maga force or mega farce?

it’s nice to see some sesquicentennial shit that’s not partisan…

…or is it?

having driven convertibles for over fifteen years i have a habit of parking at gas pumps. why? because ever since the early aughts, when gas prices got even higher than they are right now, gas stations all installed cameras over their pumps to prevent theft. when you drive a car with the top down, you know you can park at the pump and your car is on camera the whole time lest someone get a little nosy and try and dig through your shit.

i’ve busted someone doing that before.

but when i parked by one the other day the ad over the pump caught my eye – it wasn’t this overtly patriotic, so try and picture this, with the “‘merica” factor dialed down a notch or two, and jet stop logos added in…

while i shy away from sugar free stuff (sue me, but most of the artificial sweeteners they used just make everything taste like a big ol’ can o’ chemicals to me) i do love a good strawberry lemonade, and when i brought it up at the house later it turns out nik had tried and liked it, so she grabbed me a can on the next grocery run and i’m trying it now.

not too bad in the flavor department…

…but the pics online just show what i put above, and that is leaving a LOT out of this packaging art campaign. holy shit there’s a lot:

so, on the one side we’ve got fireworks, and eagle in american flag aviators and a usa trucker hat, and a monster truck flying the stars and stripes as well…

and on the other a blonde cheerleader version of lady liberty, peddling “liberty lemonade”, popping out of yet another waving ‘merican flag, this time being carried by what can best be described as george washington’s head drawn atop he-man’s body, riding a harley, which is atop uncle sam (also drinking lemonade) while tubing.

it’s admittedly a little much at 8:15am. if your average redneck fireworks stand was squeezed into a juicer, this is the can that would hold the contents.

flavor-wise, it’s not bad, although for some reason i didn’t expect it to be carbonated. it does taste a bit chemically, and more like a strawberry mike’s hard lemonade (no booze in this, tho) than a standard convenience store lemonade.

but back to the can, man…

i can’t decide if it’s meant to cater to the maga crowd or if it’s meant to be an ironic dig at them. nik said, and i agree, it kinda works on both levels. so, i guess, whichever was the intent of the monster corp on this one, well done?