Coca-Cola
Encyclopedia
Carbonation
Carbonation is the process of dissolving carbon dioxide in water. The process usually involves carbon dioxide under high pressure. When the pressure is reduced, the carbon dioxide is released from the solution as small bubbles, which cause the solution to "fizz." This effect is seen in carbonated...
soft drink
Soft drink
A soft drink is a non-alcoholic beverage that typically contains water , a sweetener, and a flavoring agent...
sold in stores, restaurants, and vending machine
Vending machine
A vending machine is a machine which dispenses items such as snacks, beverages, alcohol, cigarettes, lottery tickets, consumer products and even gold and gems to customers automatically, after the customer inserts currency or credit into the machine....
s in more than 200 countries. It is produced by The Coca-Cola Company
The Coca-Cola Company
The Coca-Cola Company is an American multinational beverage corporation and manufacturer, retailer and marketer of non-alcoholic beverage concentrates and syrups. The company is best known for its flagship product Coca-Cola, invented in 1886 by pharmacist John Stith Pemberton in Columbus, Georgia...
of Atlanta, Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
, and is often referred to simply as Coke (a registered trademark of The Coca-Cola Company in the United States since March 27, 1944). Originally intended as a patent medicine
Patent medicine
Patent medicine refers to medical compounds of questionable effectiveness sold under a variety of names and labels. The term "patent medicine" is somewhat of a misnomer because, in most cases, although many of the products were trademarked, they were never patented...
when it was invented in the late 19th century by John Pemberton
John Pemberton
John Stith Pemberton was a Confederate veteran and an American druggist, and is best known for being the inventor of Coca-Cola.-Early life:...
, Coca-Cola was bought out by businessman Asa Griggs Candler
Asa Griggs Candler
Asa Griggs Candler was an American business tycoon who made his fortune selling Coca-Cola. He also served as the 44th Mayor of Atlanta, Georgia from 1916 to 1919...
, whose marketing tactics led Coke to its dominance of the world soft-drink market throughout the 20th century.
The company produces concentrate
Concentrate
A concentrate is a form of substance which has had the majority of its base component removed. Typically this will be the removal of water from a solution or suspension such as the removal of water from fruit juice...
, which is then sold to licensed Coca-Cola bottlers throughout the world. The bottlers, who hold territorially exclusive contracts with the company, produce finished product in cans and bottles from the concentrate in combination with filtered water and sweeteners. The bottlers then sell, distribute and merchandise Coca-Cola to retail stores and vending machines. Such bottlers include Coca-Cola Enterprises
Coca-Cola Enterprises
Coca-Cola Enterprises is a marketer, producer, and distributor of Coca-Cola products. It is the anchor bottler for Western Europe, and was formerly the anchor bottler for most of North America....
, which is the largest single Coca-Cola bottler in North America and western Europe. The Coca-Cola Company also sells concentrate for soda fountain
Soda fountain
A soda fountain is a device that dispenses carbonated drinks. They can be found in restaurants, concession stands and other locations such as convenience stores...
s to major restaurants and food service distributors.
The Coca-Cola Company has, on occasion, introduced other cola drinks under the Coke brand name. The most common of these is Diet Coke
Diet Coke
Diet Coke is a sugar-free soft drink produced and distributed by The Coca-Cola Company. It was first introduced in the United States on August 9, 1982, as the first new brand since 1886 to use the Coca-Cola trademark...
, with others including Caffeine-Free Coca-Cola, Diet Coke Caffeine-Free, Coca-Cola Cherry
Coca-Cola Cherry
Coca-Cola Cherry, originally introduced as Cherry Coke, is a cherry-flavored version of Coca-Cola. It is produced and distributed by The Coca-Cola Company and its bottlers in the United States and some international markets.-History:Long before its official introduction in 1985, many diners and...
, Coca-Cola Zero
Coca-Cola Zero
Coca-Cola Zero or Coke Zero is a product of the Coca-Cola Company. It is a low-calorie variation of Coca-Cola specifically marketed to males, who were shown to associate 'diet' drinks with women....
, Coca-Cola Vanilla, and special versions with lemon, lime or coffee.
Based on Interbrand's best global brand 2011, Coca-Cola was the world's most valuable brand.
History
Prototype
A prototype is an early sample or model built to test a concept or process or to act as a thing to be replicated or learned from.The word prototype derives from the Greek πρωτότυπον , "primitive form", neutral of πρωτότυπος , "original, primitive", from πρῶτος , "first" and τύπος ,...
