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Ever wondered what's with 7 Up's red dot? So, I was scrolling through reddit (as usual) when this post caught my attention. Apparently, 7 Up used to market itself in the U.S.A with an anthropomorphized red dot complete with sunglasses and sneakers, who built on the brand's former rebellious positioning as a clear (that is, uncoloured) fizzy drink. No joke, Fido Diddo wasn't the only kid in on the action: Check out some of the Spot merch you could get your hands on back in the day. Images from https://geekygorevan.co.uk/ (check it out if you're looking for a bit of nostalgia) Google 7 Up spot and the first result even leads you to Spot: The Video Game, although there’s apparently another platform shooter titled Cool Spot, both featuring the little red dot. In the reddit post (link here), platform user u/Hammerschmidtjen points to the fact that 7 Up saw its market share decline following a decision to abandon Spot from its marketing materials. I'm not too sure about that though - so much could have affected 7 Up's hold on the market in all those years… But reading the whole little story does make me wonder though: Do mascots really make that much of a difference? An overly-optimistic idea of what happens on the train? I mean, I'm sure many of you (of a certain vintage) remember Singa the Lion of Singapore Kindness Movement fame, but do you feel like The Thoughtful Bunch have made any difference to courteous behaviour on public transport? What other brand or cause could use a mascot? Images courtesy of Wikipedia, LTA. - Clarence