The Royal Crown Company had marketing pros that understood the value of advertising and product promotion. With the help of their marketing agency, BBD&O, Royal Crown Cola experienced incredible growth through the 1940s.
Starting in 1939, RC Cola became the sponsor for the CBS radio program “Ripley’s Believe It Or Not” with Robert Ripley. The show was broadcast every Friday evening and both the program and the RC Cola commercials were heard from coast to coast.
Another major component of RC Cola advertising was their print advertising. Starting in 1940 they had color inserts placed into magazines such as “The Saturday Evening Post” and “Good Housekeeping”. They also had ads printed in nearly 600 daily newspapers across the U.S.
Beginning in 1946 they used celebrity likenesses as well as endorsements. The advertisements featured famous movie stars like Lucille Ball, Loretta Young and Joan Crawford. Other stars in their ads were Lauren Bacall, Gary Cooper, Shirley Temple, Bob Hope, Gene Tierney, Barbara Stanwyck, Bing Crosby and Jerry Lewis. 1947 RC Cola ads featured the glamorous Hollywood actress Hedy Lamarr. A nationwide campaign was begun to promote RC Cola as the best of all available colas, proven in independent taste tests. They started using the slogan, “Best By Taste Test” and the stars appeared in their ads declaring, “RC tastes best!” Unlike RC’s main soft drink competition, Coca-Cola and Pepsi, the people at Royal Crown liked the idea of linking their cola to movie stars.
Other forms of advertising were billboards, point-of-purchase displays, metal signs, no-drip paper bottle protectors and bottle openers. Nancy Sinatra did two RC Cola commercials during her one-hour television special, “Movin’ with Nancy”, in 1967. In the mid-1970s Sharon Stone, a then undiscovered actress, was in an RC Cola commercial riding a skateboard while delivering pizza. This was part of the RC Cola ad series titled “Me and My RC”.
The Royal Crown Cola Company commemorated its 100th Anniversary in 2005. They are now owned by Cadbury Schweppes and continue to be very successful all over the world.
14 responses so far ↓
1 Neil // Sep 12, 2009 at 9:03 am
I HAVE SEVERAL EMPTY CANS OF VARIOUS ERAS BACK TO ‘50′S. LOTS OF SHELF TALKERS. FOR R C & NEHI . GLASS BOTTLES & WOODEN CASE, SEVERAL METAL SIGNS. I WORKED AND MANAGED FOR RC IN THE ‘80′S. IT SURE IS A SHAME HOW THE NEW OWNERS HAVE LET THE MARKET SHARE SLIP.
2 horacio aleman // Oct 7, 2009 at 6:01 pm
is there a way i can get some of those old pictures of rc cola.
3 mike newton // Oct 11, 2009 at 3:49 pm
Thanks for displaying your vintage ads and information. I have a full size ad of Virginia Mayo drinking R.C. Cola vintage 1947. It shows off her figure in a two piece sunsuit and promotes her movie, “Secret Life of Walter Mitty.” I have also seen one of cowboy star Wild Bill Elliott in her Red Ryder costume. A movie poster dealer-friend of mine sells R C Cola and Moon Pies at the conventions he attends, just as they did in the theaters years ago. Thanks again for sharing.
4 kyle // Dec 21, 2009 at 6:54 pm
I have one of these old royal crown machines.
how much would one of these machines run for?
5 vintagevending // Dec 22, 2009 at 12:45 pm
Kyle,
We can’t give estimates on the value of machines as we are no longer in the restoration business. You can try ebay or Craig’s List, sometimes they pop up there. Also, fun-tronicsllc.com is a good resource, they might be able to help.
6 kyle // Dec 24, 2009 at 1:15 am
thank you
7 Adam // Jan 11, 2010 at 10:44 pm
Nice pictures! They remind me that I have an RC Cola 3D filmstrip that was used by salesman to demonstrate RC’s new “electric” cooler. I am going to guess it is from the 1930’s.
8 Tammy // Jan 27, 2010 at 11:15 am
I am restoring a Royal Crown Cola Cooler and am not sure what color yellow to use. I have looked online and cannot find it anywhere. HELP!
9 vintagevending // Jan 27, 2010 at 12:07 pm
Tammy,
Try contacting the manufacturer. They’ll probably be able to help you out.
10 jim gay // Apr 19, 2010 at 8:53 pm
I have a old RC can would like to know how old it is . It is the type that has to be opened with a triangle shape opener does not have a tab
11 vintagevending // Apr 21, 2010 at 3:38 pm
Jim,
According to my research, pull tab tops were invented in 1963, so the can has to be older than that.
12 elliott // Jul 2, 2010 at 5:15 pm
hello i’m trying to find out the make of a chest type royal crown vending machine.it looks a lot like the kelvinator 180 but is about 7 to 8 feet in length. The front has drink royal crown on the left front and right front and says something about nehi on each end. It’s yellow in color and the lettering is in red. The top is chrome with sliding doors. Please help
13 Rex Vance // Aug 11, 2010 at 9:07 pm
Have a cooler like but I need parts where can I get them?
14 tootallswife // Aug 25, 2010 at 11:31 pm
I have a approx. 5 1/2″ tall drinking glass – blue band around middle, white circle with “Royal Crown (c) Cola in blue and large stylized RC in red. Does anyone know how old it is and what it’s worth, if anything?
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