Pop or soda, retailers stay neutral in linguistic debate

National retailers don't change advertising to reflect regional preferences in describing soft drinks

July 03, 2010|By Wailin Wong, Tribune reporter

It's an issue that has divided Americans for generations. Pop or soda?

The Midwest, and northern Illinois in particular, is a "pop" stronghold, though it's the term of choice in other areas of the country, including the Northwest. Supervalu Inc., the parent company of Jewel-Osco, calls one of its private-brand soft drinks in the Northwest "pop."

More typically companies seem to avoid choosing.

Wal-Mart, for example, markets "soft drinks." Walgreens usually tacks the word "products" onto a brand name, although it does occasionally show a preference for "soda."

In the South, where Coca-Cola has its Atlanta headquarters, residents use "Coke" to describe all kinds of carbonated beverages.

What's the origin of the word "pop"?

Richard Cameron, a professor and sociolinguistics expert at the University of Illinois at Chicago, hails from southwestern Pennsylvania, where his great-grandfather founded a "pop" company in 1889 that was family-run until about 10 years ago. The glass bottles used by Cameron's great-grandfather in the early 20th century contained a rubber cork.

"When someone would buy a bottle of 'pop,' in order to drink it, they would have to push the rubber cork back into the bottle," Cameron wrote in an e-mail. "Upon doing this, the bottle would make a popping sound as the gas inside the bottle escaped. I am told by my father, who remembers this, that the name 'pop' comes from this popping sound."