# One For The 'TEEM'



## iggyworf (Jan 23, 2019)

Gonna steer away from my usual 7up stuff and post a new one I just recently got. I collect Teem, a Pepsi product. Pepsi put out Teem in 1960, a lemon lime drink. Discontinued in the US in 1984 but still available in a few other countries. This particular 12 oz embossed bottle seems to be very hard to find. It is from 1965. I have the Ayers Pepsi guide books from back in 2001 and it lists this bottle for 250.00$! Strange how prices can go up and down because I only paid 22$ for it. But kinda nice knowing that maybe at some point in time it was worth a lot.  I collect Teem bottles and have a good collection of them.




I am not the greatest when it comes to taking pics of embossed bottles.

Here are more of my Teem collection.


32 oz & 28 oz 'starburst' logo. 1960's.


32 oz 'sailboat' logo. 2nd one hard to find smooth glass. 78 & 81.


7 oz 'starburst' logo. All hard to find. The middle 'swirl' design is a good one. 1960's


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## iggyworf (Jan 23, 2019)

Some more for your viewing pleasure.


3 12 oz bottles. Hard to find. 2 with 'swirl' design and other smooth glass. 1960's.


10 oz embossed, the middle is US and the other 2 are Canadian. 1960's. NDNR


1 gallon extract PL jug.

I have a bunch other more common ones in 8 10 16 oz also. Thanx for lookin!


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## jblaylock (Jan 24, 2019)

I only have 2 Teem bottles, I don't see them very often around here.


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## RCO (Jan 24, 2019)

I found a few Teem bottles swimming a couple years ago other than that never really come across them here . some were 7 oz and others 10 oz . this one seems to be 10 oz , don't have pictures of the 7 oz . never found one of there NDNR bottles , do have an old Teem can or two in the garage but no pictures


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## bottle-bud (Jan 24, 2019)

Nice collection of Teem bottles you have there iggy. I had a few Teems in my collection years ago before I downsized, but I know I did not have any smooth glass versions. Thanks for sharing!.


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## RCO (Jan 24, 2019)

here is a picture of the Teem can I found a couple of years ago , thinking its 70's era ? never bothered to try and clean it off and its sat in the garage with some other cans I've found 

French side is mostly coloured still , mix of green , yellow and white , English side is dirtier and maybe I should try and clean it .


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## RCO (Jan 24, 2019)

another one of the Teem I found swimming , one of the 7 oz bottles , they still have some acl left


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## iggyworf (Jan 24, 2019)

RCO, too bad that can is in rough shape. At least one side is good. I agree with the 70's as they switched to the 'sailboat' logo later on.  Those 7 oz ones are good also. Their are still different variations of Teem bottles I still do not have so I always keep a look out. Thanx for showin and thanx Jblaylock & bottle-bud!


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## Bottleman6024 (Jan 24, 2019)

Iggyworf, that's a great collection of teem bottles you have! Never seen the smooth version. Thanks for sharing!!


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## CanadianBottles (Jan 25, 2019)

Very nice collection!  That's not a brand I see often.  That smooth one with the neck ACL is very weird, never seen any ACL like that before that I can remember.  Do you think it was supposed to have a paper label as well?  Seems like a very weird label placement on such a plain bottle otherwise.
Also RCO I quite like that can, I'm a sucker for 70s graphic design!  I'd definitely clean that one up if it was mine.


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## RCO (Jan 25, 2019)

CanadianBottles said:


> Very nice collection!  That's not a brand I see often.  That smooth one with the neck ACL is very weird, never seen any ACL like that before that I can remember.  Do you think it was supposed to have a paper label as well?  Seems like a very weird label placement on such a plain bottle otherwise.
> Also RCO I quite like that can, I'm a sucker for 70s graphic design!  I'd definitely clean that one up if it was mine.




I think a lot of the stuff on the back is just light dirt not rust , I should attempt to clean it one day . its just been sitting in the garage for a while . kept it as I hadn't seen a Teem can before and it had a neat design to it 

when I first started collecting bottles I didn't even think to save cans even older ones , its only been in the last couple of years I save the neat ones I find


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## iggyworf (Jan 25, 2019)

CanadianBottles said:


> Very nice collection!  That's not a brand I see often.  That smooth one with the neck ACL is very weird, never seen any ACL like that before that I can remember.  Do you think it was supposed to have a paper label as well?  Seems like a very weird label placement on such a plain bottle otherwise.
> Also RCO I quite like that can, I'm a sucker for 70s graphic design!  I'd definitely clean that one up if it was mine.



