Irn-Bru

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please improve this article if you can. (July 2008)

Irn-Bru

Type	Carbonated soft drink
Manufacturer	A.G. Barr plc
Country of origin	Scotland
Introduced	1901
Colour	Ginger (Orange)
Variants	Diet Irn-Bru Irn-Bru 32 Irn-Bru Chew Bar
Related products	Coca-Cola Pepsi Fanta Kinnie

Irn-bru (pronounced iron brew, /ˈaɪ.ərn ˈbruː/) is a popular carbonated soft drink produced in Scotland where it has been made by A.G. Barr, of Glasgow for more than a century. In addition to being sold throughout the United Kingdom, Barr's Irn-Bru is also available in many key markets throughout the world and can usually be purchased where there is a significant community of people from its native Scotland. Innovative and sometimes controversial marketing campaigns have consistently kept it as one of the best-selling soft drinks in Scotland where it competes directly with massive global brands such as Coca-Cola and Pepsi. Like most leading soft drink brands, the product range has gradually been extended from the original drink to include "high energy" and low calorie versions. The bottles and cans it is sold in are available in a range of sizes.

Contents 1 Overview 2 Packaging 3 Marketing 3.1 Advertising Campaigns 3.2 Advertising 3.3 Over The Years 3.4 Irn Bru 32 Advertising 3.5 2006 Advertising 3.6 Recent Adverts 4 Brand portfolio 5 Cultural influence 5.1 Irn Bru & Others 5.2 Restaurants 5.3 Popular Countries 5.4 Museums 5.5 Bands & Irn Bru 6 Exports and foreign markets 6.1 Australia 6.2 Canada 6.3 Finland 6.4 Greece 6.5 Middle East 6.6 New Zealand 6.7 Pakistan 6.8 Portugal 6.9 Spain 6.10 USA 7 Irn-Bru 32 8 Sponsorship 9 References 10 External links

[edit] Overview

Irn-Bru is famous for its bright orange colour (something it shares with the glucose drink Lucozade). As of 1999 it contained 0.002% of ammonium ferric citrate, sugar, 32 flavouring agents (including caffeine—though caffeine is not listed as an ingredient on the Australian labelling—and quinine) and two controversial colourings (E110, E124). It is advertised as having a slight citrus flavour, but many have differing opinions of the exact taste of Irn-Bru.

Irn-Bru was first produced in 1901, in the town of Falkirk, under the name Strachan's brew. In 1946, a change in laws required that the word "brew" be removed from the name, as the drink is not technically brewed. The chairman of the company came up with the idea of changing both halves of the name to a phonetic spelling, giving the current Irn-Bru brand. 1980 saw the introduction of Low Calorie Irn-Bru; this was re-launched in 1991 as Diet Irn-Bru and the Irn-Bru 32 energy drink variant was launched in 2006.

It has long been the most popular soft drink in Scotland, outselling Coca-Cola, but recent fierce competition between the two brands has brought their sales to roughly equal levels.^[1] It is also the third best selling soft drink in the UK, after Coca-Cola and Pepsi, outselling high-profile brands such as Fanta, Dr Pepper, Sprite and 7-Up. This success in defending its home market (a feat claimed only by Irn-Bru, Brazil's Guaraná, Ireland's Club Orange, South Australia's Farmers Union Iced Coffee, Peru's Inca Kola, Malta's Kinnie and Sweden's Julmust) has led to ongoing speculation that Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Inc. or its UK brand franchisee Britvic would attempt to buy A.G. Barr.

Irn-Bru's advertising slogans used to be "Scotland's other National Drink", referring to whisky, and "Bru'd in Scotland from girders", though the closest one can come to substantiating this claim is the 0.002% ammonium ferric citrate listed in the ingredients.

