers and sunburst pattern.  Many are erroneously and blindly attributed to Peter Max, but Max did ZERO posters for Seven Up - just an insulated cooler late in the campaign.  This graphic has also been reformatted for various other smaller poster sizes using different aspect ratios.
Image 1 is a Photoshop re-creation of what some really lucky viewers could possibly have
seen months before the Woodstock Festival in August of 1969
.  Secure these rare and colorful advertising artifacts in advance of the media hype sure to
precede the joint joint 50th anniversary of "The UnCola", the first Walk on the Moon and Woodstock this year (1969 - 2019).  The actual double billboard structure in the background image is located in the trendy "Crossroads" area south of downtown Kansas City, MO.  The vintage
"3
0-sheet"
structures
are the same size and proportions as my vintage paper billboards so they make excellent digital backdrops for displaying my billboard collages.
Images 2-4 show
some of my 34 unique billboards* from this ad campaign being displayed in a hotel atrium in 2011 at my high school reunion to give the buyer a sense of scale.  Look for the other billboards in my other eBay listings.
Image 5 is a photo collage of one of my 2 remaining full size "UnCanny In Cans" billboards.  In reality the colors match perfectly across all 12 panels, but the light meter on my camera is easily tricked causing some variation from panel to panel.  This is my last copy for sale as I've already sold off a couple of other twin copies over the years.  This is the best one short of my premier copy #1.
Image 6 is double page spread featuring John Alcorn and this image in a 1971 or '72 American Contemporary Graphics booklet* featuring many of "The UnCola" artists.
Image 7 is a double page spread from a
Simpson Lee Paper quarterly "Dimensions" booklet* which was dedicated entirely to "T
he UnCola" ad campaign.  It dates
to
about the Fall of 1973.  Pages 9-10 (7th photo*) featured this billboard image along with other ones by Milton Glaser (Like No Cola Can) and Pat Dypold (Tastefully Yours).
Images 9-11 show a Size "A" billboard offer* and a smaller "Fallpaper"
34" x 21"
poster set offer*, both with 12/31/69 expiration dates.  The former was the only time this image was ever offered to the general public in the Size "A" billboard format as far as I can tell.  Therefore the number of potential surviving copies is greatly diminished
.
I'm only aware of a few other twin copies (some of which I've previously owned and resold) in addition to the 2 in my collection so this is - - - EXCEPTIONALLY RARE - - -
Image 12 is my own set of 4 framed 34" x 21" "Fallpaper" posters* that cost only ONE DOLLAR back then (see my other listing on eBay).  The 2 images on the right were also by Pat Dypold.
Each of the 12 offset lithographically printed paper panels (6 panels wide x 2 tall) is 43" wide x 59" tall with 1" overlaps strategically placed to shed rain water when mounted per the rainlap diagram printed on the back side of upper left Panel A1.  The panels are VERY vibrant, well preserved and do not appear to ever have been displayed (other than the 2 tiny thumb tack holes per panel mentioned above).  Small initialed registration marks can be seen in the corners of the individual panels if you look closely.  Those helped the printers properly align the paper as it passed over each of the Cyan, Magenta, Yellow & Black (CMYK) ink rollers.
"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 ,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 {{detail_product_description}}.50 to .50 for posters and .50 up to .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 billboard only consisting of multiple panels.  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.