Tizer facts for kids
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| Type | Carbonated soft drink |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | A.G. Barr plc (since 1972) |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Introduced | 1924 |
| Colour | Red |
| Related products | Vimto Tango Fanta |
Tizer is a popular red-colored soft drink that tastes like citrus fruits. It's made in Cumbernauld, Scotland, and sold across the United Kingdom. The name "Tizer" comes from the old phrase "Tizer the Appetizer," meaning it was meant to make you feel hungry. It was first created in 1924.
Contents
The Story of Tizer
Tizer was first made in 1924 by two brothers, Fred and Tom Pickup, in Pudsey, England. Back then, it was called "Pickup's Appetizer."
After the Pickup brothers passed away, a company called Armour Trust owned Tizer for a while. Then, in 1972, a Scottish drinks company named A.G. Barr plc bought Tizer for £2.5 million. A.G. Barr also makes another famous drink called Irn-Bru. Just like Irn-Bru, the exact recipe for Tizer is a secret! However, you can find the ingredients and nutrition facts on the bottle.
In 2003, Tizer tried selling other flavors like "Purple" and "Green" versions. There was also a short-lived "fruitz" version in 2004. From 1996 to 2007, the Tizer logo was styled as T!zer.
In 2007, Tizer changed its look again. They stopped using their old mascot, "Ed the Head." The company also brought back a "classic recipe" with fewer extra ingredients and no E numbers (which are food additives). The packaging also looked like the original design from 1976. However, in 2009, the recipe was changed back to the original. This meant it no longer had real fruit juice and brought back artificial flavors, colors, and sweeteners. In 2011, Tizer got a new logo and a new slogan: "The Great British Pop."
Different Kinds of Tizer
Tizer Ice
Tizer Ice was a special version of Tizer launched in the late 1990s. This drink had menthol in it, which made it feel cold when you drank it, even if it was at room temperature! It was later called "Ice by Tizer." However, this drink didn't sell very well and was eventually stopped.
When it was known as Tizer Ice, its mascot was a different version of "Ed the Tizer Head." There was also a video advertisement shown in cinemas that featured a character called the "Iceman."
An advertisement in 1999 showed children with their faces pressed against a glass surface. The slogan was "How many kids can you get in your fridge?" This ad caused some concern because it reminded people about the dangers of children getting trapped inside old refrigerators.
Tizer Diet
Tizer Diet was a low-calorie version of Tizer. It was first sold in the late 1980s as "Sugar Free Tizer." It came back again from 1997 to 2001 as "Tizer Diet." In 2001, an advertisement for Tizer Diet was placed on bus shelters. It was a funhouse mirror that made people look thinner, with the Tizer Diet logo on it.
How Tizer Was Promoted
Advertising Campaigns
Tizer has used many different slogans in its advertisements over the years. In 1982, a TV ad featured an actor named David Rappaport wearing star-shaped sunglasses at a disco. The ad ended with the slogan: "You can tell it's Tizer when your eyes are shut."
In the early 1990s, a campaign showed a character filmed in black and white against a bubbly red background. This character would say funny things. At the end of the ad, parts of words would appear, like "appe" or "adver." These words could be completed by adding "tizer" to the end, like "appetizer" or "advertiser."
Branding and Packaging
In 1996, Tizer changed its look. The cans and bottles got a new logo and a mascot called "Tizer Head," later known as "Ed the Head." Ed was a red human head with the top open, so Tizer could be poured in. The actor Roger Moore's son played Ed in some ads.
A successful campaign in 2001 involved packaging four bottles of Tizer in blue lunchboxes. This idea was inspired by a similar promotion done by Tango in 2000.
In 2003, as part of another rebranding, the cans became red, and Ed the Head's face was changed to a smile. The ads featured a chef fighting a lobster, and groups of gorillas and monkeys drawn in a style similar to the band Gorillaz's artwork. In 2004, Tizer aired a campaign showing a red chameleon that stayed red even when placed against different colored backgrounds. The slogan for this campaign was "No, we're not changing color."
Fan Club
A Tizer fan club was started in the United Kingdom in July 1991. It was advertised in magazines for teenagers, like Smash Hits. It cost £3.00 to join. Members received a membership card and Tizer merchandise, including a folder, stickers, and Tizer-branded sunglasses. The fan club stopped around 1993.
Sponsorships
In 1997, Tizer sponsored a big dance event called Rezerection/Rez. They chose this because if you spell "Tizer" backwards, it sounds like "Rez It"! Tizer was the main soft drink sold at these events. In the same year, Tizer also became the sponsor of The Chart Show, a music chart show on the ITV network in the UK that aired on Saturday mornings.
From January 23, 1999, Tizer sponsored CD:UK, which replaced The Chart Show in 1998.
Tizer also sponsored a roller coaster in Southport called the "Traumatizer." This ride closed with the park in 2006. It was then moved to Blackpool Pleasure Beach, where it is now known as "Infusion."
In Stores and Special Offers
Tizer is known for giving out drink fridges. They have full-sized fridges for restaurants, shops, and cafés, and smaller "mini-fridges" that people can buy. Their large, lighted drink fridges were blue from 1997 to 2003, and then red from 2003 to 2007. They also provide mobile can coolers for shops and vending machines.
Tizer was sold at the pizza restaurant chain, Pizzaland, which is now closed. In 1995, some Tizer cans offered a special deal: the can was "worth £1 at Pizzaland" if you spent £4 or more. That same year, Tizer ran a competition offering "£150,000 worth of hi-tech prizes." This was one of the biggest soft drink competitions at the time.
Slogans
- "You Can Tell It's Tizer When Your Eyes Are Shut" (1980, 1982)
- "I'se Got The Ize" (1986)
- "Refresh Your Head" (1996–2003)
- "!tz a Red Thing" (2003–2007)
- "Live the Red Life" (2004, for Ringtones site)
- "Freeze Your Head" (1998, for Tizer Ice)
- "Don't Just Taste It. Feel It" (1999, for Ice from Tizer)
- "The Great British Pop" (2011–present)
For the slogans "Refresh Your Head" and "Freeze Your Head," the letters "R," "E," and "D" were highlighted to spell out the word "Red."
Different Tizer Flavors Over Time
- Tizer (1924–present)
- Tizer Lemon (1995–1996)
- Tizer Ice (1998–1999)
- Ice by Tizer (1999) (This was the same as Tizer Ice, just a new name)
- Diet Tizer (2001)
- Tizer Forest Fruits (2004)
- Tizer Orange (2004)
- Tizer Citrus (2004)
- Fruitz by Tizer (2004)
