100 years of RC Cola!

17/05/05 Cadbury Schweppes Americas Beverages (CSAB) is celebrating a century of RC Cola this year with a promotion that hits stores nationwide on Memorial Day weekend and lasts through Labor Day.

During the summer RC Cola will unveil special 100th anniversary packaging, along with a summer promotion consisting of sweepstakes in local markets. Prizes will include commemorative RC T-shirts, caps, bicycles, coolers and RC Cola products, which consumers will enter to win at participating retail establishments.

RC Cola was an innovator in many areas.  In 1954, it was the first brand to be to nationally distributed in an all aluminum can, the first to offer a low calorie diet cola and a caffeine free soda (R.C.100).

RC Cola was a pioneer in soft drink advertising.  In the 1950's RC Cola ads graced the pages of publications such as Saturday Evening Post and Good Housekeeping, and endorsements by Hollywood stars such as Joan Crawford, Bob Hope and Bing Crosby were featured on billboards throughout the nation.

RC Cola received its name from the people who matter the most: its consumers.  When the reformulated product was released in 1934, the manufacturer named it "Royal Crown Cola."  As the soft drink became increasingly successful, consumers affectionately abbreviated the name to "RC."

Some claim the combination of "RC Cola and MoonPie" the favorite fast food lunch of the fifties.  No one really knows how these two became a pair, but back then you could buy an RC Cola and MoonPie for 10 cents. This combination has inspired many to write, read and celebrate its existence.  Songs such as the 1950s hit "Gimm'e an RC Cola and a MoonPie" from Big Bill Liston in the 1950s to today's versions from NRBQ called "RC and MoonPie" and "MoonPie" by Edwin Hubbard.  The legendary "RC Cola and MoonPie" combo continues to be the inspiration for annual festivals in cities throughout the south.