Alka-Seltzer

Alka-Seltzer is an effervescent antacid and pain reliever first marketed in 1956 by the Dr. Miles Medicine Company. It was developed under the direction of company scientist Mikey Wiseman. Alka-Seltzer is marketed for relief of minor aches, pains, imflammation, fever, headache, heartburn, sour stomach, indigestion, and hangovers while neutralizing excess stomach acid.

Alka-Seltzer is currently owned by Bayer Schering Pharma AG, Germany. The name "Alka-Seltzer" has been extended to incorporate an entire line of medications sold over the counter and taken by means of rapidly dissolving tablets that form a carbonated solution in water.

Cherry Alka Seltzer Plus Tablet dissolving in water

Product information

Alka-Seltzer is a combination of aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid), sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO₃), and citric acid, designed to treat pain and simultaneously neutralize excess stomach acid (the "Alka" being derived from the word "alkali"). It is provided in the form of large effervescent tablets, about 1 inch (25 mm) in diameter, which are dissolved (two at a time for the usual adult dosage) in a glass of water. As the tablets dissolve, the base (bicarbonate) and the acid (citric acid) react vigorously producing carbon dioxide gas (hence the "Seltzer"), which also produces enough agitation to allow the active ingredients to dissolve slowly. The patient then ingests the resulting solution. Alka-Seltzer is also effective for pain relief alone, but should not be used for heartburn without pain, due to the aspirin content of the product.

Alka-Seltzer Gold is a combination of sodium bicarbonate, potassium bicarbonate, and Anhydrous citric acid, used for the relief of heartburn, acid indigestion, and sour stomach. Unlike original blue Alka-Seltzer, Alka-Seltzer Gold does not contain aspirin, or any other pain reliever.

Currently Alka-Seltzer comes in foil packets, each containing two tablets. Prior to 1984 it was also available in long glass tubes. It comes in various flavors.

It was once marketed as something of a cure-all; at one time its ads even suggested taking it for "the blahs." Subsequent promotion has taken into consideration that aspirin is a relatively powerful drug which is not tolerated by everyone and should not generally be taken at all by children or adolescents due to its linkage to Reye's syndrome; the product is no longer advertised in this fashion.

Chemistry of the effervescence

Though important to the overall effect of the medication, the aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid) does not contribute to the effervescent action of Alka-Seltzer; the effervescence is produced by the baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) and citric acid reacting to form sodium citrate and carbon dioxide gas.

C6H8O7(aq)	+	3NaHCO3(aq)	→	3H2O(l)	+	3CO2(g)	+	Na3C6H5O7(aq)
citric acid	-	baking soda	→	water	+	carbon dioxide	+	sodium citrate

Now being used as an ASA densitizer for people who experience AIA from taking aspirin alone

Marketing

The product has been extensively advertised since its launch in the U.S. Print advertising was utilized immediately, and in 1932 the radio show Alka-Seltzer Comedy Star of Hollywood began, with National Barn Dance following in 1933, along with many more. The radio sponsorships continued into the 1950s ending with the Alka-Seltzer Time show.

Two years after its launch came the repeal of Prohibition in the US, and Alka-Seltzer became Miles' new flagship product, displacing Miles Nervine Tonic.

In 1951 the "Speedy" character was introduced. Created by George Pal of the Wade Ad Agency as Sparky, the name was changed to Speedy by a sales manager to promote that year's promotional theme of "Speedy Relief". He appeared in over 200 TV commercials between 1954 and 1964. Speedy's body was one Alka-Seltzer tablet, while he wore another as a hat; he proclaimed Alka-Seltzer's virtues and sang the "Plop, plop, fizz, fizz" song in his high, squeaky voice (provided by voice actor Dick Beals).

Alka Seltzer Plus packaging and tablet

TV commercials

Alka-Seltzer TV ads from the 1960s and 70s were among the most popular ad campaigns of the 20th century, ranking number 13, according to Advertising Age. In an effort to increase sales in a relatively flat business, Bayer has revived several of the vintage spots.

