History repeats itself... There are no new ideas… Everything old is new again… Sure, we get excited when we have custom meal kits delivered to our homes or when we see amazing food in farmer’s markets and grocery stores near our homes. But food marketing has been around for a really long time. Today we discuss a couple of popular approaches from yesterday that continue to reappear in pop culture today: Charles Chips and fruit crate labels.

Did you ever look at a building with a business inside and think, “Yeah…that totally used to be something else” and wonder how you knew that? You know, the jewelry store that used to be a pizza parlor or the drive-up coffee shop that was once a spot to drop off film are peppered in towns all across the country. Today we’re talking about a couple of businesses that, in their respective heydays, could be found in shopping centers and strip malls everywhere.

There are visual icons that have symbolized professions for so long their origin stories are unknown to the very customers served by them. These independent businesses are owned by all kinds of people serving millions on a daily basis throughout the world, all using these same basic signs outside their establishments. We're discussing barber poles and pawnbroker balls, two icons that, unless you’re truly in the middle of nowhere, you can find within minutes of where you live, work or both.

We were lucky enough to have Donovan Beery of the long-running design podcast The Reflex Blue Show pull up a stool next to us. We talk about some of our shared pop culture influences, listening to vinyl (and the creative opportunities record albums afford) and where we go to find inspiration (hint: Wikipedia addictions). We also found out Reflex Blue was inspired by bar conversations as well!

There are some products so iconic that you know what they are as soon as you lay your eyes on them. The color, the shape or some other distinctive brand feature says, “Accept no substitute. There is no equal.” Pour yourself a drink on the rocks, kick back against the bar and listen as we uncork the stories of the bottles from Coca-Cola and Absolut Vodka.

Video may have killed the radio star, but it poured gasoline on the spark of New Wave. As MTV exploded, youth culture moved to center stage and companies making wearables were more than happy to cater to changing tastes. In this episode we focus on Vans and Swatch, a couple of iconic fashion accessories found on the wrists and feet of Gen X.

If New Wave was a style and attitude, television was how it was delivered to the masses. In this episode, we talk about two important touchstones during one of pop culture’s signature eras: the launch of MTV and the debut of Miami Vice.

If New Wave was a style and attitude, then music was the delivery device. In this episode we discuss the political climate, creative activity and DIY attitudes that led to the formation and rise of one of pop culture’s signature eras.

As we work on research for our upcoming season, we’re not going to leave you waiting at the bar. Grab your beverage of choice and enjoy the specials from our archives.

In this episode, we discuss two educational products that were found in the pages of comic books for, literally, decades. It’s the rubber chicken, everyone’s favorite prop, versus the timeless humor of the whoopee cushion. Don’t sit on this one. We’re all about to learn a thing or two…

In this episode, we discuss two educational products that were found in the pages of comic books for, literally, decades. It’s Charles Atlas and his Dynamic Tension versus the guidance of Art Instruction Schools. Grab a drink. We’re all about to learn a thing or two…

In this episode, we discuss two educational products that were found in the pages of comic books for, literally, decades. It’s Sea Monkeys versus the Ant Farm. Buckle up. We’re all about to learn a thing or two…

Andy Warhol once said, “The key of the success of Studio 54 is that it's a dictatorship at the door and a democracy on the dance floor.” We begin this episode with Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager on the evening of April 26, 1977 as they open the doors to Studio 54, smack-dab in the middle of the glitter and grime in and around Midtown Manhattan.

In this episode we continue with the second half of our conversation about Warhol’s anti-films. We talk about lonesome cowboys, sexploitation, screen tests, and how the Factory scene was ripped off for a much more mainstream Oscar-winning movie — which didn’t make Andy very happy.

The Factory scene produced all sorts of art, including films. We start with Warhol’s anti-film Sleep and dive into underground movies from the period and The Factory’s influence on them.

Andy Warhol elevated music album art to a new level. Building on our last episode, we talk about Andy’s influence on other "special" treatments of albums that make having the real thing worth the effort. The Rolling Stones make an appearance.

Beginning with the backstory of one of the most iconic albums of all time, 1967’s “The Velvet Underground and Nico,” we return to The Factory scene as it was becoming commercially successful—but no less of a sideshow—as musicians come calling for new ideas or simply hipster art cred.

We reached out to Kate Christensen after reading an article she wrote about marketing and nostalgia. We talk toys, food and childhood memories among many, many topics. So grab your favorite feel-good drink and join us in the bar.

This episode wraps-up the chronicle of The Factory’s downward slide. Drella has made the scene at The Factory and there has been some fallout. A script entitled “Up Your Ass” led to Andy Warhol barely cheating death at the hands of its author, Valarie Solanas.

This episode begins the chronicle of The Factory’s downward slide. If you work with and entertain people living on society’s fringes, things happen…some good, some not so good.