Zima was the cool kids drink back when it was first introduced in the mid-1990’s. You couldn’t go to a high school…err…college party without the crystal clear beverage being seen.

However, by the early 2000’s it was as out of favor as new “malt beverages” like Smirnoff Ice, Mike’s Hard Lemonade and Bacardi Silver began to take over the “malternative” craze created by Zima in the first place.

Things got so bad for the original that the brand was shut down in 2008. But, nostalgia being what it is…and young people being prone to shiny marketing campaigns, the original is about to be back on the market. MillerCoors owns the beverage’s rights and they are about to launch a whole heap of nostalgia on us for a “limited time only.”

Of course, as with just about any “limited time only” campaign, if things go well we could see the brand back. After all, the retro Miller Lite cans and logos were originally for a limited time. Only after sales skyrocketed did those “limited time only” releases become full-time releases.

Asking Zima to skyrocket and be anything more than a passing fad is asking a lot. Heck, the beverage only is sold in Japan for a reason.

Then again, most of us remember Zima as the horrific experience that it was so let us not fret that it actually will make a full comeback. Even in the midst of the “malternative” craze, Zima was seen as the worst of the bunch. Check out this review from Slate back in 2002:

The forebear to today’s bumper crop of malternatives gets marks ill-befitting its trailblazing heritage. Its taste was likened to soap, really bad sake, rotten Sprite, fermented Robitussin, and “decay.” The most positive comment: “Bubbly, nice. … I said ‘I like this one.’ People asked what’s wrong with me.”

That flies in the face of the image it was sold under. You know, as “zomething different” and definitely classy…very classy.

By the time it was off the market, Zima was a joke of a brand and horrific drink all rolled in to one. Even the people at MillerCoors remember it as a joke by the end. Pete Coors, the vice-chairman of the board of directors of MillerCoors had this to say to AdAge back in 2012:

“We decided to do Zima Gold, which was a huge disaster,” Mr. Coors said. “And then we decided to take the nice fluted bottle and make it into a generic bottle. We killed the brand, frankly.” He added: “We got too clever by half [with] marketing.” Of course, the “marketing guys will tell you that it was somebody else’s fault,” he said with a laugh.

It was such a joke that even our own staff has used it as a way to insult each other throughout the years.

 

So, perhaps there really is hope for Zima becoming a sponsor for us here at The Comeback after all. Then again, it may just kill those who weren’t “lucky” enough to experience the drink in all of its glory back in the day.

Of the things to come back from the 1990’s, why this? It’s about the only thing that should never have come back…well that and hammer pants.

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About Andrew Coppens

Andy is a contributor to The Comeback as well as Publisher of Big Ten site talking10. He also is a member of the FWAA and has been covering college sports since 2011. Andy is an avid soccer fan and runs the Celtic FC site The Celtic Bhoys. If he's not writing about sports, you can find him enjoying them in front of the TV with a good beer!