Misconceptions: 107 Years in Detroit

Detroiters live and breathe their city and aren’t afraid to let people know. We are one of the most misunderstood wonders and cultural experiences that would have outsiders dumbfounded at how wrong

they were. Our products, our people, what we have to offer, it’s almost always glossed over because media outlets ignore or only report on negative things coming out of Detroit. You can’t even search for “Detroit pictures” without getting the worst of the worst:

Think about it: What are the last big stories you’ve heard come out of Detroit? Probably something related to:

Bankruptcy

Kwame Kilpatrick

Being the most dangerous city in America

Leaving Michigan and mentioning where I live – a mile road – I’d get asked, “Oh you live in the ghetto?” or “Have you met Eminem or Kid Rock?” or “Are you a Juggalo?” These stigmas prove that no one really knows much about Detroit. That’s why it’s our duty to flip what misconceptions about Detroit you may have.

FAYGO

If you’re not from Michigan, you mostly attribute Faygo to a Horrorcore rap group. They waste delicious Faygo by showering it on fans during concerts. Every single time I mention Faygo when I travel I get asked if I’m a fan of them. I’m 100% certainly not and harbor nothing against fans. However, Faygo is my choice pop — soda to other parts of the country — to drink, so having one thing get brought up time and time again about a fantastic product needs to end here.

Dawn Burch, a Marketing Specialist at Faygo, spoke to us exclusively to give us the scoop on the soda wizardry they create, the company history, and what misconceptions people have about Faygo:

Socal Underground: Can you give us and people that don’t know much about Faygo a quick background of the company?

Dawn Burch: Founded in Detroit in 1907, Russian immigrant brothers and bakers, Ben and Perry Feigenson, began playing around with the idea of creating soft drinks based on their frosting flavors. They bottled their soda – which they called “pop” because of the sound it made when the cap was removed. The brothers developed the Feigenson Brothers Bottling Works, but they changed the name to Faygo in 1921 because “Feigenson” was too long to fit on the labels and moved the business to Gratiot Avenue in 1935, which is still used today. The brothers ran Faygo until the mid-1940s, when they gave the company to their sons. Faygo was sold only in Detroit and Michigan until the late 1950s.

SU: What do you think is the biggest misconception people who have who have never tried Faygo?

DB: First, that the product is only available in Detroit. We have been based in Detroit for 107 years and have no plans on moving, but we are actually an internationally sold product. Faygo is distributed in 49 states and in parts of Canada. I get several emails about consumers finding the product in places like Australia, too. However, since we are based here, it is significantly easier to find Faygo in Michigan and the Midwest than other parts of the country.

Another misconception is that Faygo is a “niche drink.” We are really fortunate to have a diverse consumer base who came to know Faygo in many different ways – whether you were born in Detroit, remember drinking Faygo when you were a kid, were introduced by a friend, artist or through pop culture, or you stumbled upon a delicious sounding flavor at your local store. Lucky for us, most of our consumers become extremely loyal fans of the brand and we wouldn’t be around for 107 years without them!

SU: What flavors among Faygo’s massive selection would you recommend to first-timers?

DB: You really can’t go wrong with Rock & Rye or Redpop, our flagship flavors. With about 60 flavors to choose from, there is really something for everybody. I have to give a ton of credit to our newest flavor, Cotton Candy, which has been hugely successful this year. The flavor and aroma is spot on and makes a really delicious treat for all ages.

SU: Rock & Rye is one of my favorite pops to drink. Do you think that Faygo is looked at negatively because it’s relatively inexpensive?

DB: Yes and no. Some people have a negative association with an inexpensive drink as being low quality, but we really pride ourselves on having a value brand with exceptional quality. We keep our marketing strategies pretty simple so that we can keep the costs down on the product itself and are able to offer a wide array of products at an affordable price. We believe that our consumers know that our quality is not compromised in in order to keep costs low.

Putting out a quality product without overwhelming marketing and having it be successful is rare. Beer companies with inferior products need to market a lot and even resort to marketing the package it comes in. They have to pump money into their advertising campaigns to keep people coming back to their products when the reality is that their product is bad and tastes like the can it comes in.

Think about it: They keep trying to top each other with new special types of bottles and cans, new versions of the same type of beer, and new mixed versions of beer and something else. If a product is good, the business will show up without any gimmicks.

Now that you know the real history of Faygo, you’ll see them in a better light, grab a few off the shelf, and try one of their 60 flavors. You won’t be disappointed.

THE CITY LOOKS LIKE A NUKE WENT OFF

Every city has houses that looks like the game Simcity 3000 was left unattended for too long and everything went gray. Take this house in Detroit for example:

The thing about that is the photo is actually from Camden, New Jersey. All big cities have an area that look like post-Hiroshima. It’s just that Detroit is on display more for it more than any other.

If you go to California, you can see similar “ghetto” areas where the houses don’t seem as bad. Why? Weather! Rain is not as big of a problem in places like Los Angeles, either is snow.

You take an abandoned house that was ravaged by years of Winter weather and of course it will look like it’s from an episode of Life After People.

What you don’t see is the beautiful Detroit:

It’s easy to take something out of context. The media has taken the worst of Detroit and made it seem like that’s all there was. Detroit is known for a bad image but also known for only producing one thing…

DETROIT ONLY PRODUCES CARS

As with the delicious Faygo pop mentioned above, Detroit stands out as a leader with some of the best products and places today. Prepare to get your mind blown by all the Detroit/Michigan based things you didn’t know were all around you:

Pizza: Little Caesars, Domino’s, Jet’s Pizza, Hungry Howie’s, Buddy’s and Cottage Inn

Kellogg’s

Moosejaw

BEER: MillKing it, Atwater, Founders, Stroh’s, Dark Horse, Arcadia, Dragonmead, and more.

