Canada Dry

Etymology

The "Dry" in the brand's name refers to not being sweet, as in a dry wine. When John J. McLaughlin originally made his new soft drink, "Canada Dry Pale Ginger Ale", it was far less sweet than other ginger ales then available; as a result, he labelled it "dry".

History

In 1890, Canadian pharmacist and chemist John J. McLaughlin of Enniskillen, Ontario, after working in a soda factory in Brooklyn, New York, opened a carbonated water plant in Toronto. McLaughlin was the eldest son of Robert McLaughlin, founder of McLaughlin Carriage and McLaughlin Motor Car.{{Cite book

When McLaughlin began shipping his product to New York, it became so popular that he opened a plant in Manhattan shortly thereafter. After McLaughlin's death in 1914, the company was run briefly by his brother, Samuel McLaughlin. P. D. Saylor and Associates bought the business from the McLaughlin family in 1923 and formed Canada Dry Ginger Ale, Inc., a public company.

Canada Dry's popularity as a mixer began during Prohibition, when its flavor helped mask the taste of homemade liquor.{{Cite book

Norton Simon took an interest in the company in 1964, and it merged with Simon's other holdings, the McCall Corporation and Hunt Foods, to form Norton Simon Inc. Dr Pepper bought Canada Dry from Norton Simon in 1982. In 1984, Dr Pepper was acquired by Forstmann Little & Company, and Canada Dry was sold to R. J. Reynolds' Del Monte Foods unit to pay off acquisition debt. RJR Nabisco sold its soft drink business to Cadbury Schweppes in 1986. Today, Canada Dry is owned by Keurig Dr Pepper, which was spun off from Cadbury Schweppes in 2008.

'Made from Real Ginger' lawsuits

In 2019, Canada Dry faced false advertising lawsuits from a few consumers who requested class action status. Although the ingredients included a natural flavour extract made from ginger root, the plaintiffs said the drink did not have enough ginger flavor for people to be able to taste it, and that they thought the advertising slogan indicated that the drink was "made by chopping or powdering the root of the ginger plant", instead of using a small amount of liquid extracted from a ginger root. To settle this lawsuit, the company decided to stop making this claim in the US and to offer between US$5.20 and $40 to affected US consumers.

In early 2019, a class-action lawsuit was requested in Canada, where the Canadian Food Inspection Agency regulations specify that ingredients in food may be described as "real" if that ingredient "is present in the food, regardless of what form (e.g., frozen, powdered, ground, concentrated, etc.)". In a settlement, Canada Dry Mott's Inc. agreed to pay $200,000, inclusive of all expenses and fees, plus disbursements of $18,607.61, but it did not require the defendant to change its product labelling or advertising for products marketed in Canada. The settlement amount was to be distributed to the class members by way of cy-près donation to the Law Foundation of British Columbia, while two lead plaintiffs, Victor Cardoso and Lionel Ravvin, received $1,500 each.

The subjectivity of how much ginger is necessary before a product can be fairly described as being "made from real ginger" prompted one author to quip that "The truth is in the lie of the beholder".

Marketing

Nylon Studios produced the song used in the Rabbit's "Jack's Farm" commercial featuring Canada Dry Ginger Ale. A Cantonese version of the ad was also produced.

References

Notes

Bibliography

• Robertson, Heather (1995). Driving Force: The McLaughlin Family and the Age of the Car. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart Ltd.

References

1. "Ginger Ales, Seltzer Waters, Sodas {{!}} Canada Dry".
2. "Canada Dry Mott's - Our History".
3. Morris, Evan. ''From Altoids to Zima: The Surprising Stories Behind 125 Famous Brand Names''. Fireside, 2004. p. 23–24.
4. "The McLaughlins - Sleighs, Buggys, Cars and Ginger Ale". ''The Clarington Promoter'', September 2016, pages 1 and 4. by Myno Van Dyke
5. "History of our Brands". [[Cadbury]].
6. [https://www.nytimes.com/1981/09/16/business/dr-pepper-to-acquire-canada-dry.html "DR PEPPER TO ACQUIRE CANADA DRY"]. ''[[The New York Times]]'', By Barnaby J. Feder September 16, 1981
7. [https://www.nytimes.com/1982/02/03/business/canada-dry-sold-to-dr-pepper-co.html "Canada Dry Sold to Dr Pepper Co."], ''[[The New York Times]]'', February 3, 1982
8. (June 3, 1986). "Schweppes to Buy Nabisco's Sunkist, Canada Dry Units". [[Los Angeles Times]].
9. "Keurig Dr Pepper - Canada Dry". Keurig Dr Pepper.
10. Drinking, Eating &. (January 12, 2019). "Facing false advertising lawsuits, Canada Dry drops claim it is 'made from real ginger' {{!}} National Post".
11. Gnirrs, Gary. (March 2019). "Canada Dry by Design". Food in Canada.
12. Aonso, Casey. (January 12, 2019). "Canada Dry Is Being Forced To Pay Out Anyone Who Has Bought Their Ginger Ale Since 2013 Because Of This Lawsuit".
13. International, Radio Canada. (January 28, 2019). "Canada Dry Ginger Ale- "no ginger" lawsuit settled in U.S., begins in Canada".
14. [http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/ginger-ale-lawsuit-canada-dry-1.5782817 B.C. man's lawsuit over marketing of Canada Dry ginger ale settled for $200,000]
15. [http://www.bccourts.ca/jdb-txt/sc/20/15/2020BCSC1569cor1.htm Cardoso v. Canada Dry Mott’s Inc., 2020 BCSC 1569]
16. (February 28, 2011). "Nylon Studios Creates Music for New Canada Dry TV Ad". Nylons Studios.
17. (September 21, 2012). "Canada Dry: Jack's Ginger Farm(Cantonese Ad)". swanch1989.