The ingredients in Irn-Bru are a closely guarded secret, and the recipe is known only to Robin Barr, the Chairman, and one unnamed person (who are not allowed to travel on the same plane together). A copy of the recipe is kept in a bank vault in Switzerland. Robin Barr himself mixes the essences of the drink in a sealed room at their headquarters in Cumbernauld once a month. Once Robin Barr steps down as Chairman, he will continue to be the company mixer, but will eventually pass on the recipe to his daughter (and company secretary) Julie.^[2]

[edit] Packaging

Irn-Bru and other Barr brands including Pineappleade, Cream Soda, Tizer, Red Kola, Barr Cola, and Limeade are still available in 750 ml reusable glass bottles. The empty bottles can be returned to the manufacturer via any retailer which sells them, and can usually be exchanged for the deposit (30 pence deposit^[3]). In areas of Scotland these are known as "Gless Cheques", "Gingies", "hectors", "jiggy bottles", "jangl'rs", "Rammies", or "Glaise Boattles".

Irn-Bru and Diet Irn-Bru are available in the following sizes:

• 150 ml can
• 250 ml plastic bottle
• 330 ml can
• 500 ml plastic bottle
• 600 ml plastic bottle (Russia)
• 1 l plastic bottle
• 1.25 l bottle (Australia, New Zealand, Russia, Scotland)
• 2 l plastic bottle
• 3 l plastic bottle
• 355 ml glass bottle (in Canada)
• 750 ml glass bottle

For restaurants and cafeterias, Irn-Bru syrup is available in 5 litre containers.

In May 2007, Irn-Bru underwent a re-design of its bottles and cans.

[edit] Marketing

This section may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please improve this section if you can. (March 2009)

[edit] Advertising Campaigns

Irn-Bru's advertising campaigns have always been very different from those of other commercial soft drinks. Until recently, most were variants on the "Made in Scotland from girders" tagline, usually featuring Irn-Bru drinkers becoming unusually strong, durable, or magnetic.

One series of adverts involved a man singing a song about his girlfriend who enjoyed Irn-Bru and, as such, was much more masculine than he was. The songs included lines such as "Do you remember that guy who called me a wimp? The Doc says he'll walk but he'll still have a limp." and "They say that love hurts but that's an understatement, with you love makes me turn black and blue. Got a funny feeling you've been drinking Irn Bru."

The last two television advertisements based on this slogan were parodies of more "typical" soft drink adverts. One featured a Coca-Cola style montage of happy Irn-Bru drinkers against a feelgood ballad. The other pastiched Pepsi's use of pop singers in their adverts with a fictional heavy metal band. Since the 1990s, different approaches have been used.

Perhaps the best-remembered are the long running series of television and billboard adverts in black-and-white, including the billboard with the grim reaper saying "Don't be scared. You'll still get Irn-Bru on the other side." and the supposed-advert for a cleaning product called "Jef", which consists of a small boy, the actor Murray Alford, in a box, who sucks Irn-Bru stains out of clothes.

[edit] Advertising

A popular advertising campaign launched in 2000 featured eccentric characters and situations. One involved a grandfather (played by actor Robert Wilson) who removed his false teeth to spoil his grandson's interest in his can of Irn-Bru. Another TV advert from this campaign evokes 1950s entertainment. The mother plays the piano, while the father and two children deliver a song which ends with the mother singing: "Even though I used to be a man." This advertisement originally aired in 2000, but when it was re-aired in 2003, it received seventeen complaints^[4] from people who claimed it was offensive to transsexuals. Issue A14 of the Ofcom Advertising Complaints bulletin reports that the children's response to their mother's claim was not in fact offensive. The advertisement was meant to be a joke about changing points of view over time. However, the scene involving the mother shaving at the end of the advertisement was deemed to be potentially offensive to transsexuals, and so it was taken off the air. A further TV advertisement featured a senior citizen in a motorised wheelchair robbing a local shopping market of a supply of Irn-Bru.

In 2003, an Irn-Bru commercial which showed a midwife trying to entice a baby from its mother's womb during a difficult delivery sparked complaints from fifty viewers. Many saw it as upsetting to women who had suffered miscarriages.^[5]

[edit] Over The Years

Over the years, advertising campaigns for Irn-Bru have caused upset. One billboard featured a young woman in a bikini along with the slogan, "I never knew four-and-a-half inches could give so much pleasure". Another featured a picture of a cow with the slogan "When I'm a burger, I want to be washed down with Irn-Bru". This billboard received over 700 complaints but was cleared by advertisement watchdogs.^[6] A billboard which featured a depressed goth and the slogan "Cheer up Goth. Have an Irn Bru." was also criticised for inciting bullying.^[7]