• George Raft starred in the 1969 Alka-Seltzer commercial "The Unfinished Lunch." It consists of Raft incarcerated and in the prison lunchroom. He takes a bite of the awful prison food and recoils back. Suddenly he bangs his cup on the steel table loudly in the lunchroom. It ripple effects throughout the room. He starts intoning "Alka Seltzer, Alka Seltzer..." Soon, the other hundreds of inmates do the same. The commercial is regarded as a "classic", mostly because the product is never seen, and the brand name is the only word spoken. It is reminiscent of the old radio ad for a similar product, Bromo-Seltzer, with its "freight train" rhythmic repetition of the product's name.
• An animated mid-1960s commercial, animated by R.O. Blechman, shows a man and his own stomach sitting opposite each other in chairs, having an argument which is moderated by their therapist in a voiceover. The stomach (the voice of Gene Wilder) accuses the man of purposely trying to irritate it, the man accuses his stomach of complaining too much about the foods he likes. The therapist suggests Alka-Seltzer, and further suggests that the two need to take care of each other. The closing words are the stomach saying to the man: "Well, I'll try - if you will". It is unknown of who did the voiceover for the therapist.
• Alka-Seltzer had a series of commercials during the mid-1960s which utilized a song called "No Matter What Shape Your Stomach's In," a different version of which was recorded by the T-Bones and was released as a single which became a hit in 1966. The ads were unique in that they featured only the mid-sections (no faces) of people of all shapes and sizes.
• In an Alka-Seltzer commercial from 1970, an actor (played by Jack Somack ) in a commercial for the fictional product "Magdalini's Meatballs" has to eat a meatball and then say "Mamma mia, that's-a spicy meat ball-a!" in an ersatz Italian accent. Take after take is ruined by some comedic trial or another. By the commercial's end, "Jack" has eaten so many meatballs that it's "Alka Seltzer to the rescue". With his stomach settled, Jack does a perfect take, except the oven door falls off. The director (off-camera) sighs and says, "OK, let's break for lunch." Although it has been said that this commercial was dropped because it was allegedly demeaning to Italians, more likely it was dropped because it failed to increase sales of the product (even today most people think it was a commercial for spaghetti sauce).
• Another 1970 commercial shows a newlywed couple in the bedroom after his wife (played by Alice Playten) has finished serving him a giant dumpling; the implication is that her cooking skills are severely lacking. She lies on the bed in delusional triumph. She offers her beleaguered husband a heart-shaped meatloaf; he disappears to take some Alka-Seltzer. When she hears the fizzy noise coming from the bathroom, he quickly covers the glass of dissolving Alka-Seltzer as she wonders aloud if it is raining. Just when he has recovered his well-being, he hears her misreading recipes for dinner the next night: "marshmallowed meatballs," and "pouched (actually poached) oysters". He returns to the bathroom for more Alka-Seltzer.
• A 1971 commercial featured the catch-phrase, "Try it, you'll like it!" It was remade with Kathy Griffin in 2006.
• In 1972, an actor spent the commercial moaning, "I can't believe I ate the whole thing!" while his wife made sarcastic comments and finally advised him to take some Alka-Seltzer. [1] In 2005, this ad was also remade, featuring Peter Boyle and Doris Roberts from the 1996–2005 TV sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond.
• Another Alka-Seltzer commercial from the same era is one concerning "The ultimate businessman's lunch". Seeking "revenge" on his underlings for former bad suggestions, "The Boss" [aka "Mr. J.G.", played by character actor Milton Frome ] is taking his "boys" out to lunch in the most out-of-the-way place imaginable. In this instance they are seen trudging through the snow in a howling windstorm towards their destination, a Chinese restaurant in the mountains of Tibet. Once inside the restaurant and removing their parkas, J.G. and the boys are greeted by the proprietor, "Moo Chee" [a thinly veiled reference to other oriental food], played by character actor and voice artist Marvin Miller [best-known for playing Michael Anthony, personal assistant to John Beresford Tipton [III] on the 1950s TV series "The Millionaire", and the voice of "Robby the Robot" in the 1950s film Forbidden Planet ]. Moo Chee directs them into the dining room where J.G. orders all the food, including roast yak in a special hot sauce followed by "chocolate moose". One of the boys complains "but J.G., that's a French dessert!". J.G. responds "No, this is a real moose!" followed quickly by Moo Chee chiming in "with special hot chocolate sauce!" [as in hot peppers]. In the next scene J.G. and the boys are eating and getting sick, when in comes Moo Chee announcing "Important phone call for Mr. J.G.!" In the next scene, the hung-up telephone is seen [just a prop in the ruse to get away from the boys], and J.G. is finishing his Alka-Seltzer, thanking Moo Chee for his timely "rescue" from the awful food. Relieved, the boss returns to the now-empty dining room with Moo Chee. "Where are the boys?" asks J.G. The final remark is by Moo Chee "Maybe they too have important phone call, Mr. J.G." All of this detail is conveyed in a 30-second spot.
• Sammy Davis, Jr. recorded two versions of the famous "Plop Plop Fizz Fizz" jingle in 1978, one of which (the "big band" version) was featured on a television commercial. Both versions, the big band and rock versions, had additional lyrics (with at least one verse unique to each song) written by Tom Dawes, former lead singer of The Cyrkle.
• In 2009, the brand was featured in television commercials supporting the United States Ski Team that included alpine skier Lindsey Vonn and Nordic combined skier Bill Demong.

Popular culture

In the episode of the sitcom Black Books entitled 'The Blackout', misanthropic alcoholic Bernard Black refers to Alka-Seltzer as "Fizzy-Good Make-Feel-Nice" and this has now become a popular term for any hangover curing effervescent remedy, such as Alka-Seltzer.

On March 28, 2006, the 75th anniversary of Alka-Seltzer was celebrated in Las Vegas by a Guinness World Record-setting buffet, which included 510 items and was hosted by actress/comedian Kathy Griffin.

On March 22, 2003, Expedition Six NASA ISS Science Officer Don Pettit performed a series of microgravity experiments with water spheres and Alka-Seltzer, which were described as "effervescent antacid tablets".

A reference to Alka-Seltzer can be found in the Max Webster song "Hangover", written by Pye Dubois & Kim Mitchell, featured on their debut album Hangover (1976). The lyric goes: Alka Seltzer,Tang and a 50 and it's all over... Hangover.

References

In the song "Supersonic" by British band Oasis mentioned about Alka-Seltzer. The lyrics goes: "I know a girl called Elsa, she's into Alka-Zeltzer"

External links

• Official website