Article #114: Vintage 1970's Tab Soda Bottle

 

In this new article, we will be taking a look at this vintage Tab soda bottle from the 1970's. This drink was introduced in 1963 and was distributed by the Coca Cola Company. It was created after successful marketing and sales of Diet Rite Cola which was owned by Royal Crown.  It was the first diet drink put out by the company. 

The way the drink got its name is very interesting to look at. The marketing research department at Coca Cola used an IBM 1401 computer to generate a list of four-letter words containing one vowel. Over 185,000 names were generated. Names suggested by the company staff were added as well. The list got down to twenty names where Tabb was chosen. It was shortened to having only one letter b in the word.  

Robert Sydney Dickens who was the packaging designer gave the name the capitalization pattern (TaB) which was used in the logo in addition to creating a new design for the bottle.

In the 1970's, six variety flavors of Tab were released by Coca Cola. Those were root beer, lemon lime, ginger ale, black cherry, orange and strawberry. 

Over time, several variations of the drink came out. That would include fruit flavors, root beer and ginger ale to name a few. it was popular as an alternative to Coca Cola in the 1960's and 1970's. When Diet Coke was launched in 1982, the popularity for Tab declined. Some clear variations came out in the 1980's and early 1990's. 

Tab was discontinued at the end of 2020.

This bottle has the logo at the top and in the middle as well as some stars going all the way around. It is a 10 oz bottle. It says Return for Deposit at the top as well.

Here is a close-up view of the stars going all the way around the bottle.

Here is a close-up of the logo at the top of the bottle.

Here is the logo in the middle of the bottle.

Here is the bottom of the bottle.