Dr Pepper

For other uses, see Dr Pepper (disambiguation).

Dr Pepper

Dr Pepper logo
Type	Soft drink
Manufacturer	Dr Pepper Snapple Group (formerly Cadbury Schweppes Americas Beverages; previously Dr Pepper/Seven Up) The Coca-Cola Company (Europe only)
Country of origin	United States
Introduced	1885
Color	Caramel
Variants	Heritage Dr Pepper (original recipe variant with corn syrup) Diet Dr Pepper Caffeine-free Dr Pepper Diet Caffeine-free Dr Pepper Dr Pepper Zero Red Fusion Cherry Vanilla Dr Pepper Diet Cherry Vanilla Dr Pepper Dr Pepper Berries & Cream Diet Dr Pepper Berries & Cream Cherry Chocolate Diet Dr Pepper Dr Pepper Cherry Diet Dr Pepper Cherry Cherry Dr Pepper Zero
Related products	Pibb Xtra Dr. Thunder
Website	www.drpepper.com/en

Template:Infobox nutrition facts Dr Pepper is a soft drink marketed as having a unique flavor. The drink was created in the 1880s by Charles Alderton of Waco, Texas and first served around 1885.

Dr Pepper was first nationally marketed in the United States in 1904 and is now also sold in Europe, Asia, Australia (as an imported drink) and South America. Variants include a non-high fructose corn syrup version, Diet Dr Pepper, as well as a line of versions with additional flavors, first introduced in the 2000s.

W.W. Clements, a former CEO and president of the Dr Pepper/7-Up Company, described the taste of Dr Pepper as one-of-a-kind, saying "I've always maintained you cannot tell anyone what Dr Pepper tastes like because it's so different. It's not an apple, it's not an orange, it's not a strawberry, it's not a root beer, it's not even a cola. It's a different kind of drink with a unique taste all its own."

History

The U.S. Patent Office recognizes December 1, 1885 as the first time Dr Pepper was served. It was introduced nationally in the United States at the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition as a new kind of soda pop, made with 23 flavors. Its introduction in 1885 preceded the introduction of Coca-Cola by one year.

It was formulated by Brooklyn-born pharmacist Charles Alderton in Morrison's Old Corner Drug Store in Waco, Texas. To test his new drink, he first offered it to store owner Wade Morrison, who also found it to his liking. Patrons at Morrison's soda fountain soon learned of Alderton's new drink and began ordering a "Waco". Alderton gave the formula to Morrison who named it Dr Pepper.

Name

There are many theories about the origins of the soft drink's name. One conjecture is that the "pep" refers to pepsin. In 2009, an old ledger book filled with formulas and recipes was discovered by a man named Bill Waters while shopping at antiques stores in the Texas Panhandle. Several sheets and letterheads hinted that it had come from the W.B. Morrison & Co. Old Corner Drug Store (the same store Dr Pepper was first served at in 1885) and faded letters on the book's cover spelled out "Castles Formulas" (John Castles was a partner of Morrison's for a time and worked at that location as early as 1880). One recipe in the book titled "D Peppers Pepsin Bitters" was of particular interest, and some speculated it could be an early recipe for Dr Pepper. However, Dr Pepper Snapple Group insists it is not the formula for Dr Pepper, but is instead a medicinal recipe for a digestive aid. The book was put up for auction in May 2009 but no one purchased it.

Like many early sodas, the drink was marketed as a brain tonic and energizing pick-me-up, so another theory holds that it was named for the pep it supposedly gave to users.

Others believe the drink was named after a real Dr. Pepper. One candidate is Dr. Charles T. Pepper of Rural Retreat, Virginia, who might have been honored either in order for Morrison to obtain permission to marry the doctor's daughter, or in gratitude to Pepper for giving Morrison his first job. However, Morrison lived nearly 50 miles from Rural Retreat, and Pepper's daughter was only 8 years old at the time Morrison relocated to Waco.

Another possibility is Dr. Pepper of Christiansburg, Virginia. U.S. Census records show a young Morrison working as a pharmacy clerk in Christiansburg. One of the following pages of this census supposedly shows a Dr. Pepper and daughter Malinda or Malissa, age 16. Since census takers of the period were walking door to door, and their census entries were on following pages, it stands to reason that Morrison and the family of Dr. Pepper not only lived close to each other but most likely knew one another.

