At the start of 2008 , few people could have predicted a photographic film titledKung Fu Pandawouldbecomethe class ’s third - high-pitched grossing motion picture ( The Dark Knightwas number one ) ; that an Iraki diary keeper wouldthrowhis shoe at President George Bush ( he ducked ) ; or that someone wouldassemblea macrocosm - record ready safety band ball ( it matter in at 9032 pounds ) . Nor could they have foretell that attorney for musician Axl Rose would write an open and sternly wordedletterto Dr Pepper , chastising the soft drunkenness company for a public relations agitate the attorneys knight a “ all over debacle ” and charging them with “ rash apathy or ended folly . ”
The ire directed towardDr Pepper , though freaky , was not without causal agent . It was the upshot of a spectacular trip in selling — one that originate as a joke and quick became a dearly-won venture for the popular carbonated beverage . In March 2008 , Dr Pepper brazenlypromiseda free soda for every exclusive person in the United States if Axl Rose and his reconfigured circle , Guns N ’ pink wine , finally released their long - awaitedChinese Democracyalbum by the end of the yr .
It seemed like a safe bet . Rose had been working on the record for 14 years . A release was improbable given Rose ’s infamous perfectionism and fractured family relationship with his bandmates . In produce the call , Dr Pepper was awash in free publicity .
It does n’t seem like anyone in the troupe gave serious retainer to what would happen if Rose decided to end the delay and put the record album out . In November , that ’s precisely what he did . Suddenly , zillion of hoi polloi wanted what they had been promised : a free Dr Pepper .
There was nothing in the history of either Dr Pepper or Guns N ’ Roses to indicate their celebrated histories would ever overlap . The drink was the brainchild of Waco , Texas , pharmacist Charles Alderton , whoformulateda 23 - component fountain beverage in 1885 and saw its popularity soar thanks to its presence at the 1904 St. Louis World ’s Fair . He nickname it Dr Pepper , though no one really acknowledge why ; onepersistent rumoris that it was named after the father of a girl Alderton was in love with , but the line of the name stay on overt to apocryphal speculation .
Dr Pepper was initially marketed as a health drink , free of the caffeine or cocain that was present in similar concoctions . Some people used to drink it live . It was a popular flavor and for the most part successful , even though it mostly be in the fantasm of the prominent two soft drunkenness manufacturers , Coke and Pepsi .
In 1987 , right around the fourth dimension Dr Pepper was preparing tomergewith Seven - Up to make a new soft drink conglomerate , a Los Angeles - ground band named Guns N ’ Roses released their first studio album , Appetite for Destruction . The lot had beenformedby William Bruce Rose , an Indiana native who came out to the West Coast to quest after a euphony career and admit the level name of Axl Rose ( an anagram fororal sex ) . With puerility friend Izzy Stradlin , guitarist Slash , bassist Duff McKagan , and drummer Steven Adler , the Rose - led band last on to superstardom , hold the record for the biggest - sell introduction album of all time , with 30 million copies sold .
The band followed up that winner with a double - disc album , Use Your Illusion IandII , in 1991 . shortly , a variety of problem began to chevvy the group . Stradlin get out . Adler struggle with dependance . Rose was aver to have taken a hard-line posture in the creative process , disaffect Slash , who left in 1996 . Other members came and went .
Through it all , Rose waspreoccupiedwithChinese Democracy , an ambitious and experimental phonograph recording that he worked on with no particular sense of importunity . The band ’s label , Geffen Records , post a channel of executive director to try out and persuade Rose to finish the album . Deadlines came and went . Rumors of the album being all but finish were confirmed when Rose letRolling Stonewriter David Wild hear to nine tracks in 1999 . The year come and went , but no record was forthcoming .
Rose ’s inability or involuntariness to completeChinese Democracybecame something of a running joke in the music industry , with Rose becoming an increasingly problematical figure . He performed at the MTV Video Music Awards in 2002 , head to surmise the record album was about to be released . It was n’t . Geffen released a greatest hits compiling in 2004 , leading to the same talk , but that platter was n’t even Rose ’s melodic theme : It was Geffen ’s , as they were looking to recoup the exorbitant cost of the delayed album . By 2005 , it was estimated Rose had drop $ 13 million of the recording label ’s money in production cost . Geffen finally cut him off and importune he pay for any further studio apartment time himself .
That was the province of the band when Dr Pepper marketing director Jaxie Alt proposed a bold strategy . It ’s not recognize whether Alt was a Guns N ’ Roses devotee or simply someone who thought it would be fun to reference the album ’s notorious reputation . Either way , Alt and Dr Pepperannouncedin March 2008 that ifChinese Democracycame out before the end of the class , they would buy everyone in America a freebottle ofDr Pepper .
