We, As Kitsch-Lovers, Approve of OLIPOP’s New Retro-Cool Hotel Rooms

Leave it to a soda brand to bring me the kitsch hotel stay of my dreams. OLIPOP — as in, yes, the prebiotic soda company that has us addicted to its gut-friendly facsimiles for root beer, cream soda, and Hawaiian Punch — has decided to enter the world of unique hotel stays by launching a series of retro-inspired, themed, ephemeral hotel rooms in Austin, Texas. And as my coworker and I confirmed to one another on Slack, “the rooms are actually so cute.”

Feast your eyes on my personal favorite, crowned the 2002 Cherry Cola Suite:

It feels like no collaboration is off-limits in this new era of chaos marketing (see: the new Tresemmé hot sauce), and while a lot of these food collaborations balloon into surrealist territory that steers them away from brand authenticity, I’m absolutely here for the fantasy that OLIPOP is pitching us, which is that of a “Time Travel Agency” takeover of the Austin Motel from June 24 to July 8.

As OLIPOP explains, “guests can enter for a chance to win one of three immersive, soda-inspired suites [that bring] an OLIPOP flavor to life through the lens of a different decade.” In addition to the Cherry Cola Suite, there will also be a 1986 Cream Soda Suite decked out in pastel stripes, neon lights, and retro arcade details…

… As well as the 1995 Strawberry Vanilla Suite, which pays homage to OLIPOP’s (honestly very taste) Strawberry Vanilla prebiotic soda, and is described by the company as having “all-pink everything and ‘90s maximalism at its finest.”

All of the rooms feel inspired by theatrically decorated, vintage-inspired hotels and motels like the iconic The Madonna Inn (as seen in many a photo shoot and music video), upstate New York’s The Roxbury (known for its coconut-cream-pie-themed room), and the numerous themed couples’ hotels in the Poconos. Over the years, Airbnb and other brands have offered elaborate, raffle-based themed hotel stays — often, to promote the likes of Hocus Pocus 2 or Shrek (the latter of which had an incredible swamp set-up), so it’s actually nice to see another company throw its vacation hat into the ring in a way that doesn’t feel haphazardly inauthentic. It has also been a big year for soda, from the ‘dirty’ concoctions of Mormon wives to Addison Rae’s earworm “Diet Pepsi” — which evokes a smart branding nod to Britney Spears’ 2000s partnership with the company (even if Spears was adamant about not drinking diet Pepsi, “just regular Pepsi”).

In any case, I will absolutely co-sign the creation of more kitsch hotel rooms, particularly when it feels like America’s own retro love hotels are increasingly going out of business.

Will OLIPOP continue to dip its toes into more experimental — and experiential — marketing techniques à la Liquid Death? Time will tell if the company veers into similar shock marketing territory, but I hope it stays the course of curating activations with identity coherency. Oh, and shag rugs.

by Francky Knapp