Name formatting

Glass bottle of Dr Pepper featuring the "classic" logo

The period (fullstop) after "Dr" was discarded for stylistic and legibility reasons in the 1950s. Dr Pepper's logo was redesigned and the text in this new logo was slanted. The period made "Dr." look like "Di:". After some debate, the period was removed for good (it had been used off and on in previous logos), as it would also help remove any medical connotation with the product.

Legal and trade history

In 1951, Dr Pepper sued the Coca-Cola company for $750,000(US) asserting that nickel Coca-Colas were sold below cost and were a restraint of trade.

In 1972, Dr Pepper sued the Coca-Cola company for trademark infringement based on a soft drink marketed by Coca-Cola called "Peppo". The soft drink was later renamed Mr Pibb.

Dr Pepper was a frequent player in the 1990s antitrust history of the United States. As part of these activities, economists and the courts have weighed in with the opinion that Dr Pepper is a "Pepper" flavored drink and not a "Cola". In 1995, the FTC blocked a merger between The Coca-Cola Company and Dr Pepper on grounds that included concerns about a monopoly of the "Pepper" flavor category of soft drinks. In 1996, Dr Pepper was involved in an antitrust case involving Jerry Jones, the Dallas Cowboys, NFL Properties, Nike, and other commercial interests active at Texas Stadium in Irving, Texas. Jones had made deals with Dr Pepper and the other companies that, the league said, violated their exclusive marketing contracts with Coca-Cola and other businesses. The NFL agreed to allow Jones and other teams to pursue their own agreements.

Dr Pepper became insolvent in the early 1980s, prompting an investment group to take the company private. Several years later, Coca-Cola attempted to acquire Dr Pepper, but was blocked from doing so by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Around the same time, Seven Up was acquired from Phillip Morris by the same investment company that bailed out Dr Pepper. Upon the failure of the Coca-Cola merger, Dr Pepper and Seven Up merged (creating Dr Pepper/Seven Up, Inc., or DPSU), giving up international branding rights in the process. After the DPSU merger, Coca-Cola obtained most non-U.S. rights to the Dr Pepper name (with PepsiCo taking the Seven Up rights).

In 1998, the "Pepper" flavor soda category was a major part of the analysis supporting an antitrust case between Coca-Cola and Pepsi.

Varieties

Dietary brands

• Dietetic Dr Pepper was introduced in 1962 (cans) and 1963 (bottles). Sales were slow partly due to the public misconception that the drink was for diabetics, and in 1966, the company renamed the product Diet Dr Pepper. In 1991, Diet Dr Pepper was reformulated to use aspartame, according to Cadbury Schweppes. Diet Dr Pepper, after posting a 6.4% gain in sales volume, became the 10th best selling soda in 2006 according to Beverage Digest magazine. From 1991 to 2006, the beverage was marketed using the slogan "Diet Dr Pepper tastes more like Regular Dr Pepper." In 2006, a new marketing campaign was launched comparing the taste of Diet Dr Pepper to desserts instead of regular Dr Pepper with the slogan "There's nothing diet about it."
• Pepper Free (1982–1985) was first introduced to test markets in 1982 as a caffeine-free version of Diet Dr Pepper, citing company research that indicated a need for a product to fill a niche for the health-conscious consumer. Originally introduced in only six states, the Pepper Free brand lasted for only three years, and was phased out in 1985. While a caffeine-free dietetic product continues to be produced under various name permutations, the reason for pulling the Pepper Free brand are unknown, but could have been due to confusion with the rival "Pepsi Free" brand (currently "Caffeine-Free Pepsi").
• Caffeine Free Dr Pepper (non-diet) was first released in 1983 due to the success of Pepper Free.

