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| Type | Cola |
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| Manufacturer | Cott Beverages/ Dr Pepper Snapple Group |
| Country of origin | Columbus, Georgia USA |
| Introduced | 1905 |
| Related products | Coca-Cola, Pepsi |
RC Cola (or Royal Crown Cola) is a cola soft drink developed in 1905 by Columbus, Georgia pharmacist Claude A. Hatcher.
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History
The first product in the Royal Crown line was "Chero-Cola" in 1905, followed by Royal Crown Ginger Ale, Royal Crown Strawberry and Royal Crown Root Beer. The company was renamed Chero-Cola, and in 1925 called Nehi Corporation after its colored and flavored drinks. In 1934, Chero-Cola was reformulated and re-released as Royal Crown Cola.
In the 1950s, the combination of Royal Crown Cola and Moonpies became popular as the "working man's lunch" in the American South.[1]
In 1958, the company introduced the first diet cola, Diet Rite, and in 1980, a caffeine-free cola, "RC 100.". (RC 100 was not, as some believe, the first caffeine-free cola; that distinction belongs to Canada Dry's unsuccessful Sport Cola of 1968.) In the mid-1990s, RC released Royal Crown Draft Cola, billed as a "premium" cola and using pure sugar cane, rather than the high fructose corn syrup commonly used to sweeten U.S. soft drinks. Offered only in 12-ounce bottles, the cola's sales were disappointing due largely to the inability of the RC bottling network to get distribution for the product in single-drink channels and it was quickly discontinued with the exceptions of Australia, New Zealand and France. The company has also released Cherry RC a cherry flavored version of the RC soft drink to compete with Coca-Cola Cherry and Wild Cherry Pepsi.
In October 2000, Royal Crown was acquired by Cadbury Schweppes plc through its acquisition of Snapple. Royal Crown operations were folded into Dr Pepper/Seven Up, Inc., a former subsidiary of Cadbury Schweppes. In 2001, all international RC-branded business was sold to Cott Beverages of Mississauga, Ontario and is operated as Royal Crown Cola International. Operations in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico and other U.S. territories are now handled by Dr Pepper Snapple Group.
Appearances in popular culture
Royal Crown Cola was featured in an episode of the 1970s sit-com All In The Family. Gloria Stivic and her husband, Mike (aka Meathead) have an argument regarding Mike's preference for RC Cola, climaxing in a blind-fold taste-test where Mike successfully names Coke, Pepsi and RC Cola.
In the direct-to-DVD movie Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story, a Family Guy movie, when Brian and Stewie are lost in a desert, they see a mirage of a Dr. Pepper soda machine. Unfortunately it turns out to be an RC Cola machine, which displeases them, and they don't drink it.
Brand portfolio
- Royal Crown Cola (RC Cola)
- Diet RC
- Diet Rite
- Royal Crown Draft Cola (Limited in U.S.)
- Cherry R.C. (available in limited markets)
- RC Edge (discontinued)
- RC 100 (discontinued)
- Caffeine Free RC (available in limited markets)
Advertising campaigns
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- In the 1930s, Alex Osborn, with BBDO, made them an ad campaign, in which was included the following slogan: "The season's best."
- In the 1960s, Royal Crown Cola did an ad campaign featuring two birds, made by Jim Henson
- Nancy Sinatra was featured in two Royal Crown Cola commercials in her one hour special called "Movin' with Nancy" featuring various singers in November 1967. She sang "it's a mad, mad, mad Cola... RC the one with the mad, mad taste!...RC! "
- Royal Crown was the official sponsor of New York Mets during the 1960s, 70s and 80s.
- In the mid 1970s, Royal Crown ran an advertising campaign called "Me & My RC", the most famous of which featured actress Sharon Stone delivering pizza on a skateboard. Others featured people in a variety of scenic outdoor locations. The jingle, sung by Louise Mandrell, went "Me and my RC! Me and my RC!..What's good enough for anyone else, ain't good enough for me."
- RC was introduced to Israel in 1995 with the slogan "RC: Just like in America!"
- Bell Buckle, TN hosts the annual RC Cola and Moon Pie Festival[1].
See also
References
- ^ Jan Duke. "The Souths Fascination with RC Colas and Moonpies". About. Retrieved on 2008-01-12.
External links
