The true origin of the 7 UP name has never been fully disclosed; rumors include that creator C.L. Grigg saw it branded on a cow, the drink contains seven flavors, and the name is somehow related to a game of dice. One thing is certain, if 7 UP had retained its original name, Bib-Label Lithiated Lemon-Lime Soda, this profile would never have existed.

By all accounts, 7 UP should never have made it past its first year. Introduced two weeks before the stock market crash in 1929, the drink was more expensive than the hundreds of other similar drinks in the market. And, as noted, the brand’s original name inspires consumption of a more suspicious than conspicuous nature.

But by the 1940s 7 UP was the third bestselling soft drink in America. A cherry flavored version was introduced in the 80s alongside the already-existing diet version. 7 UP’s “no caffeine” claims also boosted the brand during the health-crazed 80s when confusion about diet and nutrition reigned. After a brief rest under the Philip Morris flag, 7 UP merged with Dr. Pepper and both were later added to London-based giant Cadbury Schweppes’ stable.

The one-word definition of 7 UP’s strength can be traced back to 1967, that’s the year the brand hit upon a brilliant little bit of strategy, declaring itself the “Uncola.” This differentiation perfectly fit the beverage’s brand image, and, as a bonus, was completely true. With Coca-Cola and Pepsi as the dominant soft drink brands, 7 UP offered a great alternative to brown sugar water.

Today, however, if 7 UP were a therapy patient, it would be diagnosed with an acute personality disorder with schizophrenic tendencies most likely owing to paranoia. In the face of fierce competition from Sprite and others, 7 UP launched the “Make 7 UP Yours” campaign in 1999. The double entendre-based strategy (meant to emphasize the “Up Yours”) no doubt comes from some genius having told company leaders that vulgar fart humor is the way to a tween’s pocketbook. It is a far cry from the tasteful and clever “Uncola” tagline of years past.

Granted, it is hard to fault 7 UP given the fact that within the beverage market, from beer to soda to water (even water!), there seems to exist the sentiment that sincerity is a sucker’s game and snarky excessiveness and in-your-face impertinence is the way to woo consumers. The only exceptions seem to be fruit juice, which regularly features children actually genuinely enjoying its product instead of pouring it all over their faces while they make out with two Swedish bikini team members plummeting from an airplane without a parachute, and Coca-Cola, which is so iconic now as to be above the fray.

The bigger problem is 7 UP’s new twin product dnL. Introduced in 2003, dnL is 7 UP turned upside down, lowercased and squished together without a space. Upon first seeing the new logo on a bottle or can, one immediately thinks that there must have been an error at the canning plant. And indeed, many people may buy one because they think it might be a valuable collector’s item one day. Well, it may be, but only for the same reasons that cans of “New Coke” are collector’s items.

Much like 7 UP, dnL is also featured in brazen ads, one featuring what appears to be a leprechaun in need of anger management counseling. Consulting the dnL website to find out what the difference in the two products is one finds: “dnL is from the makers of 7 UP, but it is everything 7 UP isn’t. Take 7 UP and flip it upside down and inside out, you get a green beverage in a clear bottle with a bold full flavor and a kick of caffeine.”

The obvious argument, apparent to anyone, is that if dnL is “bold” and it is everything that 7 UP is not – flipped, inverted, etc. – then that means that 7 UP is timid, or, in more generous terms, subtle. But if that is true, then the “Make 7 Up Yours” campaign is way out of place in differentiating these two products. Both 7 UP and dnL are being marketed in the same “X-treme” way. This leads to the unmistakable observation that maybe there really is no difference between the products, except for a neat gimmick where the logo itself was reversed. And in case 7 UP hadn’t noted KFC’s very brief “healthy eating” campaign, a brand strategy founded on a gimmick is doomed. Nobody likes to hear the same joke over and over again, especially when it was only moderately funny the first time.

DnL in and of itself is not a bad idea as part of a larger campaign to promote the 7 UP brand. But as the name of not only a separate product, but one that also seems to be so similarly promoted, it just comes too close to the original; like having an Elvis impersonator open for Elvis himself.

Abram D. Sauer, former columnist for The China Daily and co-founder of Chopstickfactory.com, lives in New York and welcomes freelance opportunities.