Flavor variations

• Dr Pepper Red Fusion (2002–2004) was available only in the US. The predominantly cherry flavored, red-colored Red Fusion was the first new flavor added to the Dr Pepper family of beverages in the company's 122-year history. Its production was essentially canceled less than a year later, although in certain areas it was available until late 2004.
• Cherry Vanilla Dr Pepper (2004–) was released in some areas on October 15, 2004. The beverage tastes similar to Dr Pepper but has stronger cherry and vanilla flavors added. Cherry Vanilla Dr Pepper was the first drink in the planned "Soda Fountain Classics" line of beverages from Dr Pepper, a range of drinks designed to taste similar to popular soda fountain drinks from the 1950s. It is now only available in select areas of the U.S. It was available in Canada for a short period of time, but it ceased production as of mid-2007. It became available again in mid-2008 after Diet Cherry Chocolate Dr Pepper ceased production.
• Dr Pepper Berries & Cream, (2006–2007) and its diet version, were released in most US locations in April 2006. It is the second beverage in Dr Pepper's "Soda Fountain Classics" line of drinks. In Canada, the diet version of the drink was available approximately from May to August 2007 and the non-diet version was available from September to December 2007. Berries and Cream and Diet Berries Cream have also been discontinued.
• Diet Cherry Chocolate Dr Pepper (2007–2008) was introduced as a limited edition flavor on November 21, 2007. It was discontinued in April 2008. It became available in Canada in early January 2008. A non-diet version was never created. The taste is similar to Canfield's Diet Cherry Chocolate Fudge Soda but with the distinctive Dr Pepper flavor. It was featured in the song "Cherry Chocolate Rain" by YouTube celebrity Tay Zonday. Upon ceasing production, it was replaced by Cherry Vanilla Dr Pepper.
• Dr Pepper Cherry (2009–) was released in some areas around February 2009. The beverage tastes similar to Dr Pepper but has stronger cherry flavor added. Variety comes in both regular and diet versions. Gene Simmons of the band Kiss was chosen to be the variation's spokesman, with a commercial circulating on television in March/April, 2009 featuring Kiss's song "Calling Dr. Love" ("Trust me, I'm a doctor" claims Simmons in the commercial).
• Heritage Dr Pepper (aka Dr Pepper Heritage) (2009-) became available around November 2009 in various outlets around the United States, including major retailers such as Walmart & Target. As its name implies, it is a "re-release" of sorts of Dr Pepper's original formula, which uses real sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup, which Dr Pepper and other brands of soft drink started to use around the early 1970s. It is assumed that the formula of Heritage Dr Pepper and Dublin Dr Pepper are one and the same, but that Heritage Dr Pepper is a larger scale, national release aimed at capturing the same marketing essence as the Pepsi and Mountain Dew throwbacks.
• United Kingdom's version of Dr Pepper, along with various other countries, is manufactured with sugar instead of high-fructose corn syrup (much like Heritage Dr Pepper in the US, as mentioned above). Along with Sprite and Fanta soft drinks, a "Zero" version was introduced, meaning no added sugar/low calorie, but maintaining a taste more in line with regular Dr Pepper than its diet variant.

Sweeteners

Much of the soft drink industry in the United States stopped using sugar in the 1980s, in response to a series of price supports and import quotas introduced beginning in 1982 that increased the price of sugar above the global market price. As a result, most U.S. soft drinks, including Dr Pepper, now use high-fructose corn syrup instead of sugar.

A handful of U.S. bottling plants still use sugar to sweeten Dr Pepper. The Dr Pepper bottling plant in Dublin, Texas, produces such a beverage, known as Dublin Dr Pepper. In the 1980s, plant owner W.P. "Bill" Kloster (June 7, 1918– September 27, 1999) refused to convert the plant to high-fructose corn syrup. Since 2003, Dublin Dr Pepper has expanded its distribution to most of Texas and the Internet. Other bottlers still using sugar include Temple Bottling Company, in Temple, Texas, Ab-Tex in Abilene, and West Jefferson Dr Pepper (WJDP) of West Jefferson, NC.

On March 25, 2007, Coca-Cola bottlers in the Dr Pepper Heartland commenced sales of 16 ounce cans of Dr Pepper made with cane sugar and featuring a logo with 'Old Doc' on them. This product is scheduled to be a limited time release.

Recently, January 2009, "Heritage Dr Pepper" has become available in select markets in cans and 16 oz bottles with the distinction "Made with Real Sugar".