[edit] Irn Bru 32 Advertising

The energy drink Irn-Bru 32 advertisement, featuring a stereotypical Glasgow "hardman" dressed as a giant cuckoo in a library was also criticised, with Strathclyde Police appealing for it to be banned for being too aggressive. In answer to these complaints, a tongue-in-cheek redubbed version of the advert, with the cuckoo speaking in an exaggerated Received Pronounciation accent was aired for a short period of time, eventually being replaced by the original. The ad was cleared by the Advertising Standards Authority. [1]

The current^[when?] marketing campaign for Irn-Bru is known as the "Phenomenal" campaign, and uses the tune from Piero Umiliani's "Mah Nà Mah Nà," substituting "phenomenal" for the title lyric. Diet Irn-Bru's advertising campaign is currently "Oh Yeah", featuring a hapless lothario called "Raoul" and featuring the song "Oh Yeah" by Yello.

[edit] 2006 Advertising

The Christmas 2006 advertising campaign is a parody of the Walking in the Air sequence from The Snowman, featuring the snowman and a boy flying around Scotland. The lyrics to Walking in the Air have been changed to humorous effect.[2]

Irn-Bru have started a marketing campaign aimed at their main target area, Scotland. Prior to the 2006 world cup, Irn-Bru recruited Trinidad and Tobago player, Jason Scotland, to be the face of the product during the world cup period.

An early (and long running) advertising campaign was "The Adventures of Ba-Bru and Sandy" comic. A neon sign featuring Ba-Bru stood outside Glasgow Central railway station for many years, and was only removed in the late 1980s.

[edit] Recent Adverts

More recently, there has been a TV commercial, which features four gloomy goths who, after drinking Irn-Bru, become happy and go on a seaside trip to Blackpool. It also features them on the Irn-Bru Revolution rollercoaster. The commercial also featured The Undertones song 'Here Comes The Summer' as the background music. In May 2008 a new advert was made based on the poem "If..." by Rudyard Kipling. With the voice of the actor Martin Compston the idea of the advert is to capture the essence of Scotland.

The most recent advertisement for the product features a group of high school students performing a musical number, with the refrain "It's fizzy, It's ginger, It's phenomenal!". It is suggested to be a parody of musicals such as High School Musical.

[edit] Brand portfolio

Name	Launched
Irn Bru 32	2006
Diet Irn Bru	1991
Irn Bru	1901

[edit] Cultural influence

Irn-Bru is widely reputed to be an excellent cure for hangovers. This claim has some foundation in truth—all caffeinated drinks will soothe headaches to an extent, and sugary drinks will replace lost fluids and sugars.

Detective Inspector John Rebus, the main character in Ian Rankin's Rebus series, is often described buying an Irn-Bru for its hangover benefits after one of his all-too-frequent binges.

[edit] Irn Bru & Others

It is often used as a mixer with alcoholic beverages—mainly vodka and whisky.^{[citation needed]} Indeed, the popular Scottish alcopop WKD was originally launched as an alcoholic equivalent of Irn-Bru. Barr retaliated by launching a drink combining Irn-Bru and Bell's whisky, though this proved to be unpopular and was quickly discontinued. A later attempt came in the form of an official Irn-Bru flavour in the Red Square line-up of vodka-based drinks; this too has been discontinued. There is now^[when?] an official Irn-Bru WKD flavour.

[edit] Restaurants

When McDonald's restaurants first opened for trading in Glasgow they did not serve Irn-Bru. This was seen as an insult by some Scots, and a campaign to correct this oversight was launched. After many of their restaurants were picketed, McDonald's relented and began to stock Irn-Bru alongside their other soft drinks.

