"Vernor's" as a name for ginger ale and extract indicating Vernor's ginger ale first entered commerce in 1880. Distribution For most of its history, Vernors was a regional product. Initially Vernor sold franchises throughout Michigan and in major regional cities; the product was also available in Ontario, Canada. In the 1970s and 1980s Vernors-flavored ice cream was sold by Sanders Confectionery. Vernors was not mass distributed nationally for many years; by 1997, the brand's distribution had expanded to a 33-state area. In 1997, even after expansion, Michigan accounted for 80% of Vernors sales. Ohio and Illinois were the next-highest-selling states; the drink was also very popular in Florida, which has large numbers of retired or relocated former Michigan residents. In 2015, Dr Pepper Snapple said that it sold more than 7 million cases of Vernors, about 1% of the company's total sales volume. At that time, a "large percentage — although not a majority — of the sales" were in Michigan. Promotions A number of slogans have been associated with Vernors over the years. Advertising in the early 1900s used the slogan "Detroit's Drink". According to its trademark application, it began using the slogan "Deliciously Different" in 1921. The labels formerly read "Aged 4 years in wood", which was changed some years ago to "Flavor aged in oak barrels", again in 1996 to "Barrel Aged, Bold Taste" and currently notes "Barrel Aged 3 Years • Bold Taste". The apostrophe in the name "Vernor's" was dropped in the late 1950s. For a time in the mid-1980s, Vernors used the slogan "It's what we drink around here" in its advertising campaigns. The gnome mascot, named "Woody", was used from the start of the 20th century until 1987, when it was dropped by A&W Brands in favor of new packaging, but had returned to the packaging by the 2000s. As recently as October 2013, Vernors features a picture of Woody with the slogan "A Michigan Original Since 1866", plus a picture of a barrel with the slogan "Barrel Aged – Bold Taste". As of January 2016, the wording surrounding the picture was changed to "Authentic • Bold Taste". The identity of the Vernors gnome mascot has been contested and as a result, there is significant local folklore surrounding the gnome. While the Dr. Pepper company insists the name of the gnome has always been Woody, Lawrence L. Rouch, Vernors historian, argues this was