Distribution

File:Drpepperinjapan2010.jpg

A can of Dr Pepper in Japan

In the United States, Dr Pepper Snapple Group does not have a complete network of bottlers and distributors, so the drink is sometimes bottled under contract by Coca-Cola or Pepsi bottlers. Prior to the initial Cadbury Schweppes investment-turned-buyout, 30% of Dr Pepper/Seven Up products were produced and distributed by Pepsi bottlers, and another 30% by Coca-Cola bottlers. The remaining 40% was produced and distributed by independent bottlers (mainly consisting of pre-Dr Pepper/Seven Up-merger regional bottlers) and the Dr Pepper/Seven Up Bottling Group.

Presently, Dr Pepper Snapple relies on its own bottling group to bottle and distribute its products in 30+ states. Coca-Cola and Pepsi have essentially stopped bottling and distributing CSAB products in favor of in-house alternatives, although regional exceptions can be found.

In Canada and Poland, Cadbury-Schweppes has licensed distribution rights to PepsiCo. In Mexico, Germany, France, Sweden, the Netherlands, Slovakia, Finland, Austria, Czech Republic, Belgium, and Norway, Cadbury-Schweppes owns the trademark and distributes the product. In Spain, Turkey, and Greece it is almost impossible to find as it is usually imported from the United Kingdom in particular supermarkets. In almost all of the other countries of the world, The Coca-Cola Company purchased the trademark from Cadbury-Schweppes and distributes the product. This mixed worldwide ownership of the trademark is due to antitrust regulations which prevented Coca-Cola from purchasing the rights everywhere. Dr Pepper is also available in Japan and South Korea. Although not locally bottled in Australia or New Zealand, Dr Pepper is imported and sold by USA Foods, and many other small retailers in Australia. Dr Pepper is not available in Ukraine, Thailand, Philippines, Italy and Russia.

Other products

• Dr Pepper has a line of jelly beans made with the Jelly Belly company.
• A Dr Pepper gum was marketed for a time in the early/mid 1980s but has since been discontinued.
• Dr Pepper collaborated with Vita Food Products to produce Dr Pepper Sweet & Kickin' BBQ Sauce and Dr Pepper "More than Mesquite" Marinade.
• Cosmetics company Bonne Bell includes Dr Pepper among its licensed soft drink flavored "Lip Smackers" lip balms.
• Brach's has a line of hard candy that features Dr Pepper, Orange Crush, A&W Root Beer, and 7 Up flavored hard candies in Brach’s Soda Poppers.
• Dr Pepper has an ice cream topping syrup also manufactured by Vita Food Products in 2009 called "Dr Pepper cherry dessert topping".
• Dr Pepper also created an iPod skin cover, but it was discontinued.

Marketing

"Dr Pepper Time", according to one promotion, was at 10, 2 and 4 o'clock. During World War II, a syndicated radio program, The 10-2-4 Ranch (later titled 10-2-4 Time), aired in the South and other areas where Dr Pepper was distributed. The show featured the Sons of the Pioneers and Dick Foran.

In the 1960s Dr Pepper Released the Charge Ad.

Charge!!

Get Going Again,

With the Dr Pepper Difference.

The "Be a Pepper" series referred to fans of Dr Pepper as "Peppers", and often featured crowd dance scenes with elaborate, over-the-top choreography. One popular ad jingle was:

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?

Be a Pepper. Drink Dr Pepper.

This became grist for a number of pop culture references and parodies. One of the first was a sketch on the program SCTV, in which an overly-excited injured man (Eugene Levy) extols the work of a "Dr. Shekter" (Rick Moranis) who's been treating him. Levy and a group of patients wearing casts and crutches engage in their own elaborate dancing and singing (Would not you like to have my doctor, too?), all to the alarm of Shekter (These people should not be dancing!). In the 1982 sex farce Beach Girls, the slogan became "I'm a popper, he's a popper..."

After appearing in a commercial, David Naughton had his breakthrough film role as the main character in the John Landis film An American Werewolf in London. Another famous "I'm a Pepper" dancer was Ray Bolger, the actor who played the Scarecrow in the film The Wizard of Oz.