I don't think the smooth ones ever came with PL on them. I have never seen one with them. The bottle I have is so clean without any glue residue of any sort. Not saying it couldn't have been cleaned off but I don't think so.


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## GLASSHOPPER55 (Jan 27, 2019)

I agree Nice Teem collection Iggy! Love that gallon Jug.


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## iggyworf (Jan 28, 2019)

Thanx GLASSHOPPERS!


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## SODABOB (Feb 1, 2019)

iggy/Rich

Cool collection! 

In your opening comments you indicated that TEEM was introduced in 1960. But according to some patent information I saw, it was ...

First Used Anywhere = February 27, 1959
First Used in Commerce = March 2, 1959

Question:  Have you ever seen a TEEM bottle that's dated 1959?


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## SODABOB (Feb 1, 2019)

This is the earliest newspaper ad I have been able to find for TEEM ...

[ The Journal Times ~ Racine, Wisconsin ~ November 30, * 1959 *]

It appears to be a "swirl-type" bottle and not a "diamond-type" bottle. So I'm inclined to think there are TEEM bottles with a 1959 date. But not sure about the Trademark references for February and March of 1959.


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## SODABOB (Feb 1, 2019)

Hey, Rich

Have you ever done a side-by-side comparison of a PEPSI swirl bottle and a TEEM swirl bottle? They look similar except the PEPSI bottle is clear and the TEEM bottle is green. I'm also curious if the mold style numbers on the base are the same or different? It could be they used the same molds for both bottles but just added a green color to the TEEM bottles.


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## jblaylock (Feb 1, 2019)

I'm assuming you would have to have the same manufacturer for both bottles to compare that. My Teem bottle is the quilted design which is identical to the patio bottle.

The markings on the bottom are nearly identical, minor differences.
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	







Sent from my ONEPLUS 5 using Tapatalk


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## SODABOB (Feb 1, 2019)

Josh

As you probably know, the G-18321 number on your bottles is the (same) mold "style" number - whereas the numbers below the makers mark are individual mold "cavity" numbers. In other words, they used the same type of mold for both bottles, but added a green color to the TEEM bottle. Mold "cavity" numbers vary quite a bit depending on how many molds were used on a particular automatic bottle machine. Typically the cavity numbers range between 1 and 20. They were used to let bottle inspectors know which cavity was the culprit if a problem developed during the forming process. If/when that occurred, they would either repair or replace that particular mold.


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## SODABOB (Feb 1, 2019)

I dug a little deeper and found this from ...

[ The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette ~ Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania ~ March 24, 1959 ] 

Notice where it says ...

1. Introducing in early April
2. Seven ounce emerald green bottles
3. Test marketed for two years in 20 cities

So does that mean there are 1957 and 1958 TEEM bottles out there somewhere? And what do they mean by "anomalously" 

View attachment 186884


View attachment 186885


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## iggyworf (Feb 1, 2019)

Got home from work a bit ago and checked my teem bottles. My 2 12 oz and 1 7 oz 'swirl' design bottles are all from 1959! The 2 12's are owens illinois and the 7 oz is Glenshaw. Good work again Bob. I don't have much time right now but quickly matched up my 12 oz ones to my 12 oz 'swirl' Pepsi's and the swirl on the Teem starts lower on the bottle than the Pepsi's. I will post some pics in a couple of days when I get more time. The quilted ones date from 61 & on. I have a good collection of Patio's also I should post soon. For whatever reason I could not open your attatchments in your last post Bob. I do believe there is a 'swirl' patio bottle also but do not own one. I only seen it once. I do have a smooth glass patio. Harder to find.


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## SODABOB (Feb 1, 2019)

Rich

When you get a minute, check and see if the attachment shows now. I re-did the cropped portion of the article and hopefully it stays put.


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## iggyworf (Feb 1, 2019)

Thanx Bob, I was able to read that one. Does this mean there could be 1958 Teem bottles also? That would be cool!


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## SODABOB (Feb 1, 2019)

I'm thinking the same thing - and possibly even a ...

*​1957*


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## SODABOB (Feb 1, 2019)

Hey, Rich

See what you think of this ...

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Original-1...=true&nordt=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557


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## iggyworf (Feb 4, 2019)

Bob that sign is super cool. After seeing it, I would agree it is 1957. Wow, I love the 'big' signs but don't like the 'big' $$ amount. So Teem was around it seems in 1957.


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## iggyworf (Feb 4, 2019)

Here is some comparisons of my 7 & 12 oz Teem bottles next to some of my Pepsi 61/2 oz & 12 oz bottles. The molds seem to be slightly different.



