How the Mobil and Esso brands came to be

Vacuum Oil's first oil-blending plant

The first mention of an engine oil under the name Mobiloil dates back to 1903, when the Wright brothers, Wilbur and Orville, made their first historic flight at Kitty Hawk (North Carolina). They used both fuel (Jersey Standard) and Mobiloil engine oil (Vacuum Oil), both made at plants of the Standard Oil Company concern.

In 1926, Jersey Standard introduced the new Esso brand, under which a new fuel blend was launched. In 1952, the world's first all-season engine oil, Exxon Uniflo 10W-30, was released.

From this 1926 ad campaign, the tiger became a permanent fixture of Esso labels

And in 1959, an advertising campaign for Esso fuel launched in the US under the slogan "Put a tiger in your tank!". From then on, the tiger has held a permanent, honoured place on the labels and in the advertising of Exxon products in general, and the Esso brand in particular.

In 1966 (to mark the company's 100th anniversary), Vacuum Oil changes its name to Mobil, and in 1972 Jersey Standard changes its name too — from then on the company is called Exxon.

In 1974, Mobil begins producing fully synthetic engine oils, launched under the new brand Mobil 1.

And only in 1999 do the Mobil and Exxon concerns officially merge, forming the giant Exxon Mobil Corporation.