You know the Spot was cool.

Kane & Lynch was a fun game, if you ignore all of the flaws it had the story is really good, which is why I’m currently playing it’s sequel. No spoilers on the game please, I just barely avoided spoilers for the first game. Anyways on to the topic.

The 7Up Spot or Cool Spot as it was called first appeared in the late 80s as the mascot for 7Up.  Ever since it’s debut it has been the main star of 7Up’s commercials from the late 80s to the mid 90’s. His characteristics include his shades, gloves, sneakers, and high pitch voice that’s almost like an anonymous creature. Most of these commercials either shows one or several spots turning a glass of cola into a glass of 7Up. While other commercials show these guys forming into the logo on a can of 7Up after doing either mischief or play games when no human is stirring about. Other than a large collection of commercials, this character received red carpet treatment for video game adaptions. Making him one of the fewest soda mascots to have his own video game. Or in this case a quatrilogy of games ranging from mini games to slide scroller adventures.

First video game of Spot.

Cult Classic Game

Keep in mind I never played these games, so I’ll only mention what I know about them from descriptions and youtube gameplay videos. In the first game it was simply titled “Spot: The Video Game” which is actually a 7Up version of the game reversi(A British strategy board game) which seems unusual for them to pick that for a theme on the 7Up Spot. I mean it be as awkward as having the game revolve on Spot playing a game of Cricket when average Americans have no idea how the sport is played. Anyways for Spot’s first game it was released for the NES & Gameboy at the time of its release in 1990. It was also released for the Amiga, Atari ST, & DOS computers. Ya, I know real old school computers right there. Reminds me of my first computer I got before getting a Windows 95, and been a Windows user since then. So for Spot’s first video game appearance, one could either say cool or weird.

In 1993, just three years after it’s predecessor, “Cool Spot” was regarded as Spot’s best video game appearance making it a legendary cult classic. This time it’s a slide scrolling game where Spot must rescue all of his other spot buddies by roaming around and kill various enemies with his soda bubble powers. Which I admit is a pretty cool idea for an advertisement game, make one wonder what the production was like for this game. That would be a great interview if I was able to get a hold with any of the staff members. The music for this game was composed by Tommy Tallarico who is famous for making music for video games. For that the game won some awards which is an achievement even for a game based off of an advertisement. This game was made for the Super NES, Sega Genesis, Master System, Game Gear, Amiga, & Game Boy.

Last GB game for Spot.

Running with the Oscar!

The last two games are called “Spot: The Cool Adventure” & “Spot Goes to Hollywood”. “Spot: The Cool Adventure” was only made exclusively for the Game Boy. While the Hollywood one was made for the Sega Saturn, Sega Genesis, & PS1. For his final adventure it was decided to have him be stuck inside a film projector and go through every cliché genre and story you can think of that’s already been accomplished in the 80’s Chipmunks, Tiny Toons, Muppet Babies, and just to name a few. After the release of that game, Spot was soon fading out of 7Up’s advertising campaign. It’s a real shame cause he’s one of the fewest soda mascots to make a bigger impact on the public than any other soda mascot. Now and days 7Up seems bare without that Spot(not to be confused with the plain old red spot on their logo). I don’t drink the soda unless it’s the only thing available to drink. If 7Up considers bringing back Spot, then I might have a reason to drink 7Up again. So to wrap this article up enjoy this haul of every Spot commercial I could find on youtube.

References:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spot:_The_Video_Game

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cool_Spot

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spot:_The_Cool_Adventure

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spot_Goes_To_Hollywood

http://www.vintage-computer.com/ibmpcat.shtml