12 oz next to return for deposit 12 oz Pepsi(74). Distinct line at top on Pepsi but Teem has the 'swirls' go into a sort of ending at the neck.



Now next to a 1959 Pepsi swirl. Still slightly different in how high the swirls come up to the neck.



7 oz next to 6 1/2 oz Pepsi(1956). Identical height of the bottle but slightly different swirl pattern towards neck.



Now those 2 filled with the respective oz capacity. Put another 1/2 oz in the Pepsi and it would be the 7 oz Teem. 
But all the Pepsi swirl bottles are slightly different from the Teem swirl bottles especially at the bottoms.



Notice how the Pepsi curves in a little and not the Teem.

So they didn't use exactly the same molds it appears. Now were they completely new molds or just modified Pepsi molds. Probably will never know. But new molds would probably cost a lot more.

Now I am thinking the 'swirl' design for Teem was first. Then in 1960 they went to the 'diamond' pattern, probably to give Teem bottles their own distinction. My all smooth Teem bottles have 70's dates on them.


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## SODABOB (Feb 4, 2019)

*1955 ?*

Rich

Thanks for the comparisons. I agree ... "Close but no Cigar" 

Here's another interesting newspaper article from ...

[ The Oshkosh Northwestern ~ Wisconsin ~ December 4, 1959 ]

Notice where it says ...

1. Pepsi Cola Bottling Company Oshkosh, Inc. ... one of the first distributors in the nation to introduce Teem
2. Under development for four years ( 1959 - 4 = 1955 )
3. Taste testing past two years ( 1959 - 2 = 1957 )
4. Emerald green bottle of *crossed swirl *design
5. Seven ounce size


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## SODABOB (Feb 4, 2019)

Rich

Question: Do *any *of your Teem bottles have a City / State / Location on them?


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## iggyworf (Feb 4, 2019)

Nice article you found. So possible Teem bottles back to 1955. 

No city names on any Teem bottle I have or have seen. I checked that awhile ago. My Teem quilted bottles are pretty much identical to my Patio quilted bottles. Patio was also put out by Pepsi.


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## Mr. Hemingray (Feb 4, 2019)

Awesome collection! I remember drinking Teem when I was a kid. I was 13 when it was discontinued in 84'.


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## Canadacan (Feb 5, 2019)

Great stuff here!..so I see they ran test marketing until a full release!
Up here in the north it was not released until 1960...earliest ad I could find was for May. Also the ads show the swirl bottle, but I don't think I've ever seen one?...just the quilted design.


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## SODABOB (Feb 5, 2019)

I posted this newspaper article earlier, but this time I underlined three key factors. And because they are quotes from Herbert L. Barnet, I consider them reliable. If I were to look for a particular Teem bottle, I would try and find a seven ounce bottle from St. Joseph, Missouri. The only bummer is, according to iggy/Rich and the dozens of Teem bottles I've looked at, they are not marked with a city or state. But that doesn't mean that a 7 ounce Teem bottle with a 1959 date code doesn't exist. It just means that finding one could be a challenge. I'm hoping when Rich sees this he will clarify if his 7 ounce Teem bottle is dated 1959 or later - I'm a little confused about the dates of the comparison bottles he recently posted. 

[ The Pittsburgh Post Gazette ~ Pennsylvania ~ March 24, 1959 ]


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## SODABOB (Feb 5, 2019)

P.S.

This is to clarify some observations I posted earlier ...

1955 = Possible date when Pepsi Cola started experimenting and developing Teem. But doubtful there are any bottles or other advertising from this time period. 

1957 = Possible date when Pepsi Cola started "anonymous" taste testing for Teem. ( I'm still trying to find some evidence of this from 1957 and 1958 but nothing so far ). Doubtful there are any bottles from this time period.


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## SODABOB (Feb 5, 2019)

Canadacan said:


> Great stuff here!..so I see they ran test marketing until a full release!
> Up here in the north it was not released until 1960...earliest ad I could find was for May. Also the ads show the swirl bottle, but I don't think I've ever seen one?...just the quilted design.




Cc

What (if anything) do you know about these Teem bottles and crate? The seller described them as ...

