Early 1980s
When the Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker was first introduced for the 1981 model year, it came in an eight-sided box. A few of these boxes have survived, but they are few and far between. We catch a glimpse of two of them in this promotional photo featuring company founder George Stephen. He’s posing with a variety of Weber grills, including the original Model 1880 14.5″ WSM perched on top of an octagonal box. If you look closely, you’ll notice that the Go-Anywhere charcoal grill to the left of the WSM is also sitting on an eight-sided box.
As far as the box art goes, it appears to be a series of large symbolic line drawings with text, each representing a product feature. Is that a drumstick in one of the drawings?
And what’s that light pole in the background? It’s none other than The Web electric bug zapper from Weber.
Mid 1980s to 2000
By the time I bought my first Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker in 1997, Weber had abandoned the eight-sided box for a square one and had replaced the symbolic graphics with a large, full-color label pasted on the side of the box featuring this family on the porch of a log cabin and the original Model 2880 18.5″ WSM.
A portion of the label (not shown in this photo) wrapped around the corner of the box to the adjacent side and contained the following text (emphasis as printed on the label):
Smokey Mountain Cooker
- Delicious food first time, every time!
- It’s the first smoker rugged enough to deserve the Weber name…and the first smoker ever to carry a full 5-year limited warranty.
- Built to give year after durable year of great food…heavy steel sealed in porcelain enamel, inside and out! No rusting, no burning!
- Smokes! Roasts! Steams! Grills!
- It’s the smoke cooker you’ve seen on TV…the smoker that just won’t quit.
The log cabin family was also featured on the cover of the WSM Owner’s Manual from 1981-1988, but in a different photo from the same photo shoot. The outdoor theme carried over into print and television advertising, as well. See the WSM Advertising page for examples, including a rarely seen video of a WSM television commercial.
If you compare the WSM in this photo to today’s 18.5″ WSM, you’ll notice some interesting differences:
- It has a smooth, non-textured steel access door. Today’s WSM has a textured aluminum door.
- It has a horizontal line pressed into the door just below the knob. Today’s WSM has vertical lines along each edge of the door in addition to the horizontal line.
- The access door is much taller than on today’s WSM.
- The screws for the cooking grate brackets are just a few inches apart, meaning that the cooking grates are very close together. Today’s WSM has more vertical space between cooking grates.
- The vent dampers have three lines pressed into the surface. Today’s 14.5″ and 18.5″ WSMs have no such lines, but the 22.5″ WSM does.
I suspect this is a photo of a prototype WSM or an early production model that was subsequently redesigned.
2001-2004
In August 2001, Weber changed the WSM box art to the version shown here. As with the previous full-color label, this one was pasted onto the brown box.
The text on the label reads:
- Porcelain-enameled bowl and lid
- 2 Triple nickel-plated cooking grates
- Glass-reinforced nylon handle provides years of durability
- Premium grade cover included
- Two 18-1/2″ diameter cooking areas
As with the previous box art, part of the label wrapped around to the right side of the box. It shows the Weber logo, the phrase “Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker Smoker” and a smaller version of the product photo.
2004-2008
In 2004, Weber updated all of its product packaging, switching from a brown box to a white box and printing the graphics directly onto the box—no more glued-on labels.
Here’s the front of the box.
And here’s the side of the box.
2009-2013
In 2009, Weber introduced a redesigned 18.5″ WSM and the all-new 22.5″ WSM. The box art for each cooker was a modest update from the previous design.
18.5″ Box
Here’s the front of the 18.5″ box.
And here’s the side of the 18.5″ box. In 13 languages it says:
- 480 sq inch total cooking surface
- Two 18-1/2″ diameter cooking grates
- Built-in thermometer
- Porcelain-enameled bowl and lid
- Large water pan
22.5″ Box
Here’s the front of the 22.5″ box.
And here’s the side of the 22.5″ box. In 13 languages, it says:
- 726 sq inch total cooking surface
- Two 22-1/2″ diameter cooking grates
- Built-in thermometer
- Porcelain-enameled bowl and lid
- Large water pan
2014
For the 2014 model year, Weber introduced the new WSM 14.5″ cooker and a new feature on the 18.5″ and 22.5″ cookers that is reflected in the product photo on the box—the addition of the thermometer port silicone grommet.
14.5″ Box
Here’s the front of the 14.5″ box.
Can you say “Smokey Mountain Cooker” in 13 different languages?
How about “Free Cover Included” in 13 languages?
2018
By 2018, the box design has reverted to a single, large “hero image” of the Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker.
14.5″ Box
Here’s the front of the 14.5″ box.
And here’s the side of the box.
Although the cover is still free, it’s now referred to as “premium.” Note that it’s not showing a 14.5″ WSM. We know this because we can see the heat shield suspended between the legs. For the 14.5″ WSM, the heat shield is placed inside the bottom of the charcoal bowl and wouldn’t be visible in a photo like this one.
Here’s a close-up of the model and serial number sticker. 711001 is the model number. The CB portion of the serial number represents 2017, but the 10/27/2017 date is within Weber’s 2018 model year which begins on October 1, 2017. This is a grill manufactured in 2017 but sold during the 2018 model year.
18.5″ Box
Here’s the front of the 18.5″ box.
And here’s the side of the box.
Premium cover is included.
The fine print on the inner box flap says “23574 10/17 Rev D”. I assume the five-digit number is the part number for the box. 10/17 corresponds to Weber’s 2018 model year which began on October 1, 2017. I assume Rev D means this is the fourth version of the box design.
22.5″ Box
Here’s the front of the 22.5″ box.
And here’s the side of the box.
Premium cover is included, of course.
Similar info on the inner box flap as shown on the 18.5″ box. “23650 10/17 Rev D” is the part number for the box along with the box revision info.
All box art is Copyright Weber-Stephen Products LLC.