[edit] Popular Countries

There is an urban legend, often heard in Scotland when discussing the drink, that states variously that Irn-Bru is more popular in Russia than it is in Scotland, or that it is more popular than Coca-Cola in Russia. Barr's first venture in Russia, with a Russian company backed by American venture capitalists, failed in August 2001. A second attempt at cracking the Russian market began in June 2002, backed by the Pepsi Bottling Group of Russia. Robin Barr, AG Barr chairman, said of the legend "Maybe I could sit here and hope that it [was more popular than Coke], but Coke was introduced into the Russian marketplace shortly after 1990, so they've been in business for some 12 years now, whereas we only started franchising Irn-Bru in Russia towards the end of 1998."^[8]

[edit] Museums

In the Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh there are a range of exhibits, selected by celebrities - Sean Connery chose a crate of Irn Bru.

[edit] Bands & Irn Bru

Scottish rock band The Fratellis featured a play on Irn Bru's logo as one of their T shirt designs in their 2008 tour. The band also brought Irn Bru with them to drink during their performances.

[edit] Exports and foreign markets

Irn-Bru is currently manufactured in five factories in Russia, and is also manufactured under licence in Canada, South Africa, Australia, America, and since May 2008 in Norway. Bru and various other Barr products are exported to Spain, The Netherlands, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, and Cyprus, as well as parts of Africa and Asia. It is available sporadically in Ireland, Malta, Belgium and, as of 2005, in Poland.

[edit] Australia

In Australia, IRN-BRU is manufactured and distributed under licence by Occasio Australia Pty Ltd^[9]. It is available in 500mL and 1.25L varieties in both regular and diet. The drink is enjoying growing success in the country, with its first advertising campaign launched in Queensland in September 2007. It is available in major chains Woolworths, Coles, Caltex service stations and in many independent grocers and convenience stores. It is, however, no longer stocked at Coles supermarkets and many convenience stores that once stocked it report that supply suddenly stopped without reason.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Canada

Irn-Bru sold in Canada contains no caffeine, as until recently only dark coloured drinks were permitted to contain caffeine^[10]. As a result of this and the omission of quinine the taste is noticeably different, and the restorative effect is almost nil. It is also produced under licence, without caffeine, in Australia.

The now-defunct McKinley/McInlay soft-drink company in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Canada for many years offered its own non-licensed beverage called "Iron Brew". It was a brown carbonated soft-drink with a fruity cola taste. After the company stopped operations ca. 1990, PepsiCo continued to sell the drink locally as "Cape Breton's Irn Bru". The packaging consisted of plainly labelled plastic bottles (black text on a featureless white label) and a disclaimer "Not a source of Iron". As of 2006 this product seems to be very difficult to find, even locally, and may have been phased out.

The standard Irn Bru distributed in Canada also contains the "Not a source of iron" disclaimer on the label.

[edit] Finland

Sunset Yellow FCF is banned in Finland, although Irn-Bru can still be purchased in certain Finnish shops specialising in imported goods.

[edit] Greece

Greek versions of the popular drink are almost exactly the same as the UK products. The only slight difference being the can labelling which meets Greek and E.U requirements. The taste is indistinguishable from the Scottish drink. Perhaps exported by Barrs themselves.

[edit] Middle East

A.G. Barr has launched its Irn-Bru product throughout the Middle East. The Jeffrey International Group have been appointed as the distribution and marketing partner^[11]. The Middle Eastern market is a huge potential market for soft drinks due to widespread Prohibition and it is hoped that Irn-Bru will be an immediate success in this market. The Irn-Bru is being bottled locally. A unique home delivery service is also available in the UAE through Earlybird, a company specialising in home delivery of soft drinks in the region. IRN-BRU is now available in all retail outlets in the UAE. Spinneys, Lulu and Co Operatives all stock the product.

[edit] New Zealand

In New Zealand Irn-Bru can be found in UK import shops .

[edit] Pakistan

In Pakistan Irn-Bru can be found in many import and local shops and supermarkets and various western import shops. It seems that after the increasing popularity of Irn-Bru there is a greater demand for it in many Pakistani cities.

[edit] Portugal

In Portugal Irn-Bru can be found in both local supermarkets and various British Import shops. It seems that after the increasing popularity of Irn-Bru in these British stores the local supermarkets, such as Ali Super and various others, have attempted to capitalise on the success.

[edit] Spain

The product has been licensed to be made in Spain, where the colour of the can is brighter.