1. Being from Canada
2. 7 Ounce
3. Marked with a 1959 Trademark


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## iggyworf (Feb 5, 2019)

SODABOB said:


> I posted this newspaper article earlier, but this time I underlined three key factors. And because they are quotes from Herbert L. Barnet, I consider them reliable. If I were to look for a particular Teem bottle, I would try and find a seven ounce bottle from St. Joseph, Missouri. The only bummer is, according to iggy/Rich and the dozens of Teem bottles I've looked at, they are not marked with a city or state. But that doesn't mean that a 7 ounce Teem bottle with a 1959 date code doesn't exist. It just means that finding one could be a challenge. I'm hoping when Rich sees this he will clarify if his 7 ounce Teem bottle is dated 1959 or later - I'm a little confused about the dates of the comparison bottles he recently posted.
> 
> [ The Pittsburgh Post Gazette ~ Pennsylvania ~ March 24, 1959 ]
> 
> View attachment 186933



Yes both my 12 oz swirl and one 7 oz swirl are dated 1959. The 2 12 oz are Owens Illinois made in Illinois with a plant number of 7 and 9. My 7 oz I think is Glenshaw Glass, G inside a square with 59 after it. I have never seen(yet) a quilted Teem bottle earlier than 1960.

There is currently 2 Teem crates on ebay from Canada for sale.


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## SODABOB (Feb 5, 2019)

Rich

Thanks

Did you check the lip of your Glenshaw bottle for an embossed letter or number? 1959 might be a little late for the lip codes, but it might be worth checking if you haven't already.


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## iggyworf (Feb 5, 2019)

SODABOB said:


> Rich
> 
> Thanks
> 
> Did you check the lip of your Glenshaw bottle for an embossed letter or number? 1959 might be a little late for the lip codes, but it might be worth checking if you haven't already.



Yep, did that right away. No lip codes so the 59 on the bottom is what I am going from.


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## SODABOB (Feb 6, 2019)

Cool. And even though we will probably never know the location, the Glenshaw 59 seven ounce bottle is no doubt a first issue when Teem was introduced in 1959. I'm going to look around and see if I can find an explanation as to why they switched from the Swirl design to the Quilted design. 

Regarding the so called 1957 signs, I'm having some doubts about them being genuine. There are just way too many of them available to my liking. I also found a bunch of Teem thermometers marked with Denasco that is a reproduction sign company who makes fake signs and other tin items. The so called 1957 signs are marked with M-C-A, which I plan to investigate and see what's what. I'm thinking they might be fakes as well or possibly that the 1957 isn't a date but something else. ???


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## SODABOB (Feb 6, 2019)

My initial finding is that the 1957 on the Teem signs is a *production number *and not a date. The MCA stands for the *M*assillon *C*leveland *A*kron sign company, that was located in Massillon, Ohio and established around 1904 and closed in 2014. In other words, the so called 1957 Teem signs are original but not produced in 1957, and were most likely produced in the 1960s.


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## Canadacan (Feb 11, 2019)

All I can tell you is that the Canadian 7oz are uncommon.


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## iggyworf (Feb 11, 2019)

Thanx Canadacan for that!


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## Canadacan (Feb 12, 2019)

The other interesting thing is the Canadain ads were like the US ones and show the swirl bottle?....I've only seen our early ones in the quilted pattern. Of course latter on we got the swirl pattern.

Teem-Brandon Sun November 18, 1960


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## RCO (Feb 12, 2019)

Canadacan said:


> All I can tell you is that the Canadian 7oz are uncommon.




think some of the ones I found were 7 oz but I have no idea as to how common or uncommon they'd be


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## RCO (Mar 17, 2019)

ran across another Canadian Teem bottle , found this in an antique mall , normally not looking for bottles from this era but it was priced very reasonably and in very good condition . 

its a 10 oz bottle , French and English so has to be Canadian . date on the bottom appears to say 1970 , a possible clue as to its age . the bottle itself is very similar to the pepsi swirl but green . logo is similar to the one on the can I posted and much different than the other teem bottles


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## iggyworf (Mar 18, 2019)

Nice score RCO! I call that the 'sailboat' logo. I believe that is the 2nd log design Pepsi used for 'Teem" in the 70's. So 1970 sounds about right. All my Teem swirl sailboat logo bottles are from the 70's.


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## RCO (Mar 18, 2019)

pretty sure its from the 70's , some up close pictures of the logo , might show it better


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## RCO (May 27, 2019)

noticed an older Teem can from Canada sold on ebay a few months back for close to $100 dollars 

it has a neat design to it





https://www.ebay.ca/itm/RARE-TEEM-L...867496?hash=item215474e428:g:N2EAAOSwYkRcdrSc


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## iggyworf (May 28, 2019)

A very cool design on that one. Never seen it before. Can't believe it went for that much, but it did.


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## RCO (May 29, 2019)

iggyworf said:


> A very cool design on that one. Never seen it before. Can't believe it went for that much, but it did.



