The discs I've shown recently were from 1977. MSA also produced discs in 1976. In 2012 I did a post on the 1976 Isaly's Ice Cream discs. In addition to Isaly's, there were at least eight other retailers that partnered with MSA. I've been working on adding a few more of those. In most cases, the checklist and the fronts of the discs are identical. The backs vary from sponsor to sponsor.
Today's 1976 disc set was given away by Towne Club Pop Centers. This is a very Michigan thing, as Towne Club had most of their sales in Michigan. It's also a midwest thing, because Towne Club sold pop, not soda or cola or coke.... it is pop.
Towne Club sold their pop at their own retail outlets. You'd walk into the store and grab a wooden crate that could hold 24 12-ounce glass bottles. Then you'd select the bottles of the flavor you wanted from their selection of over 40 flavors.
The retail stores closed in the 1980s, but the brand is still available today. Their website says you can buy their pop at all major retailers in Michigan, but I haven't seen Towne Club at the Mejier, Kroger, or Walmart in Sturgis. We are in the far south part of the state, so maybe they don't want to come all the way down here.
You don't have to guess who the sponsor is with the back of the Towne Club disc.
There were five Cubs in the 70-disc set, the same five with each of the brands.
Pop? Man, that was a BIG debate from my childhood when we would meet up with my cousins in northern Indiana. They were pop people and I was a soda supporter. I never heard anyone refer to all "pop" as coke until much later in life... but when I did I thought it truly strange.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, 40 flavors is truly amazing! I'm sure they had the standards (cream soda, cola, root beer, and orange), but do recall any of the others they had?
Here's a list of their current flavors (not as many as back in the 80's):
ReplyDeleteCurrent flavor offerings include Orange, Peach, Cola, Grape, Tropical Punch, Strawberry, City Rush (Their version of M.Mist/M.Dew), Vanilla Cream, Michigan Cherry, Strawberry Melon, Mango Orange, Root Beer, Honolulu Blue (Cream Soda, Honolulu Blue is the team color of the Detroit Lions), Pineapple Passionfruit, and Gingerale along with the three recently introduced new flavors Michigan Berries, Tiger Citrus Punch and Lion Energy.
Towne Club might call it pop... but I'm a soda guy. But I'd definitely try their Pineapple Passionfruit pop. It sounds amazing!
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