[edit] USA

Irn-Bru and Diet Irn-Bru have been specially formulated since 2002 by A.G. Barr plc to meet the required regulations for permissible food colouring imposed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Ponceau 4R used in the UK formulation is prohibited by FDA. Barr's uses alternative food & drink colourants manufactured by a US Company approved by the FDA. The flavour is not identical to that produced in Barr's home market. The product labelling also meets US labelling standards on nutritional information and bar code etc. Compliant Irn-Bru is solely imported by Great Scot International, Charlotte NC who supplies distributors and retailers throughout the US. Great Scot also sells the product directly from its website. It is only supplied in 16.9 fl.oz (500ml) PET Plastic bottles in packs of 12 bottles. All other packaging of Irn-Bru has been illegally imported (eg, 330ml cans); A.G. Barr does not export the canned Irn-Bru. It is presumed that non-compliant product has been exported by a 3rd party supplier from the UK or possibly the Republic of Ireland.

The Foxon Park company^[12] in East Haven, Connecticut has made a dark-brown soft drink called "Iron Brew" for many decades. It seems likely that this product is named for the Scottish original, but the flavour is unrelated.

[edit] Irn-Bru 32

Irn-Bru 32 is a brand extension to the Irn-Bru range, and is the first time Barr themselves have marketed an Irn-Bru variation in the functional energy market. Whilst Iron-brew flavoured energy drinks have been available for a while, either in non-alcoholic or alcoholic variations, these beverages have usually been at the value end of the marketing spectrum usually coming in litre bottles. On the other hand, Irn-Bru 32 will be marketed at the top end of the category against other energy drinks such as Red Bull, V and Red Devil. Its name is claimed to come from the 32 secret ingredients of Irn-Bru,^[13] although this could also be explained by the fact that the drink contains caffeine in the concentration 32 mg/100 ml.

[edit] Sponsorship

Irn-Bru is the long-term sponsor of Scottish Second Division football team Queen's Park F.C.. Irn Bru is the official sports drink of the Scottish Curling Team. The brand also sponsors the World Burns Club and The Robert Burns World Federation.^[14] A thrill ride at Blackpool Pleasure Beach, the Irn-Bru Revolution, also bears the name of the drink.

On July 20, 2007, Irn-Bru was announced as the new main sponsor of the Scottish Football League, in a deal worth over £3 million.^[15]

In 2009 Irn-Bru became the Soft Drink sponsor of the Rugby Football League.

[edit] References

• Davidson, Alan. Oxford Companion to Food (1999), "Irn-Bru", p. 407.

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Irn-Bru

• Official Irn-Bru web site
• A.G. Barr corporate site for Irn Bru products
• Irn-Bru in Australia web site
• Irn-Bru in the US web site
• Irn-Bru at everything2
• OFCOM A14 Advertising Report - Page 5 contains details of complaints regarding an Irn Bru advert
• Irn-Bru gallery
• Irn-Bru 32 promotional site
• Diet Irn-Bru promotional site

v • d • e Brands of citrus soda Citrus soda lines Amrat · A-Treat · Big Ben's · Blue Sky · Brisa · Celeste · Chek · Crush · Fanta · Faygo · Foxon Park · Fresca · Hank's · Jarritos · Jones Soda · Kas · Lift · Lilt · Mirinda · Nehi · Nesbitt's · Pschitt · Ramune · San Pellegrino · Schin · Schweppes · Shasta · Slice · Vess Citrus sodas Citra · dnL · Heee Haw · Irn-Bru · Kick · La Casera · Mello Yello · Mountain Breeze · MDX · Mountain Dew · Mountain Holler · Mountain Lightning · Orangina · Rondo · Ski · Surge · Urge · Vault Lemon-lime sodas 7 Up · Banta · Bitter lemon · Bubble Up · Dr. Enuf · Fruktsoda · Green River · Kelluke · Lemonette · Limca · Quwat Jabal · Sierra Mist · Slice · Solo · Sprite · Storm · Teem · Upper 10 Orange sodas Bluna · Club Orange · Dad's Orange Cream Soda · Fitz's · Gold Spot · Green Spot · Kinnie · Krest · Laranjada · Orangette · Pakola · Sun Crest · Sun Drop · Sunkist · Tango Tangerine sodas Tanora