I've never found that version of can before in the wild , no idea how common or rare it be . the price seems high but I guess its one of those things . if someone wants one there might not be any others available so they have to pay up to get one


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## Canadacan (May 29, 2019)

That Teem can is listed in the guide at $40-45 USD, it's not rare and I have seen at least 2 dozen over the last 5 years show up, having said that I still don't have one!...lol. 
I have noticed over the last couple of years the prices on some flat tops have risen quite a bit, to me that price of $100 is a little steep given the condition.

(edit note)  I just noticed that can has a silver border around the lemon and silver lettering, a little different than the one I have documented which has white.


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## GLASSHOPPER55 (Jun 18, 2019)

Here is a Teem can I have from (I think) circa 1970.

GLASSHOPPER


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## RCO (Oct 13, 2020)

I've found 2 teem flat top cans this year , one was rusted but the one I found today has a lot of colour . considering it was lying in the woods under some leaves its surprising it still has any original colour to this extent , assuming its from the mid to late 60's as its flat top


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## capackrat (Feb 6, 2021)

iggyworf said:


> Gonna steer away from my usual 7up stuff and post a new one I just recently got. I collect Teem, a Pepsi product. Pepsi put out Teem in 1960, a lemon lime drink. Discontinued in the US in 1984 but still available in a few other countries. This particular 12 oz embossed bottle seems to be very hard to find. It is from 1965. I have the Ayers Pepsi guide books from back in 2001 and it lists this bottle for 250.00$! Strange how prices can go up and down because I only paid 22$ for it. But kinda nice knowing that maybe at some point in time it was worth a lot.  I collect Teem bottles and have a good collection of them.



A few days ago I found the "hard to find" all-embossed 12 oz bottle on the side of the road in a local central California town. It appears to be in very good condition so I researched this in depth and apparently the Ayer's guidebook was based on the collection of, and feedback from, the now deceased Pepsi bottle king Donnie Medlin and the prices were based on the known bottles up to 2001. Since then many more have 'surfaced' and the auction prices lately are about 10x less than Donnie's estimates. The reason these are still so collectible is that they are NDNR (thowaways & they were thrown away), they were a 12 oz taller version (longer neck) that was favored since it was exclusively released to the western (long neck) Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico markets, and they appear to have been only available from vending machines (and tossed).

To test the collectors' market I am planning on listing mine on eBay soon and price based on my extensive research. If it doesn't sell then I will keep it as a collection of only all-embossed 12 oz bottles.

BTW, despite being targeted for a non-Californian market, the bottle plant code is Los Angeles.

Any feedback is appreciated, since I am a new member to the teem.

Thanks.

Andy
California Pack Rat


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## hemihampton (Feb 6, 2021)

Welcome to the Teem. (pun intended) LEON.


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## capackrat (Feb 6, 2021)

Thank you and pun fully accepted...did you know that Pepsico Executives assigned to the TEEM Account in the early 60's were indeed called "Teem Members"? Their marketing and sales experts were very good at 'milking' the double entendre. Needless to state, the Teem soda was primarily marketed to high school and univerisity students to help promote a teem spirit.

Pepsico set up a "Teem Field Force" into four US geographic "Teem Divisions:" Western, Central, Eastern, & Southern to try and take on 7-Up...originally Pepsi wanted to name the drink "Teem-Up" but were concerned about 7-Up taking legal action so they dropped the "Up".  After Pepsi, this was the second most expensive marketing campaign of any of Pepsi's other drinks at that time.


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## iggyworf (Feb 9, 2021)

Let us know when you list your bottles.


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## capackrat (Feb 10, 2021)

It's only one bottle for now and will do after I complete my research this week.

Thanks,

Andy


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## RCO (Feb 17, 2021)

came across a vintage Teem advertisement from 1962 when searching thru some old local newspapers online , features the green king size bottle


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## capackrat (Feb 17, 2021)

Thanks for sharing...for research refernce what was the newspaper name and date in 1962?

Andy


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## RCO (Feb 17, 2021)

capackrat said:


> Thanks for sharing...for research refernce what was the newspaper name and date in 1962?
> 
> Andy



not sure of the exact date , all the ads I've posted with the exception of the ones from Timmins are coming from the " Barrie Examiner " 

I found a site online linked thru there library ? which allows you to view them , there is also some other newspapers on it but I haven't looked thru them yet


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## moodorf (Apr 30, 2022)

I know this thread's over a year old, but guess what I found today...






I never knew of this soda's existence until today. Probably because it was discontinued a year before I was born. Bottle's in nice shape, if a tad bit dirty. Never found a discontinued soda before. Until you count that Mil-Kay with the destroyed label...


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