The History of Rolaids

Rolaids has a long history in America. It was first used as an antacid and later as a source of calcium. The convenient roll made it easy to slip into a pocket or purse for whenever heartburn struck, and the ad campaigns made the brand name part of the U.S. popular culture.

Invention

• Irvine W. Grote was awarded U.S. Patent #2641604,"Aluminum Salts of Dibasic Amino Acids, " on June 9, 1953. This patent was to become the original formula used in Rolaids. In 1968 Grote Hall was built at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and named for Grote, a former faculty member and alumni.

Ownership

• The original antacid formulation invented by Grote was assigned in 1953 to The Chattanooga Medicine Co. In 1954 the formulation was branded as Rolaids and was introduced as part of the product line of the Warner-Lambert Co. When Warner-Lambert was taken over by Pfizer in June 2000, Rolaids became part of the Pfizer family. In 2006, the ownership of Rolaids again changed hands to the McNeil Consumer Healthcare division of Johnson & Johnson Inc.

Ad Campaigns

• Rolaids' most famous ad campaign was introduced in 1975. The slogan "How do you spell relief? R-O-L-A-I-D-S" was the brainchild of the Ted Bates Advertising Agency. A major reformulation of Rolaids occurred in 1995 to include calcium and magnesium, and ad campaigns marketed it as a calcium supplement. This took advantage of the new interest in bone health and osteoporosis prevention.