Pibb Xtra

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A bottle of Pibb Xtra

Pibb Xtra (previously sold as Mr PiBB) is a carbonated soft drink marketed by The Coca-Cola Company.

1 History
2 Availability
3 In popular culture
4 External links

[edit] History

Introduced in July 1971 to compete against the popular drink Dr Pepper, Pibb has a small but loyal following in many parts of the United States, especially the South. Many hold that Mr PiBB had a flavor distinct from, and more nuanced than, Dr Pepper, with slight hints of both root beer and chocolate. A diet version was also available into the 1990s in some markets, notably Texas. Some Pibb soda cans were uniquely shaped; instead of the traditional cylinder, the can had faceted sides.

The Coca-Cola Company held a "Pibb Girl" contest in 1980, where a girl who matched a particular face (created as a composite of celebrities) would have won cash and prizes. The contest was dropped, however, after critics observed that the celebrities, and thus the composite and presumably the eventual winner, were all Caucasian.^{[citation needed]}

Mr PiBB's slogan in the late 1990s was "Put it in your head," and the can featured an odd cartoon head drawn in a squiggly scribble style.

In 2001, a new flavor called Pibb Xtra was introduced with added cinnamon and cherry flavor, replacing the original Pibb flavor in many parts of the U.S.; some regions had both variations for sale at the same time. Pibb Xtra is often described as "spicier" and more similar to Dr Pepper than Mr PiBB.

In 2005, Coke introduced Pibb Zero, a sugar-free version of Pibb Xtra, in Texas, Kansas, Oklahoma,Missouri, and parts of the Midwest. Coke reports that there are no plans to introduce Pibb Zero to the rest of the U.S.

[edit] Availability

Pibb Xtra is widely available in the southeastern United States, parts of the Pacific Northwest and other areas of the country, depending on the local Coca-Cola bottler. It is rare to nonexistent in other parts of the U.S., notably the New York metropolitan area (though it can be found as a fountain beverage at the Chipotle fast-food chain's Manhattan locations). It can be found in both fountain form (in restaurants) or canned/bottled in vending machines or grocery stores. Pibb Xtra can sometimes be found in Southern-themed food stores in those parts of the U.S. where it is not widely available. Shortly after the introduction of Pibb Xtra, Mr PiBB was discontinued altogether.

Some fountains and vending machines still have Mr PiBB labels, even though it has been replaced by Pibb Xtra since 2001.

Piggly Wiggly, a grocery store chain located mainly in the American South and Midwest, sells a similar beverage called "Mr Pig."

[edit] In popular culture

The product was mentioned in the notorious Saturday Night Live sketch/song, "Lazy Sunday," on December 17, 2005: "Mr PiBB plus Red Vines equals 'crazy delicious.'"

M r . P i B B + R e d V i n e s = C r a z y D e l i c i o u s

Comedian Mitch Hedberg once quipped of the drink, “Mr. Pibb is a replica of Dr. Pepper, but it's a bullshit replica. Dude didn't even get his degree!”

In the animated TV series American Dad, Stan Smith's favorite soda is Mr Pibb. It's the soft drink that his wife Francine used to introduce herself to Stan. In the later season 2 episode "A.T. The Abusive Terrestrial", after learning that Mr. PiBB was being discontinued in favor of PiBB Xtra, Stan and Francine start a grassroots campaign in a stolen "Pibb-mobile" to save the original Mr PiBB. Eventually, the real Mr. Pibb (whom no one had seen in a year) arrives to tell them that soft drinks come and go; "what matters is who you drink them with". In an earlier episode, Stan pays a group of illegal immigrants working for him in Mr. Pibb (actually, watered-down Mr. Pibb).

In episode number 6 ("The Drill Machine") of The Skeletor Show, Skeletor and friends travel to the center of the earth only to leave almost immediately, due to the lack of Mr Pibb ("Sorry, mac! Here at the centre of the earth we've only got Dr Pepper!").

In an episode of the animated TV series The Simpsons, Bart and Lisa stay with their spinster aunts Patty and Selma, who offer them soy milk, Clamato, or Mr Pibb to drink. Bart and Lisa decline. In another episode, at a comic book convention, Comic Book Guy attempts to sell a collection of Little Lulu comics that had been damaged by Diet Mr Pibb.

On the television show Mystery Science Theater 3000, Mr Pibb is an ingredient in the making of a "Killer Shrew" drink. Some other ingredients in this extremely sugary concoction include circus peanuts, Good & Plenty, chocolate ice cream, marshmallow Peeps, Cap'n Crunch cereal, vanilla icing, maple syrup, and various other candies.

A Mr Pibb video game was released for PC in 1998 by BrandGames, in which you play as Mr. Pibb in a school full of cartoonish zombies. It was a FPS and consisted of only one (although quite long) level.

The title of the song "Dr. Pibb" by The Malfated is an amalgamation of the names Dr Pepper and Mr Pibb.

In the movie Slither, a character laments the fact that no Mr Pibb had been packed in the cooler of snacks he'd taken with him on a stakeout.

In George Carlin's bit about motel names, part of the chain of events he mentions is going down to the soda machine and getting two cans of Mr Pibb, going on to say that it's all that's left in a motel soda machine on Sunday morning, along with Diet Shasta Orange, and "that yellow can of Canada Dry Tonic Water that nobody wants!"

In the web-comic 8-bit Theater, the author makes several strips on Mr Pibb. [1] [2] [3]

On their album Hitler Bad, Vandals Good, The Vandals perform the song An Idea for a Movie, involving a boy who goes on magical adventures with "a bottle of Mr PiBB".

In an episode of King of the Hill, after borrowing Hank's lawnmower Dale refills the gas tank with Mr PiBB rather than gasoline. Hank discovers this when his mower breaks down shortly after it is returned and Bill tastes the mystery liquid inside the tank.

In an episode of Family Guy Peter Griffin asks super heros if they can pick up more Mr PiBB because they can get there in seconds, while it would take him hours.