CENSORED SECRET - OOPS! BURP!
I spilled the secret or was it so fizzy that it came out on its own. Ye Andar Ki Baat Hai** – Hey! How is that possible? Either I have the product wrong or the caption wrong? Of course both are right because:
*Some drinks are only fun,
On the tongue
And others also give a zing,
*When they go in
All the Thums Up lovers by now would be knowing pretty well what I am talking about.
I remember my sweet childhood days when we had few choices – Thums Up / Gold Spot / Limca and Campa Cola and I used to pick up the Thums Up bottle just for that sensational feeling I used to get in my “Tummy”, which as per scientific reasons I came to know later, was due to the high Carbon dioxide content, but then who cares. That feeling was always more important for me.
Thankfully after a few “BIG FIGHTS” and a forgettable past we now once again have “HAPPY DAYS ARE HERE AGAIN”. Although somehow Coca Cola has not been able to bring back that old Thums Up completely. Is still scared or is it still trying?(see background and history)
It was once the largest selling and most popular drink in India and some claim it is due to its betel nut flavour. I really don’t know whether that’s true and could be that’s why it’s so loved in India.
I remember those childhood days, collecting Thums Up flickers with Sunil Gavakar batting and my all time favourite Kapil Dev balling and watching cricket matches and singing the song “Happy days are here again”, coined by then famous copywriter Vasant Kumar. Later the caption was changed to "Taste the thunder!". But for me Thums up was always and will be:
- Ye Andar Ki baat hai
- Toofani Thanda
- Thanda matlab Thums Up
- Choice of the New Generation(can’t say should say Old Generation)
Taste– Strong fizzy Cola taste
Utilities and Misutilities: Right from Drinking and getting those(indecent) Burps Thums Up can be bought to many good uses.
1. Quench your thirst
2. Good for diabetics when there sugar falls. A high calorie drink.
3. Good for Gastric problem – The first word from my Momma’s mouth – “Thoda sa Thums Up pee lo”. Extremely good I ‘d say and no one gives a better relief.
4. To clean blood stains(all colas that way have been labelled bad).
5. Street fights(not recommended)
6. Celebrations – substitute for Champagne for spilling around.
7. Saves marriages – see concluding remarks
8. Any other suggestions are most welcome.
9. Cakes, Floats, Mocktails and Cocktails:
Well I am no expert in this field but there is only one drink Thums Up for which I sacrifice my daibetes and health. Here are a few options for you to do the same.
i. Have it just as it is
ii. Desi Drink – With Black Salt and lime – Neebu aur kala namak ke saath – I love it
iii. Rum and Thums Up: The names go together. Drawing on its strong taste qualities and with more power packed into it than other colas, it is a favourite in Rum based Cocktails and the byword “Rum and Thums Up.”
iv. Soda Shop Cola(non-alcoholic) - a delicious cherry flavored cola with lemon wedge for garnish
v. Roy Rogers(non-alcoholic) - cola with grenadine and maraschino cherry for garnish
vi. Long Island Iced Tea - For the hot summer nights – gin, , rum, tequila, vodka, sour mix, splash of cola and garnish with Lemon slice
vii. Float - With Vanilla or any Ice Cream you love
viii. With Crushed Ice for a veru hot day
ix. Thums Up Cola Cake – https://cookingcache.com/dessert/cocacolacake.shtml
x. Add it as and when you like - “Swad Anusar” as they say and there are many more
Packaging and Price: Its not very different from other similar drinks and od course its not a USP for most of them. The prices are seasonal and go dwon rock bottom in winters.
1. Glass Bottles – 200ml, 300ml, 500ml, 1000ml – Rs 8.00 onwards
2. PET Bottles – 500ml, 1500ml, 2 ltrs, 2.25 ltrs. – Rs 15.00 onwards
3. Can – 330ml – Rs 28.00-38.00
4. Fountain – Customized – Rs 10.00-25.00 can go upto Rs 55.00 in movie halls
Advertizing : McCann Erickson handles the same and the brand has been re-positioned as a “manly” drink now and we all know lately our Akki "Tashan" Bhaiya is advertising the drink(for Macho reasons). How many of us still miss the 3B - Bold Bipasha Basu?
Background and History(with a few snippets from Wikipedia): During late 1970s, the American cola giant Coca-Cola was banned by the Indian government. Following this, the Parle brothers, Ramesh Chauhan and Prakash Chauhan, along with then CEO Bhanu Vakil, launched Thums Up as their flagship drink in 1977. Thums Up was basically a cola drink, but surprisisngly the company never claimed it as such.
In 1990 when Pepsi was launched Thums Up came up with a “BIG FIGHT” and the size was also changed from 250ml-300ml and we had the fortune of having “Maha Cola”but then came 1993 -One of the saddest years of my life when Parle gave up its triangular fight between Thums Up, Coca Cola and Pepsi and surrendered and was bought by Coca Cola for a measly US$ 60 million. Ramesh Chauhan supposedly attributed it to the fact that he did not want to overburden his daughter.
Coca Cola re-entered India and to promote its brand nearly killed Thums Up but soon realized that Pepsi would benefit more than Coke if Thums Up was withdrawn from the market. Instead, Coke decided to use Thums Up to attack Pepsi. The Coca-Cola Company by this time had about 60.5% share of the Indian soft-drink market but much to its dismay found out that if it takes out Thums Up, it would remain with only 28.72% of the market(according to a report by NGO Finance&Trade in India), hence again dusted out the Thums Up brand and re-launched targeting the 30 to 45 year olds
To conclude A BIG THUMBS UP TO THUMS UP and ya, I love Thums Up also because it is the only thing my wife and I agree upon. So in my case it’s a binding force in our marriage. Thanks Thums Up. It acts a s a glue too(but only in relations).he he.BURP.BURP.SORRY