In the early 1960s Dr Pepper promoted the idea of serving the drink hot with lemon slices in winter. This idea appeared in the film Blast from the Past initially set in the early '60s.

File:Dr perpper 75 2.jpg

12-ounce Dr Pepper can sporting the new logo

In 1978, Jake Holmes wrote the lyrics to "Be a Pepper". Later, Randy Newman wrote another jingle "The Most Original Soft Drink ever". Barry Manilow performed Jake's jingle in concerts and on albums under the inclusion of "VSM - very strange medley". A TV commercial was also created using the jingle and ran from 1977–1985.

Dr Pepper has also been featured outside of the "I'm a Pepper" motif. An example is in the video game Pikmin 2, where one of the collectible treasures is a Dr Pepper bottle cap (it is labeled as the "Drought Ender"). Also, an empty Dr Pepper bottle is featured in the book Ragweed by Newbery Medal-winning author Avi; the book’s illustrator, Brian Floca, is the son of a Dr Pepper bottler. Several of the classic non-"I'm a Pepper" commercials featured prominent movie stars, one being a television advertisement with Chris Rock as a child enjoying a Dr Pepper.

The 1980s "Out Of The Ordinary" advertising campaign involved a series of post-apocalyptic commercials featuring a space cowboy and an alien sidekick seeking "something different" from a simple generic cola. The campaign also produced commercials featuring the movie creature Godzilla, where citizens of a Japanese town offered Dr Pepper as a libation. The commercials were prominently featured during the 1986 syndication of The Canned Film Festival, which was sponsored by the Dr Pepper Company.

Outside of the United States, Squeeze's Glenn Tilbrook and Chris Difford played for a Dr Pepper advert in the UK with the slogan, "Hold out for the out of the ordinary."

Dr Pepper's "Be You" advertising campaign centered on commercials featuring pairs of popular musicians, including LeAnn Rimes with Reba McEntire, Paulina Rubio with Celia Cruz, Thalía with Tito Puente, B2K with Smokey Robinson, Anastacia with Cyndi Lauper, Patricia Manterola with Ana Gabriel, and LL Cool J with Run-D.M.C. The campaign also featured individual musicians, notably Garth Brooks.

Dr Pepper made several appearances in the 1994 Robert Zemeckis major motion picture, Forrest Gump, as it was the beverage of choice for the movie's namesake lead character, played by Tom Hanks. In one of the film's Dr Pepper scenes, Forrest's narrative suggests that, "The best part about goin' to the White House was, they had all the food and drink that you wanted ... I must have had me 15 Dr Peppers." When subsequently asked by the President how he felt, Forrest gave an honest answer of "I gotta pee." Although, arguably the film's largest product placement installation, the depiction of Dr Pepper was perhaps not always accurate as, in another scene during the 1972 New Year's Eve celebration which Forrest attends, he drinks a Dr Pepper with a logo that was allegedly not released until the mid-1980s.

Dr Pepper was introduced to the Australian market in 1997 with a short-lived TV advertising campaign and low priced 280 ml cans sold through supermarkets. Dr Pepper was subsequently sold in 1.25 litre plastic bottles alongside other major brands until 2003. Cadbury Schweppes stated that the product did not gain acceptance by Australians, whose detractors complained that the drink tasted like "cough syrup" (a tag also given to sarsaparilla). A report on the soft drink industry by IBIS accused Cadbury Schweppes of failing in their marketing of the brand, given its global appeal.

After withdrawing from the Australian market, Dr Pepper arrived without fanfare in New Zealand. Cans imported from the U.S. are available in some specialty stores in New Zealand and Australia.

On the December 20, 2000 episode of the Late Show with David Letterman, Letterman jokingly referred to Dr Pepper as "liquid manure". After a representative of Dr Pepper complained, CBS agreed not to rerun the Dec. 20 episode. Letterman repeatedly made assurances on the show that he was joking.

Diet Dr Pepper grew 2.8% in 2001 while regular Dr Pepper dipped 1.7%, according to AC Nielsen data. The company in 2001 is promoting diet with new ads that promise authentic Dr Pepper taste. The message: Diet Dr Pepper tastes more like the original. The ads spoof examples of new ideas inferior to the originals, including XGA (not PGA) Extreme Golf and a TV show CHimPs (rather than CHiPs).

