Dad's Root Beer
Encyclopedia
Dad's Root Beer is an American
root beer
created in Chicago
in 1937 by Ely Klapman and Barney Berns. It is currently sold and marketed by The Dad's Root Beer Company LLC, and owned by Hedinger Brands, LLC.
Dad's Root Beer distinguished itself as a brand and industry innovator when it became the first product to use the six pack
format invented by the Atlanta Paper Company in the 1940s. Dad's also introduced the half-gallon bottle, becoming the first brand to market this size. Dad's was marketed as a family. "Junior" bottle size was the smallest, 7, 10 or 12 ounces. "Mama" was a quart bottle, and "Papa" was a half gallon bottle. (The image of the young boy featured on the "Junior" size bottle is Barney Berns' son, Gene Berns.) A common promotion in the 1940s was the 1 cent sale - purchase the Papa half gallon at regular price and get the Mama quart for 1 cent.
The Klapman and Berns families sold all rights to the Dad's name and logo to IC Industries
in the 1970s.
The Monarch Beverage Company
of Atlanta acquired Dad's from IC Industries
of Chicago in 1986. At that time Dad's was distributed by the Coca-Cola bottler network, sold 12 million cases annually, and held the second largest share of the root beer category behind A & W.
In 2007 Dad's Root Beer was purchased from Monarch, along with the Bubble Up, Dr. Wells, and Sun Crest brands, by Hedinger Brands, LLC and licensed to The Dad's Root Beer Company, LLC. The company headquarters is now located in Jasper, Indiana.
Dad's Root Beer will be celebrating its 75th anniversary in 2012
, was formed by Keith Hedinger when Hedinger Brands, LLC acquired the Dad's Root Beer brand and other soda brands from The Monarch Beverage Co. of Atlanta. Hedinger was approached as owner of Hedinger Beverage Distributing Co., Inc., the largest nonbottler distributor of Dad's. Other soda brands purchased by Hedinger Brands, LLC are Bubble Up
, Dr. Wells
and Sun Crest
. Dad's has added 140 additional distributors since acquisition by Hedinger Brands. Jewel-Osco in Chicago, Albertson’s
in California and Nevada, Kmart
stores, Pamida Hometown Values
, Big Lots
, Food City, World Market Stores, Kwik Trip, and Casey's General Stores are all retailers of Dad's brand.
asked "Have you had it lately?" became fixtures on the Chicago landscape.
The product's jingle was a simple line sung several times, to a conga
beat, with the "kick" coming on "Beer":
During the 1970's, Chicago-based television advertising for Dad's featured a different jingle sung by an ensemble with the following lyrics:
If it foams up to meet you
It's gotta be Dad's, it's gotta be Dad's
If it foams up to treat you
It's gotta be Dad's, it's gotta be Dad's
(Announcer would read the ad copy while a short instrumental section of the jingle played, then the song continued)
So ask for Dad's, it's good old-fashioned
With the taste of yesteryear
If you don't ask for Dad's
All you're gonna get is,
All you're gonna get is,
All you're gonna get is,
...root beer!
Starting in 2009, Dad's sponsored Dreyer & Reinbold Racing's #24 car in the IndyCar Series
with English driver Mike Conway
. Conway drove the Dad's Root Beer # 24 primary car for 7 races that year: St. Pete, Long Beach, Kansas, Iowa (on Father's Day), Watkins Glen, Kentucky and Chicago, with the highest Dad's Root Beer car finish 6th at Watkins Glen.
Dad's was back in 2010 as a sponsor of Conway's #24 at Sao Paulo, Brazil and St. Pete. The Dad's car's most notable outing came in the 2010 Indianapolis 500
when Conway's car was completely destroyed in a horrific crash on lap 199 which saw the car launch off the back tire of a car in front of it, become airborne and slam into the catch fence at 200 miles per hour (89.4 m/s). Conway survived the crash with only a broken leg. Graham Rahal filled in for Conway at Iowa on Father's Day 2010 and drove the specially designed #24 Hot Wheels/Dad's Root Beer Car. Ana Beatriz drove the Dad's Root Beer car at Chicagoland Speedway that year also filling in for Conway.
