Be A Pepper, Drink Dr Pepper - Life in America

[Music] in 1885 in waco texas a young pharmacist named charles alterton invented a new soft drink that would soon become known as dr pepper the carbonated beverage was marketed as having a unique one-of-a-kind flavor we will probably never know the secret recipe of the oldest major soft drink in the united states but more than 135 years later the brand can still be found on shelves and in stores worldwide [Music] dr pepper originated at morrison's old corner drugstore which was located in waco charles alderton was a pharmacist working at morrison's store and spent most of his time mixing up medicine for the people of waco in his spare time alterton liked to serve carbonated drinks at the soda fountain he also liked the way the drugstore smelled with all of the fruit syrup smells mixing together in the air and decided to create a drink that tasted like that smell he began keeping journals and experimenting with different flavored syrup combinations after numerous experiments he found the perfect mixture of fruit syrups that he liked a unique blend of 23 flavors to be exact [Music] [Music] this new soda was fast becoming a big hit with customers who ordered the concoction by asking alderton to shoot them a waco [Music] as the soda gained popularity store owner wade morrison realized it needed a proper name and coined it dr pepper there are several theories regarding the origin of the dr pepper name in some versions drugstore owner morrison named the drink dr pepper in honor of his friend dr charles pepper while in others alderton is said to have gotten one of his first jobs working for a dr pepper and named the soft drink as a nod to his early employer [Music] dr pepper was in such high demand that other soda fountain operators in waco began buying the syrup from morrison and serving it this soon presented a problem for alderton and morrison they could no longer produce enough at their fountain to supply the demand robert lazenby owner of the circle a ginger ale company in waco had been impressed with dr pepper and was interested in manufacturing bottling and distributing it alderton was primarily interested in pharmacy work and had no desire to pursue the business and manufacturing of soda he agreed to let morrison and lazenby take over and develop the product further morrison and lazenby were impressed with the growth of dr pepper in 1891 they formed a new firm the artisan manufacturing and bottling company which later became the dr pepper company in 1904 the company introduced dr pepper to 20 million people attending the world's fair exposition in st louis the same world's fair that introduced hamburger and hot dog buns and ice cream cones to the public old doc a typical country doctor character with a monocle and top hat became the dr pepper trademark character in the 1920s and 1930s during that era research was discovered proving that sugar provided energy and that the average person experiences a letdown during the normal day at 10 30 a.m 2 30 p.m and 4 30 in the afternoon a contest was held for the creation of an ad using this new information the winner of the ad campaign came up with the famous advertising slogan drink a bite to eat at 10 2 and 4. [Music] dr pepper's slogan in the 1950s was the friendly pepper upper which led the brand into the 1960s when it became associated with rock and roll music and on dick clark's american bandstand tv show for much of dr pepper's history the drink was a regional delicacy confined to the south and southwest coca-cola and pepsi already had built nationwide networks of independent bottlers who had exclusive franchise contracts dr pepper had a hard time cracking into these new markets that all changed in 1963 a federal court ruled that dr pepper's unique flavor kept it from being a cola product which meant that bottlers were free to distribute dr pepper without conflict of their deals with coca-cola and pepsi by the end of the decade dr pepper was available from coast to coast [Music] a cold dr pepper can be heavenly on a hot day and also as a hot refreshing winter drink in the 1960s dr pepper tried to stimulate holiday sales by marketing hot dr pepper with lemon as a festive idea for winter gatherings customers would heat up dr pepper in a saucepan place a thin slice of lemon in the bottom of a coffee mug and pour the heated dr pepper over the lemon this tradition actually gained some traction in the south with changing times came changing slogans to broaden its appeal across the nation dr pepper hailed itself as the most misunderstood soft drink and then in 1977 dr pepper advertising was marked by the famous be a pepper campaign followed by bu today the slogan is a taste like no other which emphasizes the 23 fruit flavors that give dr pepper its unique taste [Music] dr pepper is now produced by the keurig dr pepper company and was found to have ascended to the ranks of the soft drink elites when it was found to be the number five most popular soft drink among americans it is safe to say that dr pepper has made quite the journey from its humble beginnings in a small pharmacy in waco texas to its current status as a global soft drink giant if you need to inject some dr pepper into your next road trip waco texas is home to a museum devoted to its native beverage including its creation and iconic advertising campaigns of the past you

Channel: Recollection Road

Views: 77,233

Keywords: Recollection Road, nostalgia, memories, photos, history, closed, forgotten, business, past, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, memory, yesteryear, golden age, photo album, oldies, fifties, sixties, abandoned, 20th century, dr. Pepper, dr pepper, soft drink, soda, cola, be a pepper, coke, pepsi, waco, texas, drink a bite

Id: wR6Y5NWY0gg

Length: 8min 2sec (482 seconds)

Published: Sun May 30 2021