Several ads for Diet Cherry Vanilla Dr Pepper appeared on television in 2005. In one, a young woman on a blind date at a restaurant who sips into the beverage, suddenly makes her date, restaurant patrons, and even a waitress all part of a musical sequence involving The Muppets version of the song "Mah Nà Mah Nà".

One campaign features the Queen song "I Want It All".

On January 1, 2008, the company unveiled a new TV ad campaign featuring the Cheers theme song ("Where Everybody Knows Your Name") performed by Gary Portnoy.

In a 2008 ad, someone was sitting in a college lecture and took a sip of his Dr Pepper. When he stopped drinking, the Dr Pepper can started singing "Flava Licious" (Flava Flav). He covered the can, and when he let go, the can played a Spanish version of the song. He took another sip, and it began playing a Queen version of the song. Everybody in the class (even the teacher and the brainiac) started "rocking out".

In 2008 Dr Pepper in the UK restarted launching its old adverts and slogan, "What's the worst that can happen?". They also started an onpack promotion for free ringtones with up to 20 to collect.

As of 2009, the slogan of the product is "Drink it slow. Doctor's orders". Advertising supporting the slogan has celebrities with famous relations to the word "doctor" (Dr. Dre, Julius "Dr. J" Erving, Gene Simmons (writer of the Kiss song "Calling Doctor Love"), et al.) or who played fictional doctors (such as Neil Patrick Harris or Kelsey Grammer) endorsing the beverage. The ads culminate with the celebrity stating, "Trust me. I'm a doctor", followed by the new slogan appearing onscreen against an ice-cold glass of Dr Pepper.

In 2010, Dr Pepper was part of a marketing/promotional campaign with Marvel Studios to promote the summer blockbuster Iron Man 2; characters from the film adorned cans of Dr Pepper, Diet Dr Pepper, and Dr Pepper Cherry.

Slogans

File:Drpepper47.jpg

This 1947 ad shows the logo as it looked before the dot was removed.

• 1889–1914: "King of Beverages."
• 1920s–1940s: "Drink a Bite to Eat at 10, 2, and 4 o'clock."
• 1940s: "Good For Life."
• 1945: "Dr Pepper has 23 flavors"
• 1950s: "The Friendly Pepper Upper."
• 1960s: "America's Most Misunderstood Soft Drink."
• 1970s: "The Most Original Soft Drink Ever."
• 1977–1985: "I'm a Pepper, He's a Pepper, We're a Pepper.", "Be a Pepper.", "Wouldn't you like to Be a Pepper too?"
• c. 1986 "Out of the Ordinary. Like You."
• c. 1986 "Out of the Ordinary for Out of the Ordinary Bodies." (Diet Dr Pepper)
• 1986–1997: "Hold Out For the Out of the Ordinary."
• 1991: "Just what the Doctor ordered."
• c. 1997: "It's Dr Pepper Flavour, Silly!" Australia
• c. 1997: "Expect the Unexpected!" Australia
• 1997: "Now's the Time. This is the Place. Dr Pepper Is The Taste."
• 2000: "Dr Pepper, It Makes the World Taste Better."
• 2000–Present: "Just What The Dr Ordered."
• c. 2001 "Dr Pepper, so misunderstood"
• 2002–2004: "Be You."
• 2002–Present: "Solves All Your Problems." (used in Europe)
• 2003 "Dr Pepper, to try it is to love it" (used in the UK)
• 2004–Present "Dr Pepper, what's the worst that could happen?" (used in the UK)
• 2005–Present: "One Taste & You Get It."
• 2006: "Can You Handle The Taste?" (seen in Austria, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Netherlands, Sweden, and Poland)
• 2006: "Authentic blend of 23 flavors." USA, Canada
• 2006: "Dr Pepper, makes the world go round."
• 2006: "Dr Pepper, nothing better." USA
• 2006: "The Dr knows the right touch." (used in Europe)
• 2006: "There's more to it." USA
• c. 2006: "Get Berried in Cream" USA (used for the new Berries and Cream flavor)
• 2007: "I Want It All." USA
• 2007: "El Dr muy bueno" Latin America
• 2008: "What's the worst that could happen?" Europe
• 2008: "Drink It Slow, Dr's Orders" (USA)
• 2009: "Trust me - I'm a Doctor." (ft. Julius Erving, Kelsey Grammer, Gene Simmons, Dr. Dre) USA
• 2009: UK based television advertising; Sung "Dr Pepper, What's the worst that could happen?" UK
• 2009: "It's so amazingly smooth, you have try it to believe it!" and "Amazingly smooth" Dr Pepper Cherry