In 2011 Dad's Root Beer returned as an associate sponsor with Dreyer & Reinbold Racing on Justin Wilson's #22. Wilson drove the Dad's Root Beer car to its 3rd straight top 10 finish on Father's Day at Milwaukee, and the following week at Iowa. Townsend Bell filled in for an injured Wilson and drove the Dad's Root Beer car at Las Vegas.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
root beer
Root beer
Root beer is a carbonated, sweetened beverage, originally made using the root of a sassafras plant as the primary flavor. Root beer, popularized in North America, comes in two forms: alcoholic and soft drink. The historical root beer was analogous to small beer in that the process provided a drink...
created in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
in 1937 by Ely Klapman and Barney Berns. It is currently sold and marketed by The Dad's Root Beer Company LLC, and owned by Hedinger Brands, LLC.
History
Dad's Root Beer, one of America's most popular soft drinks, was developed in the 1930s by partners Barney Berns and Ely Klapman in the basement of Klapman's Chicago-area home. The first trademark registration was filed on September 24, 1938, granted on February 14, 1939 to The Dad's Root Beer Company of Chicago, and alleged use since February, 1937. Dad's unique and delicious flavor earned a loyal following. The Dad's Root Beer brand was famous throughout the Midwest and by the late 1940s, was one of the most consumed brands of root beer throughout the United States. Jules Klapman, son of co-founder Ely, successfully took the Dad's brand international. The name Dad's Old Fashioned Root Beer was selected in honor of Ely Klapman's father, and other fathers, who used to make root beer at home for their families (popular in the early 20th Century).Dad's Root Beer distinguished itself as a brand and industry innovator when it became the first product to use the six pack
Six pack rings
Six pack rings or six pack yokes are a set of connected plastic rings that are used in multi-packs of beverage, particularly six packs of beverage cans.-History:...
format invented by the Atlanta Paper Company in the 1940s. Dad's also introduced the half-gallon bottle, becoming the first brand to market this size. Dad's was marketed as a family. "Junior" bottle size was the smallest, 7, 10 or 12 ounces. "Mama" was a quart bottle, and "Papa" was a half gallon bottle. (The image of the young boy featured on the "Junior" size bottle is Barney Berns' son, Gene Berns.) A common promotion in the 1940s was the 1 cent sale - purchase the Papa half gallon at regular price and get the Mama quart for 1 cent.
The Klapman and Berns families sold all rights to the Dad's name and logo to IC Industries
PepsiAmericas
PepsiAmericas, Inc. was the world's second-largest bottler of Pepsi-Cola products, and also contracted to produce beverages for Dr Pepper Snapple Group and smaller regional brands. PepsiAmericas had 19 bottling plants in the United States and had a presence in 11 countries in Central/Eastern...
in the 1970s.
The Monarch Beverage Company
Monarch Beverage Company
The Monarch Beverage Company Inc is a diversified, international beverage company based in Atlanta, Georgia. The company's CEO is Jacques Bombal. The company was founded in 1965 by Frank Armstrong. Monarch Beverage Company aimed to establish itself by offering lesser-known soft drink brands that...
of Atlanta acquired Dad's from IC Industries
PepsiAmericas
PepsiAmericas, Inc. was the world's second-largest bottler of Pepsi-Cola products, and also contracted to produce beverages for Dr Pepper Snapple Group and smaller regional brands. PepsiAmericas had 19 bottling plants in the United States and had a presence in 11 countries in Central/Eastern...
of Chicago in 1986. At that time Dad's was distributed by the Coca-Cola bottler network, sold 12 million cases annually, and held the second largest share of the root beer category behind A & W.
In 2007 Dad's Root Beer was purchased from Monarch, along with the Bubble Up, Dr. Wells, and Sun Crest brands, by Hedinger Brands, LLC and licensed to The Dad's Root Beer Company, LLC. The company headquarters is now located in Jasper, Indiana.
Dad's Root Beer will be celebrating its 75th anniversary in 2012
The Dad's Root Beer Company
In 2007, The Dad's Root Beer Company, LLC of Jasper, IndianaJasper, Indiana
- Strassenfest :The Jasper Strassenfest is a four-day event held annually during the first weekend in August. The "Fest" is a celebration between Jasper and its German sister-city Pfaffenweiler, a small village in southwest Germany. Many citizens of Pfaffenweiler travel to Jasper around this time...