Coca-Cola recipe was formulated at the Eagle Drug and Chemical Company, a drugstore in Columbus
Columbus, Georgia
Columbus is a city in and the county seat of Muscogee County, Georgia, United States, with which it is consolidated. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 189,885. It is the principal city of the Columbus, Georgia metropolitan area, which, in 2009, had an estimated population of 292,795...
, Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
by John Pemberton
John Pemberton
John Stith Pemberton was a Confederate veteran and an American druggist, and is best known for being the inventor of Coca-Cola.-Early life:...
, originally as a coca wine called Pemberton's French Wine Coca
Pemberton's French Wine Coca
Pemberton's French Wine Coca was a coca wine created by the druggist John Stith Pemberton, the inventor of Coca-Cola.It was an alcoholic beverage, mixed with coca, kola nut and damiana....
. He may have been inspired by the formidable success of Vin Mariani
Vin Mariani
Vin Mariani was a tonic and patent medicine created circa 1863 by Angelo Mariani, a French chemist who became intrigued with coca and its economic potential after reading Paolo Mantegazza’s paper on coca's effects...
, a European coca wine.
In 1886, when Atlanta and Fulton County
Fulton County, Georgia
Fulton County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. Its county seat is Atlanta, the state capital since 1868 and the principal county of the Atlanta metropolitan area...
passed prohibition
Prohibition
Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, is the practice of prohibiting the manufacture, transportation, import, export, sale, and consumption of alcohol and alcoholic beverages. The term can also apply to the periods in the histories of the countries during which the...
legislation, Pemberton responded by developing Coca-Cola, essentially a non-alcoholic version of French Wine Coca.
The first sales were at Jacob's Pharmacy in Atlanta, Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
, on May 8, 1886. It was initially sold as a patent medicine for five cents
Cent (currency)
In many national currencies, the cent is a monetary unit that equals 1⁄100 of the basic monetary unit. Etymologically, the word cent derives from the Latin word "centum" meaning hundred. Cent also refers to a coin which is worth one cent....
a glass at soda fountain
Soda fountain
A soda fountain is a device that dispenses carbonated drinks. They can be found in restaurants, concession stands and other locations such as convenience stores...
s, which were popular in the United States at the time due to the belief that carbonated water
Carbonated water
Carbonated water is water into which carbon dioxide gas under pressure has been dissolved, a process that causes the water to become effervescent....
was good for the health. Pemberton claimed Coca-Cola cured many diseases, including morphine
Morphine
Morphine is a potent opiate analgesic medication and is considered to be the prototypical opioid. It was first isolated in 1804 by Friedrich Sertürner, first distributed by same in 1817, and first commercially sold by Merck in 1827, which at the time was a single small chemists' shop. It was more...
addiction, dyspepsia
Dyspepsia
Dyspepsia , also known as upset stomach or indigestion, refers to a condition of impaired digestion. It is a medical condition characterized by chronic or recurrent pain in the upper abdomen, upper abdominal fullness and feeling full earlier than expected when eating...
, neurasthenia
Neurasthenia
Neurasthenia is a psycho-pathological term first used by George Miller Beard in 1869 to denote a condition with symptoms of fatigue, anxiety, headache, neuralgia and depressed mood...
, headache
Headache
A headache or cephalalgia is pain anywhere in the region of the head or neck. It can be a symptom of a number of different conditions of the head and neck. The brain tissue itself is not sensitive to pain because it lacks pain receptors. Rather, the pain is caused by disturbance of the...
, and impotence. Pemberton ran the first advertisement for the beverage on May 29 of the same year in the Atlanta Journal.
By 1888, three versions of Coca-Cola — sold by three separate businesses — were on the market. Asa Griggs Candler
Asa Griggs Candler
Asa Griggs Candler was an American business tycoon who made his fortune selling Coca-Cola. He also served as the 44th Mayor of Atlanta, Georgia from 1916 to 1919...
acquired a stake in Pemberton's company in 1887 and incorporated it as the Coca Cola Company
Coca Cola Corporation
Coca Cola Corporation was an Atlanta, Georgia company, the first large-scale manufacturer and marketer of beverages based on the Coca-Cola formula, and closely related to The Coca-Cola Company, the corporation that took on that role by 1900 and became a worldwide business.After Asa Candler...
in 1888. The same year, Pemberton sold the rights a second time to four more businessmen: J.C. Mayfield
J.C. Mayfield
J.C. Mayfield, an American businessman, bought one third of the rights to the Pemberton Medicine Company in 1888. Mayfield was under the mistaken impression that he had acquired the rights to Coca-Cola, but in fact Pemberton had already sold a stake to the formula to two other individuals,...
