Be a Pepper!

Of course we all know that Dr Pepper is delicious, but did you know that it is the oldest major manufacturer of soft drink concentrates and syrups in the United States? That’s right! It beats Coca-Cola by a year and Pepsi-Cola, which came about in 1898, is like Dr Pepper’s upstart little brother. I thought it would be fun to take a little look at not only how “the most misunderstood soft drink” came about, but also how it’s remained so popular all these years.

Charles Alderton, a young pharmacist working at Morrison’s Old Corner Drug Store in Waco, Texas in 1885, liked the way the drug store smelled – an intoxicating aroma of fruit syrups wafting through the air, mixing and merging together. In his spare time, he set about experimenting with capturing that wonderful aroma in a taste, and serving it in a beverage.

After a successful taste-test by his boss, Alderton began serving the beverage in the store, and soon patrons began demanding a “Waco.” Unfortunately, how the moniker “Dr. Pepper” came about is lost to the sands of time, although it is generally agreed that Morrison – Alderton’s boss – came up with the name.



In 1904, at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition – more commonly known as the St. Louis World’s Fair – Dr. Pepper was unleashed on the world (with some heavy consumption competition; at the same World’s Fair, hot dogs and hamburgers were served on buns for the first time, and ice cream cones were popularized! Talk about a junk food explosion!) Over twenty million people sampled the beverage, and Dr. Pepper was officially a hit!


Old Doc!

The popular slogan, “King of Beverages” is thought to have originated in a newspaper advertisement as early as 1906. A mascot, a country doctor with a top hat and a monocle named Old Doc, emerged in advertising in the 1920s and 1930s, and became Dr. Pepper’s trademark. During that era, research determined that the average person experiences fatigue at 10:30, 2:30, and 4:30. Capitalizing on this, the Dr Pepper company promoted an ad contest that would incorporate this new information into their marketing. The winning slogan was “Drink a bite to eat at 10, 2, and 4!”


Drink a bite to eat!

During World War II, a radio program titled The 10-2-4 Ranch (and later 10-2-4 Time for broader appeal) aired, with Dr. Pepper advertising spots. Over five hundred episodes were produced! Two other variety programs – The Dr. Pepper Parade and Dr. Pepper’s Treasure – were also sponsored by the company.

Changes were afoot in the 1950s. A new slogan, “The Friendly Pepper-Upper,” began appearing in advertisements, and the familiar logo was redesigned. This new logo was slanted, and due to legibility and stylistic reasons, the period at the end of “Dr.” was dropped, making the brand name officially Dr Pepper.


OMG RUN!!!

In the 1960s, it became a major sponsor of the television show American Bandstand, linking the beverage intrinsically with rock and roll music. A new version of the drink, “Dietetic Dr Pepper” was released, although sales were sluggish due to people thinking it was for diabetics. In 1966, the product name was changed to “Diet Dr Pepper.”


Why? Because it's awesome.

Around this time, the slogans, “The most misunderstood soft drink” and “so misunderstood” also appealed to the teen market, as did the early 70s slogan, “the most original soft drink ever.” However, no one could have guessed how popular the Dr Pepper marketing campaign of 1977 would be. With a catchy jingle and commercials featuring David Naughton and campy choreography, Dr Pepper was arguably more popular than it had ever been:





I drink Dr. Pepper and I'm proud / I used to feel alone in a crowd / Now if you look around these days / There seems to be a Dr. Pepper craze!

Oh I'm a pepper / He's a pepper/ She's a pepper / We're a pepper / Wouldn't you like to be a pepper too!

Sort of a change from the theme of individuality just a few years before!

In the 1980s, Coca-Cola tried unsuccessfully to purchase Dr Pepper, but the Federal Trade Commission blocked them at every turn, due to concerns about Coke creating a monopoly on “Pepper”-flavored beverages. However, for a time, Coke and Pepsi distributed Dr Pepper, until it merged with Snapple. Currently, Dr Pepper Snapple bottles and distributes most of its own product.

In 1991, aspartame was introduced to Diet Dr Pepper, along with the successful marketing campaign that it “Tastes more like Regular Dr Pepper.” An upswing in sales ensued. In 2002, for the first time in 122 years, Dr Pepper began experimenting with flavor extensions. First came Dr Pepper Red Fusion, which tasted nothing at all like regular Dr Pepper. Its production ceased within a year.



Other flavors followed: Dr Pepper Berries & Crème, Cherry Chocolate Dr Pepper, and Dr Pepper Cherry, but the most popular was Diet Cherry Vanilla Dr Pepper, which remained on the market from 2004 until 2009. In 2009, a new advertising campaign featuring famous pop-culture “doctors,” like Kelsey Grammar of Frasier and Dr. Dre, began appearing in commercials with the tagline, “Trust me, I’m a doctor.”

A Dr Pepper Museum located in Waco, Texas bottled Dr Pepper from 1906 until the 1960s, and was opened to the public in 1991. It features three floors of exhibits, an old-fashioned soda fountain, and a terrific store of Dr Pepper memorablilia.

For nearly 125 years, Dr Pepper has been making people smile. It’s a beverage with real appeal, a fascinating history, and twenty-three delicious flavors. Wouldn’t you like to be a pepper, too?