, was formed by Keith Hedinger when Hedinger Brands, LLC acquired the Dad's Root Beer brand and other soda brands from The Monarch Beverage Co. of Atlanta. Hedinger was approached as owner of Hedinger Beverage Distributing Co., Inc., the largest nonbottler distributor of Dad's. Other soda brands purchased by Hedinger Brands, LLC are Bubble Up
Bubble Up
Bubble Up is a lemon-lime soda pop brand created in 1919, by Sweet Valley Products Co. of Sandusky, Ohio. Bubble Up is manufactured by The Dad's Root Beer Company, LLC and owned by Hedinger Brands, LLC for the U.S., Canada and Mexico, and by Monarch Beverage Company of Atlanta for international...
, Dr. Wells
Dr. Wells
Dr. Wells is a "pepper-style" carbonated soft drink manufactured by The Dad's Root Beer Company, LLC. of Jasper, Indiana, and owned by Hedinger Brands, LLC. The brand is currently available in 12 ounce cans, 20 ounce plastic bottles, 1-liter plastic bottles, and on fountain service in select...
and Sun Crest
Sun Crest
Sun Crest is a brand of flavored carbonated soft drink manufactured by The Dad's Root Beer Company, LLC. of Jasper, Indiana and owned by Hedinger Brands, LLC, except for 6 countries in Asia owned by The Monarch Beverage Company, Inc. of Atlanta...
. Dad's has added 140 additional distributors since acquisition by Hedinger Brands. Jewel-Osco in Chicago, Albertson’s
Albertsons LLC
Albertsons LLC is a North American grocery company based in Boise, Idaho, with over 240 supermarkets located in Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Florida under the Albertson's and Super Saver Foods banners...
in California and Nevada, Kmart
Kmart
Kmart, sometimes styled as "K-Mart," is a chain of discount department stores. The chain acquired Sears in 2005, forming a new corporation under the name Sears Holdings Corporation. The company was founded in 1962 and is the third largest discount store chain in the world, behind Wal-Mart and...
stores, Pamida Hometown Values
Pamida
Pamida is a chain of department stores with more than 175 locations in 16 Midwestern and West Central U.S. states. Pamida stores are generally located in smaller communities that range from 3,000 to 8,000 in population...
, Big Lots
Big Lots
Big Lots, Inc. is a Fortune 500 retail corporation with annual revenues well over $4 billion.Its department stores focus mainly on selling closeout and overstock merchandise. The company is based in Columbus, Ohio, USA and currently operates over 1,400 stores in 47 states...
, Food City, World Market Stores, Kwik Trip, and Casey's General Stores are all retailers of Dad's brand.
Flavors
Dad's makes the following brands/flavors:- Dad's Old Fashioned Root Beer
- Diet Dad's Old Fashioned Root Beer
- Dad's Old Fashioned Cream Soda
- Dad's Old Fashioned Orange Cream Soda
- Dad's Old Fashioned Red Cream Soda
- Dad's Old Fashioned Blue Cream Soda
- Bubble UpBubble UpBubble Up is a lemon-lime soda pop brand created in 1919, by Sweet Valley Products Co. of Sandusky, Ohio. Bubble Up is manufactured by The Dad's Root Beer Company, LLC and owned by Hedinger Brands, LLC for the U.S., Canada and Mexico, and by Monarch Beverage Company of Atlanta for international...
- Sun CrestSun CrestSun Crest is a brand of flavored carbonated soft drink manufactured by The Dad's Root Beer Company, LLC. of Jasper, Indiana and owned by Hedinger Brands, LLC, except for 6 countries in Asia owned by The Monarch Beverage Company, Inc. of Atlanta...
Orange - Dr. WellsDr. WellsDr. Wells is a "pepper-style" carbonated soft drink manufactured by The Dad's Root Beer Company, LLC. of Jasper, Indiana, and owned by Hedinger Brands, LLC. The brand is currently available in 12 ounce cans, 20 ounce plastic bottles, 1-liter plastic bottles, and on fountain service in select...
Advertising
The company's signs on the Edens Expressway (I-94) and one near Lake Shore DriveLake Shore Drive
Lake Shore Drive is a mostly freeway-standard expressway running parallel with and alongside the shoreline of Lake Michigan through Chicago, Illinois, USA. Except for the portion north of Foster Avenue , Lake Shore Drive is designated as part of U.S...
asked "Have you had it lately?" became fixtures on the Chicago landscape.
