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Dr. Pepper Ad Gallery
Dr Pepper (the "." was dropped in the 50's. See the sidebar) is the oldest major brand soft drink in
America
, preceding Coca-Cola by several years. It's was developed between 1883 and 1885 by Robert .S. Lazenby, a
Waco
,
Texas
beverage chemist and loyal patron of Morrison's Old Corner Drug Store and Fountain in Waco. Lazenby was first exposed to the delicious, flavorful concoction by an inventive young pharmacist, Charles Alderton, who worked at Morrison's Old Corner Drug Store and spent much of his spare time experimenting with the various syrups, flavorings and Sundry ingredients available at both the soda fountain and pharmacy.
Alderton became driven to develop a syrup flavor that perfectly captured that scent and palate unique only to soda fountains of the era--the very essence of that incomparable 'soda fountain smell'. Experimenting week after week, while meticulously recording his results in a journal, young Charles Alderton finally arrived at a blend of flavors that soon became a popular staple at Morrison's Fountain--the very essence of Old Time Pharmacy Soda Fountain scent and taste.
Alderton first offered his new drink to store owner Morrison, who immediately loved it's very fruity, unique flavor. Following further batch sampling, Morrison agreed to offer it to the Store's fountain patrons. The Fountain's regular customers took to the new syrup flavor in droves and referred to the early fountain concoction as "A Waco".
Morrison himself is credited with naming the drink "Dr Pepper", though the true origin of the name remains apocryphal to this day.
Dr Pepper's fame quickly spread throughout
Waco
and became such a local favorite that other fountain operators began buying the syrup and serving it to their own soda fountain patrons. Equally blessed and cursed by the new-found success of their popular syrup, Morrison and Alderton soon found they could no longer keep up with demand.
Robert S. Lazenby had also tasted the new drink and was thoroughly impressed, as well as mindful of the commercial possibilities of such a unique beverage. Alderton himself, primarily interested in pharmacy work, had no desire to commercialize the drink. Alderton suggested that Morrison and Lazenby develop the syrup further. So it was that after two more years of testing, blending and processing, the extraordinary new beverage was put on sale commercially. That same formula has remained virtually unchanged since 1885.
Morrison and Lazenby were understandably impressed with the growth of Dr Pepper. In 1891, they formed The Artesian Manufacturing & Bottling Company, which eventually became Dr Pepper Company. R.S. Lazenby and his son-in-law, J.B. O'Hara moved the company from Waco to Dallas in 1923.
Lazenby and O'Hara introduced Dr Pepper to almost 20 million people attending the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair and Exposition. The 1904 exposition also introduced hamburgers, frankfurters and the ice cream cone to the world.
'Drink A Bite to Eat at Ten, Two, and Four' c.1932
According to The Dr Pepper Museum in Waco, from 1910 to1914 Dr Pepper was identified with the slogan "King of Beverages" and "Old Doc". A typical country doctor character with monocle and top hat became the Dr Pepper trademark character in the 1920's and 1930's. During that era, research proved that sugar provided energy and that most humans experience an energy 'letdown' most normal days at 10:30a.m., 2:30p.m. and 4:30p.m. 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." Dr Pepper's slogan in the 1950s was "the friendly Pepper-Upper," which led the brand into the 1960s, becoming associated with Rock 'n Roll on Dick Clark's American Bandstand TV show.
Our own 10-2-4 Ranch CD Art Label
taken from the original 10-2-4 Ranch Transcription label
West Coast--and some East Coast--Golden Age Radio fans will remember 10-2-4 Ranch and 10-2-4 Time for their '10, 2, and 4' advertising spots for Dr Pepper. Dr. Pepper sponsored and syndicated the show, beginning as 10-2-4 Ranch then transitioning to 10-2-4 Time to provide broader popular appeal. Both shows were produced by Tracy-Locke-Dawson Co., Dallas, and recorded by Radio Recorders of Hollywood. At least 500 were produced and some 50 to 80 are still in circulation.
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