National Coney Island

Faygo

Vernors

Better Made

Made In Detroit (Duh)

Jiffy

Art Van

Two Men and a Truck

Olga’s Kitchen

Big Boy

WhirlPool

Meijer

BD’s Mongolian BBQ

Honey Baked Ham

Biggby Coffee

La-Z-Boy

That’s right, folks. Detroit has given you all that greatness you didn’t even realize. So when you look at Detroit and just think of it as the Motor City, think of it as more than just that. It gave you ham on Easter, furniture, the bed you sleep on at night, and some of the best pizza and soda pop in America.

DETROIT ONLY GAVE THE MUSIC WORLD KID ROCK AND EMINEM

Eminem is one of the biggest names in music and Kid Rock is also a person that exists who makes “music.” Detroit/Michigan is prolific in churning out the sounds that makes you bang your head. Let’s run down the list of names and bands you may recognize:

Gospel: Della Reese, Aretha Franklin, J Moss, Bill Moss, Jr., The Clark Sisters, Rance Allen Group, Vanessa Bell Armstrong, Thomas Whitfield, Winans, Byron Cage and Fred Hammond.

Jazz: Elvin Jones, Hank Jones, Thad Jones, Howard McGhee, Tommy Flanagan, Lucky Thompson, Louis Hayes, Barry Harris, Paul Chambers, Yusef Lateef, Marcus Belgrave, Milt Jackson, Kenny Burrell, Ron Carter, Curtis Fuller, Julius Watkins, Hugh Lawson, Frank Foster, J. R. Monterose, Doug Watkins, Sir Roland Hanna, Donald Byrd, Kenn Cox, George “Sax” Benson, Sonny Stitt, Alice Coltrane, Dorothy Ashby, Roy Brooks, Phil Ranelin, Faruq Z. Bey, Jaribu Shahid, Hakim Jami, Pepper Adams, Tani Tabal, Charles McPherson, Frank Gant, Billy Mitchell, Kirk Lightsey, Lonnie Hillyer, James Carter, Geri Allen, Ralph Armstrong, Ali Jackson Jr., Rick Margitza, Kenny Garrett, Betty Carter, Sippie Wallace, Robert Hurst, Geri Allen, Rodney Whitaker, Clarence Penn, Karriem Riggins, Harold McKinney, Ray McKinney, and Carlos McKinney.

Elvin Jones — a personal favorite drummer of mine — can be heard on the drums with modern band, Our Lady Peace:

Pop: Madonna, Gladys Knight, Margaret Whiting, Sonny Bono and Suzi Quatro.

R&B/Soul: Marvin Gaye, The Temptations, Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross & The Supremes, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, The Four Tops, Martha Reeves & the Vandellas, Edwin Starr, Little Willie John, The Contours, The Spinners and more.

Rock and roll: Jack White, Bob Seger, Ted Nugent, Alice Cooper, Grand Funk Railroad, Glenn Frey of The Eagles, The Gories, The White Stripes, The Dirtbombs, The Von Bondies, The Rockets, The Hentchmen, Electric Six, Sponge, Big Chief, Goober and the Peas, Broken Toys, Robert Bradley’s Blackwater Surprise, Adrenalin, His Name Is Alive, Brendan Benson, Demolition Dollrods, Steve Mazur, Kid Rock, The Sights, and ska-punk band The Suicide Machines.

Hip-hop: Eminem, Royce Da 5’9″, D12, J Dilla, Trick-Trick, Big Herk, Slum Village, Big Sean, Seven the General, Doughboyz Cashout, Black Milk, Chuck Inglish of The Cool Kids, Danny Brown, Street Lordz Chedda Boyz, Eastside Chedda Boyz, and Bei Maejor.

Techno. Ever hear of it? That was all Detroit. Detroit gave birth to Techno and we celebrate it every year with the 3-day Detroit Electronic Music Festival AKA The Movement.

Don’t associate Detroit with Dubstep, however. Blame England for turning the noise of a 56k modem into music.

NO ONE VISITS MICHIGAN/DETROIT

Do you want real Social Underground stuff? That’s apparently visiting Detroit and areas of Michigan. Michigan is one of the most beautiful states in America.

According the statistics from Bridge Magazine, a publication of The Center for Michigan, Michigan’s tourism is exploding:

According to the most recent industry data, 96 million travelers visited Michigan in 2010. That figure includes business and leisure travelers from out-of-state and Michigan residents who traveled within the state. Leisure travelers account for 81 percent of all travel in Michigan; the other 19 percent are business travelers. Three-quarters of all travelers in Michigan are residents of the state, but they spend less on average than out-of-state visitors. Visitors to Michigan in 2011 spent $13.1 billion on leisure travel and $4.6 billion on business trips. Tourism accounted for nearly 200,000 jobs and generated $995 million in state tax revenue that year, according to state data. (Via Mlive)

Clearly the Pure Michigan campaign is working:

Detroit has a lot of things to offer that you now finally know about. You have the opportunity to see why everyone is coming to Detroit to invest, and why a city that is portrayed so poorly needs to be experienced. You won’t be disappointed.

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Jeff Sorensen is an author, writer and occasional comedian living in Detroit, Michigan. You can look for more of his work on The Huffington Post, UPROXX, BGR and by just looking up his name.