The product's jingle was a simple line sung several times, to a conga
Conga
The conga, or more properly the tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed Cuban drum with African antecedents. It is thought to be derived from the Makuta drums or similar drums associated with Afro-Cubans of Central African descent. A person who plays conga is called a conguero...
beat, with the "kick" coming on "Beer":
During the 1970's, Chicago-based television advertising for Dad's featured a different jingle sung by an ensemble with the following lyrics:
If it foams up to meet you
It's gotta be Dad's, it's gotta be Dad's
If it foams up to treat you
It's gotta be Dad's, it's gotta be Dad's
(Announcer would read the ad copy while a short instrumental section of the jingle played, then the song continued)
So ask for Dad's, it's good old-fashioned
With the taste of yesteryear
If you don't ask for Dad's
All you're gonna get is,
All you're gonna get is,
All you're gonna get is,
...root beer!
Indycar Sponsorship
Dad's Root Beer became an IZOD Indycar associate sponsor in 2007 with Jon Herb and the #19 for 3 races including the 2007 Indy 500. In 2008 Dad's joined Dreyer & Reinbold Racing as an associate sponsor of Indy 500 Champion Buddy Rice's #15 car. The distinctive blue, yellow and red Dad's Root Beer livery was unveiled that year at the 2008 season finale race at the Chicagoland Speedway.Starting in 2009, Dad's sponsored Dreyer & Reinbold Racing's #24 car in the IndyCar Series
IndyCar Series
The IZOD IndyCar Series is the premier level of American open wheel racing. The current championship, founded by Indianapolis Motor Speedway owner Tony George, began in 1996 as a competitor to CART known as the Indy Racing League . Citing CART's increasing reliance on expensive machinery and...
with English driver Mike Conway
Mike Conway
Mike Conway, born 19 August 1983, is a British racing driver. He lives in Sevenoaks, Kent and is currently competing in the IZOD IndyCar Series.- Biography :Conway who was born in Bromley, Kent, England attended Sevenoaks Prep School from 1986 to 1996....
. Conway drove the Dad's Root Beer # 24 primary car for 7 races that year: St. Pete, Long Beach, Kansas, Iowa (on Father's Day), Watkins Glen, Kentucky and Chicago, with the highest Dad's Root Beer car finish 6th at Watkins Glen.
Dad's was back in 2010 as a sponsor of Conway's #24 at Sao Paulo, Brazil and St. Pete. The Dad's car's most notable outing came in the 2010 Indianapolis 500
2010 Indianapolis 500
The 94th Indianapolis 500 was held on Sunday, May 30, 2010, at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It was the 15th Indy 500 sanctioned by the Indy Racing League, and was the premier event of the 2010 IZOD IndyCar Series season. The race was won by Dario Franchitti, ahead of Dan Wheldon and Marco...
when Conway's car was completely destroyed in a horrific crash on lap 199 which saw the car launch off the back tire of a car in front of it, become airborne and slam into the catch fence at 200 miles per hour (89.4 m/s). Conway survived the crash with only a broken leg. Graham Rahal filled in for Conway at Iowa on Father's Day 2010 and drove the specially designed #24 Hot Wheels/Dad's Root Beer Car. Ana Beatriz drove the Dad's Root Beer car at Chicagoland Speedway that year also filling in for Conway.
In 2011 Dad's Root Beer returned as an associate sponsor with Dreyer & Reinbold Racing on Justin Wilson's #22. Wilson drove the Dad's Root Beer car to its 3rd straight top 10 finish on Father's Day at Milwaukee, and the following week at Iowa. Townsend Bell filled in for an injured Wilson and drove the Dad's Root Beer car at Las Vegas.
Film
- In the movie The Stranger (1946 film)The Stranger (1946 film)The Stranger is an American film noir directed by Orson Welles and starring Welles, Edward G. Robinson, and Loretta Young. The film was based on an Oscar-nominated screenplay written by Victor Trivas. Sam Spiegel was the film's producer, and the film's musical score is by Bronisław Kaper...
, an advertisement for Dad's Root Beer can be seen on the wall of the town's general store and soda fountain.