, A.O. Murphey, C.O. Mullahy and E.H. Bloodworth. Meanwhile, Pemberton's son Charley Pemberton began selling his own version of the product.
John Pemberton declared that the name "Coca-Cola" belonged to Charley, but the other two manufacturers could continue to use the formula. So, in the summer of 1888, Candler sold his beverage under the names Yum Yum and Koke. After both failed to catch on, Candler set out to establish a legal claim to Coca-Cola in late 1888, in order to force his two competitors out of the business. Candler purchased exclusive right
Exclusive right
In Anglo-Saxon law, an exclusive right is a de facto, non-tangible prerogative existing in law to perform an action or acquire a benefit and to permit or deny others the right to perform the same action or to acquire the same benefit. A "prerogative" is in effect an exclusive right...
s to the formula from John Pemberton, Margaret Dozier and Woolfolk Walker. However, in 1914, Dozier came forward to claim her signature on the bill of sale had been forged, and subsequent analysis has indicated John Pemberton's signature was most likely a forgery as well.
In 1892 Candler incorporated a second company, The Coca-Cola Company
The Coca-Cola Company
The Coca-Cola Company is an American multinational beverage corporation and manufacturer, retailer and marketer of non-alcoholic beverage concentrates and syrups. The company is best known for its flagship product Coca-Cola, invented in 1886 by pharmacist John Stith Pemberton in Columbus, Georgia...
(the current corporation), and in 1910 Candler had the earliest records of the company burned, further obscuring its legal origins. By the time of its 50th anniversary, the drink had reached the status of a national icon in the USA. In 1935, it was certified kosher by Rabbi Tobias Geffen
Tobias Geffen
Tobias Geffen was an American Orthodox rabbi. He served as the leader of Congregation Shearith Israel in Atlanta, Georgia, from 1910 to 1970...
, after the company made minor changes in the sourcing of some ingredients.
Coca-Cola was sold in bottle
Bottle
A bottle is a rigid container with a neck that is narrower than the body and a "mouth". By contrast, a jar has a relatively large mouth or opening. Bottles are often made of glass, clay, plastic, aluminum or other impervious materials, and typically used to store liquids such as water, milk, soft...
s for the first time on March 12, 1894. The first outdoor wall advertisement was painted in the same year as well in Cartersville, Georgia
Cartersville, Georgia
Cartersville is a town in Bartow County, in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 19,7314. The city is the county seat of Bartow County.-Geography:Cartersville was named for Colonel Farish Carter....
. Cans
Aluminum can
An aluminum can, or can, is a container for packaging made primarily of aluminum .They are commonly used for foods and beverages but also for products such as oil, chemicals, and other liquids. The common 12-ounce size can weighs 15 grams when empty.-Usage:Use of aluminum in cans began in 1957...
of Coke first appeared in 1955. The first bottling of Coca-Cola occurred in Vicksburg
Vicksburg, Mississippi
Vicksburg is a city in Warren County, Mississippi, United States. It is the only city in Warren County. It is located northwest of New Orleans on the Mississippi and Yazoo rivers, and due west of Jackson, the state capital. In 1900, 14,834 people lived in Vicksburg; in 1910, 20,814; in 1920,...
, Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
, at the Biedenharn Candy Company in 1891. Its proprietor was Joseph A. Biedenharn. The original bottles were Biedenharn bottles, very different from the much later hobble-skirt design that is now so familiar. Asa Candler was tentative about bottling the drink, but two entrepreneurs from Chattanooga, Tennessee
Chattanooga, Tennessee
Chattanooga is the fourth-largest city in the US state of Tennessee , with a population of 169,887. It is the seat of Hamilton County...
, Benjamin F. Thomas and Joseph B. Whitehead, proposed the idea and were so persuasive that Candler signed a contract giving them control of the procedure for only one dollar. Candler never collected his dollar, but in 1899 Chattanooga became the site of the first Coca-Cola bottling company. The loosely termed contract proved to be problematic for the company for decades to come. Legal matters were not helped by the decision of the bottlers to subcontract to other companies, effectively becoming parent bottlers.
Coke concentrate, or Coke syrup, was and is sold separately at pharmacies in small quantities, as an over-the-counter remedy for nausea or mildly upset stomach.