Free Dr Pepper for everyone in America

In a unique marketing strategy, Dr Pepper entered a dare of sorts between themselves and Guns N' Roses front man Axl Rose. They stated that if Axl Rose managed to release his new album, Chinese Democracy, in 2008, they would give everyone in America a free Dr Pepper. Chinese Democracy, which was in the works for 14 years, was released on November 23, 2008.

Dr Pepper put a coupon for a free can on its website, but, the website to download the coupon was inaccessible throughout most of the day. In response to the difficulties, the option to phone in a request was made. After dialing 1-888-DRPEPPER the caller was greeted with an acknowledgment of the technical problems with the website and the caller was then allowed to enter their name, address, and email address to receive their free Dr Pepper. Due to the website issues, the offer was extended until 6 p.m. on November 24, 2008, yet several people still experienced problems registering.

Rose threatened to sue Dr Pepper's manufacturer for a public apology and undisclosed damages alleging that it failed to honor this promise. No suit was filed.

Dr Pepper Museum

The Dr Pepper Museum in Waco, Texas. The building is on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Dr Pepper Museum is located in the Artesian Manufacturing and Bottling Company building in downtown Waco, Texas, and opened to the public in 1991. The Artesian Manufacturing and Bottling Company building was the first building to be built specifically to bottle Dr Pepper. The building was completed in 1906 and Dr Pepper was bottled there until the 1960s. The museum has three floors of exhibits, a working old-fashioned soda fountain, and a gift store of Dr Pepper memorabilia.

Dr Pepper Capital of the World

The company sells more Dr Pepper in the Roanoke Valley area of Virginia than any other metropolitan area east of the Mississippi River. Roanoke is approximately 90 miles east of the hometown of Dr Charles T. Pepper, which is Rural Retreat, Virginia, and 30 miles east of Christiansburg, Virginia, home of Dr. Pepper and Morrison referred to in the census information above. In the past, the city has been named the "Dr Pepper Capital of the World" and broke world records for its mass consumption of Dr Pepper in the late 1950s. Dr Pepper donated a portion of its sales revenue in the Roanoke area to finance restoration of a circa-1950s neon Dr Pepper sign, which has the company's "10-2-4" logo from the time, in downtown Roanoke.

Gallery

• From left to right: Standard Dr Pepper; Dublin Dr Pepper (front); Dublin Dr Pepper (back); 10-2-4 Dr Pepper made with Imperial Sugar (available at the Waco, TX Dr Pepper museum)
  From left to right: Standard Dr Pepper; Dublin Dr Pepper (front); Dublin Dr Pepper (back); 10-2-4 Dr Pepper made with Imperial Sugar (available at the Waco, TX Dr Pepper museum)
• 
  A bottle of Dr Pepper made with pure cane sugar from Dublin, Texas

Sources

• Rodengen, Jeffrey L. (1995). The Legend of Dr Pepper/Seven-Up. Write Stuff Syndicate, Inc. ISBN 0-945903-49-9.
• "History of Dr Pepper". Retrieved 2007-07-04.

External links

• Dr Pepper official website
• Dr Pepper on MySpace
• The Dr Pepper Museum
• FTC Statement on Coca-Cola Dr Pepper Merger
• The Dublin Dr Pepper Bottling Company in Dublin, Texas
• Temple Bottling Company, in Temple, Texas
• Bootlegging Dr Pepper, June 5, 2008, by Robb Walsh, Houston Press
• Original Formula Found at Drug Store
• Bill Waters finds Dr Pepper original formula in notebook in antique store in Texas, May 5, 2009, Associated Press in New York Daily News
• Caffeine Content for Dr Pepper flavors compared to some other beverages, Good Housekeeping