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| ROYAL CROWN COLA or RC COLA, 1950s-70s bottles. Personal Collection. |
Not very many know that the American soda brand, RC
COLA, was introduced in the Philippines by Cosmos Bottling Corporation,
producer of such popular drinks as Cosmos Sarsaparilla (Sarsi), Cheers, Pop
Cola, Sunta. RC COLA is actually a
century-old brand, known originally as Royal Crown Cola, created by pharmacist
Claud A. Hatcher of Georgia in 1905. The
flavor, as we know it, was reformulated by chemist Rufus Kamm in 1934.
By the 1950s, Royal Crown Cola was an established
company, the first to sell soft drinks in a can, and later the first company to
sell a soft drink in an aluminum can. It was advertised and marketed
internationally with an updated brand name,
RC COLA, and found its way to
the Philippines sometime in 1968.
The U.S. –made TV commercial made its appearance on local
TV in the late 60s, bannering the line “RC
COLA..the one with the mad, mad taste! RC!”. Chanteuse Nancy Sinatra starred in 2 versions
of RC COLA commercials, first aired
in her TV special ‘Movin’ with Nancy’ in late 1967. This is the version that hit the Philippine
airwaves that showed Sinatra flitting from one column to another as she sang
the upbeat jingle:
WATCH THE RC COLA "Nancy Sinatra", 1968
In 1996, Cosmos Bottling sold RC COLA to San Miguel Corp.
In 2001, when SMC acquired Cosmos, it sold its brands to Coca-Cola
Bottlers Phils. Inc, but ended its license to produce RC COLA (along with Sunkist and Jolt Cola).
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| THE RC COLA LINE today. |
Former Cosmos executives who believe in the brand,
partnered with Zest-O to form Asiawide
Refreshments Corp., which reintroduced RC
COLA, under license from RC Cola
U.S.A. With 9 bottling plants, 80%-plus
distribution level and a market share of RC
COLA is the country’s third best-selling brand today.
ARC Refreshments Corp. : http://www.arc.com.ph/
Cosmos Bottling: http://listofcompanies.co.in/2011/12/28/cosmos-bottling-corporation/
RC Cola bottles and cans photo:
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