In a release , Alt compose :
To Dr Pepper , it must have seemed like betting on a coin pass . But rather of opting for heads or tails , they were bet on the coin landing place on its edge — probably the same betting odds of Rose grapple to let go ofChinese Democracyafter 14 year of body of work . ( The society also mentioned the offer was good for everyone but Slash and Buckethead , presumably owe to their respective expiration from the band . )
Rose , however , took the promotion in good humor , releasing a program line clarify that he and his management had no official deal with the boozing but were still “ very happy ” to have Dr Pepper ’s support .
For a clock time , it seemed as though Dr Pepper ’s program to stir up packaging worked . The narrative was pick up across several mainstream media outlets as well asRolling StoneandBillboard . It was a lofty pledge , but few citizenry believed Dr Pepper would ever have to concern about accomplish their hope .
It ’s voiceless to know when Dr Pepper executives begin to grow concern . It might have been in August 2008 , when a blogger name Kevin Cogill wasarrestedby the FBI for rain buckets nine tracks fromChinese Democracyon his website , a violation of federal anti - piracy law . It ’s not that it counted as an official handout , but Cogill ’s source ( he did n’t bring out who ) must have had their hands on something that was in some stage of preparation for distribution . It ’s also possible Rose finally felt the state of music plagiarisation was such that the full record album would be leak without his consent eventually and that he might as well do it himself . Whatever the case , in October , Geffen announce thatChinese Democracywas coming out on November 23 .
After the needful fan excitation , multitude remembered Dr Pepper ’s offer and began soliciting the company for comment . Tony Jacobs , the brand ’s frailty chairman of marketing , made anannouncement : “ We never reckon this day would add up , ” he said .
In print , it was hard to know whether Jacobs was delirious , upset , or some combination of the two .
The logistics of offer a costless Dr Pepper to every single person in America was daunting . The U.S.populationat the prison term was 305 million . distinctly , this could not involve giving an unasked 20 - ounce Dr Pepper to people preemptively . If hoi polloi wanted a liberal Dr Pepper , they would have to make their request do it .
In a 2nd press expiration , Dr Pepper explained thedetailsof the offer . multitude could visit the official Dr Pepper website on November 23 , the day of the album ’s release as a Best Buy depot undivided , and share their name and address . Within four to six weeks , they would be mailed a voucher practiced for one 20 - ounce feeding bottle of the drinkable , reformable at any establishment where Dr Pepper was sell .
Dr Pepper was make good on its offer . But devotee felt the method left a draw to be desire . The web site would accept registrations for the coupon for just 24 hours . Immediately , people hadproblemswith the page failing to load , crashing , or resist to lay aside their information . A telephone set line of credit that had been set up to take requests for the verifier was also bond up . Dr Pepper could not deal the volume of masses look for their free bottle of soda . November 23 was a Sunday , and the company extended the deadline through Monday in an effort to accommodate everyone .
As complaint go up , Rose ’s attorneys took activeness . In a alphabetic character point at Dr Pepper administrator , they rebuke the company for the badly - conceived promotion and alleged it capitalize on the popularity of Guns N ’ rose while simultaneously harm the repute of the band . They declared the whole idea a “ unmitigated disaster which con consumer ” and demand they run apology advertising in major newspapers . The stunt , they argued , harmed the freeing ofChinese Democracy .
Laurie Soriano , an lawyer for Rose , said that Rose ’s camp had tried to operate with Dr Pepper before the record album ’s release so demand could be met . But , she said , Dr Pepper did n’t want to collaborate . Soriano alsotoldCNN that fans erroneously believe Rose was involve and were bear him partially responsible for the nonstarter . The letter mentioned that the company had never search out any official standoff - in to the disc or indorsement from Rose .
It ’s not do it how many coupons were at long last redeemed , though site issues , lack of pursuit in Dr Pepper , or masses simply break to use them probably contributed to a figure importantly less than 305 million . Dr Pepper ’s sword seemed no high-risk for the wearable , andChinese Democracysolda respectable 549,000 copies in its first 12 workweek of release . Despite the title by Rose ’s lawyers , it ’s unlikely people declined to buy the record album out of protest over a soft drink publicity .
Dr Pepper stay a successful brand as part of the Dr Pepper Snapple Group . Guns N ’ Roses reunited in 2016 with original band appendage Rose , Slash , and McKagan with plans to release a new record album , Rose ’s first sinceChinese majority rule . So far , Dr Pepper has not announced what their design are , if any , should it ever materialize .
