Why Did Mr. Pibb Soda Change Its Name To Pibb Xtra?

Plenty of foods and drinks have met their demise after an attempted rebrand, but some come out of the transition even more tasty than before. Pibb Xtra, formerly known as Mr. Pibb and launched as a direct competitor to Dr. Pepper, was spurred to change both its name and formula to stay up to date.

In 1972, the Coca-Cola company was dominating the soft drink market, but Dr. Pepper was having plenty of success all on its own. Not to be outdone, Coca-Cola set out to create a drink that mimicked Dr. Pepper's cola and vanilla flavors. 

This rivalry, along with other branding moves, has led Pibb soda through many iterations over more than 50 years in the industry. Where briefly beloved drinks like TAB and Surge, the discontinued '90s soda, fell by the wayside (with honorable efforts to revive them by fans), Mr. Pibb managed to live on. In 2001, Coca-Cola made its boldest move to pull Mr. Pibb out from beneath Dr. Pepper's shadow. The Mr. Pibb formula was updated to Pibb Xtra and marketed as spicier and more cherry-flavored than the original, officially muscling in on Dr. Pepper's defining characteristics.

When Coca-Cola took a swing at Dr. Pepper in the 1970s, Dr. Pepper wasn't about to let the insult slide. After being met with a lawsuit over alleged trademark infringement, Coca-Cola tried to appease its rival and move forward with its new product, changing the soda's name from Peppo to Mr. Pibb. This was still a pointed hit, but a less legally troubling one. The new title would still help customers associate the soda with a similar flavor to Dr. Pepper.

With the name settled, Mr. Pibb went on to be rolled out in various states and markets as Coca-Cola kept its focus on competing with Dr. Pepper. Unfortunately, this focus is likely what kept up Mr. Pibb's reputation as a lesser version of the rival drink. In 1992, Coca-Cola once again found itself in a legal scruff with Dr. Pepper because it redesigned the Mr. Pibb can to have diagonal lettering, which Dr. Pepper claimed was too similar to its own. The change to Pibb Xtra was the next in a long line of identity scuffles with the competing soda brand.

Of course, rebrands aren't uncommon in the food and drink industry. In fact, a lot of major foods have rebranded without you even noticing, while others have made headline news with their transformations.