Bud Light Seltzer? You got it. In 2020 watch for Anheuser-Busch’s latest play in the seltzer market, becoming their THIRD current entry in the hard seltzer space, along side Bon & Viv (for millennial women) and Natural Light (for bargain-seeking college students). But what most people forget is that Bud Light Seltzer will be their FOURTH seltzer. Because in 1986, they had a new idea: Zeltzer Seltzer. And it flopped. Below is an excerpt from Seltzertopia talking about this odd corner of seltzer history.

Here’s the scene. In the book we’re talking about the rise of Original New York Seltzer, the first successfully marketed flavored seltzer on the market, and it’s very young CEO, Randy Miller (along with his dad, Alan):

Among the explosion of next-generation seltzer companies, ONYS was indisputably the king. California Beverage Hotline wrote in amazement, “For a soft drink company to make big things happen, as NY Seltzer did in CA this summer, is highly unusual if not downright unprecedented since the early days of Coke and Pepsi—and the stuff of which aspiring entrepreneurs’ fondest dreams are made of.” Then, in a final parenthetical observation, California Beverage Hotline added, “A rumor that A-B also is discussing a takeover of NY Seltzer has been denied by both companies.”

Behind the scenes, Randy and his dad had spent six months negotiating with Anheuser-Busch as the “giant” decided whether and how they might move in. But in the end, the purchase didn’t go through. Randy just didn’t trust how they wanted to change their product. “They didn’t like a long name, you know?” They wanted a shorter name, something catchy, like “Bud.” Maybe “ONY S” rather than Original New York Seltzer? It wasn’t clear. What was clear was that the deal was based on performance, and both Randy and Alan were concerned that the changes would undermine the success of the company. “And that’s what ultimately killed the deal.”

Zeltzer Seltzer released six flavors: raspberry, peach, blueberry, black cherry, vanilla creme, and cola-berry. Terry P. Poulos, head of Anheuser’s beverage division, reported that sales of flavored seltzer—one percent of the $30 billion soft-drink market—had topped $260 million in 1986 and was expected to double in 1987. Clearly, they wanted a piece of that action. One article touting Zeltzer Seltzer ran a photo of a seltzer spigot from a local candy shop alongside the caption “Anheuser-Busch is the latest in a string of consumer products to add pre-packaged convenience to that old soda fountain stand-by—syrup and seltzer.

While press coverage was welcoming, customers felt otherwise. Maybe it had something to do with Zeltzer Selzer’s ad campaign, which was hard to categorize. The ads were just strange. In one print ad, a tray carrying the squat seltzer bottle (clearly modeled after ONYS’s signature shape) was held aloft by a cartoonish 1950s-style waitress. Her name tag reads “Lou,” she sports a button reading “Zeltzer Seltzer—something utterly new in the world,” and her speech balloon tells the reader, “Drink it and nobody gets hurt.” Another print ad had three dinosaurs standing around, each raising a bottle, while one offered the toast: “Here’s to our future.” What was a consumer to think? Zeltzer Seltzer—the drink for the about-to-be extinct? A radio ad, narrated by Lorenzo Music, the voice for the animated cat Garfield, was even odder, as nearly the entire commercial was delivered in pig latin: “Eltzer-zay eltzer-say-avored-flay oda-say.”

Randy made flavored seltzer upscale and hip. Anheuser-Busch threatened to make it simply bizarre.