New Coke
On April 23, 1985, Coca-Cola, amid much publicity, attempted to change the formulaCoca-Cola formula
The Coca-Cola formula is The Coca-Cola Company's secret recipe for Coca-Cola. As a publicity, marketing, and intellectual property protection strategy started by Robert W...
of the drink with "New Coke". Follow-up taste tests revealed that most consumers preferred the taste of New Coke to both Coke and Pepsi
Pepsi
Pepsi is a carbonated soft drink that is produced and manufactured by PepsiCo...
, but Coca-Cola management was unprepared for the public's nostalgia
Nostalgia
The term nostalgia describes a yearning for the past, often in idealized form.The word is a learned formation of a Greek compound, consisting of , meaning "returning home", a Homeric word, and , meaning "pain, ache"...
for the old drink, leading to a backlash. The company gave in to protests and returned to a variation of the old formula
Coca-Cola formula
The Coca-Cola formula is The Coca-Cola Company's secret recipe for Coca-Cola. As a publicity, marketing, and intellectual property protection strategy started by Robert W...
, under the name Coca-Cola Classic on July 10, 1985.
21st century
On July 5, 2005, it was revealed that Coca-Cola would resume operations in IraqIraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
for the first time since the Arab League
Arab League
The Arab League , officially called the League of Arab States , is a regional organisation of Arab states in North and Northeast Africa, and Southwest Asia . It was formed in Cairo on 22 March 1945 with six members: Egypt, Iraq, Transjordan , Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and Syria. Yemen joined as a...
boycotted the company in 1968.
In April 2007, in Canada, the name "Coca-Cola Classic" was changed back to "Coca-Cola." The word "Classic" was truncated because "New Coke" was no longer in production, eliminating the need to differentiate between the two. The formula remained unchanged.
In January 2009, Coca-Cola stopped printing the word "Classic" on the labels of 16 USfloz bottles sold in parts of the southeastern United States
Southeastern United States
The Southeastern United States, colloquially referred to as the Southeast, is the eastern portion of the Southern United States. It is one of the most populous regions in the United States of America....
. The change is part of a larger strategy to rejuvenate the product's image. The word "Classic" was removed from all Coca-Cola products by 2011.
In November 2009, due to a dispute over wholesale prices of Coca-Cola products, Costco
Costco
Costco Wholesale Corporation is the largest membership warehouse club chain in the United States. it is the third largest retailer in the United States, where it originated, and the ninth largest in the world...
stopped restocking its shelves with Coke and Diet Coke. However, some Costco locations (like the ones in Tucson, Arizona
Tucson, Arizona
Tucson is a city in and the county seat of Pima County, Arizona, United States. The city is located 118 miles southeast of Phoenix and 60 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. The 2010 United States Census puts the city's population at 520,116 with a metropolitan area population at 1,020,200...
), sell imported Coca Cola from Mexico.
Coca-Cola introduced the 7.5-ounce mini-can in 2009, and on September 22, 2011, the company announced price reductions, asking retailers to sell eight-packs for $2.99. That same day, Coca-Cola announced the 12.5-ounce bottle, to sell for 89 cents. A 16-ounce bottle has sold well at 99 cents since being introduced, but the price was going up to $1.19.
Use of stimulants in formula
When launched Coca-Cola's two key ingredients were cocaineCocaine
Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
and caffeine
Caffeine
Caffeine is a bitter, white crystalline xanthine alkaloid that acts as a stimulant drug. Caffeine is found in varying quantities in the seeds, leaves, and fruit of some plants, where it acts as a natural pesticide that paralyzes and kills certain insects feeding on the plants...
. The cocaine was derived from the coca
Coca
Coca, Erythroxylum coca, is a plant in the family Erythroxylaceae, native to western South America. The plant plays a significant role in many traditional Andean cultures...
leaf and the caffeine from kola nut
Kola nut
Kola Nut is the nut of the kola tree, a genus of trees native to the tropical rainforests of Africa, classified in the family Malvaceae, subfamily Sterculioideae . It is related to the South American genus Theobroma, or cocoa...
, leading to the name Coca-Cola (the "K" in Kola was replaced with a "C" for marketing purposes).
Coca — cocaine
Pemberton called for five ounceOunce
The ounce is a unit of mass with several definitions, the most commonly used of which are equal to approximately 28 grams. The ounce is used in a number of different systems, including various systems of mass that form part of the imperial and United States customary systems...
s of coca leaf per gallon of syrup, a significant dose; in 1891, Candler claimed his formula (altered extensively from Pemberton's original) contained only a tenth of this amount. Coca-Cola once contained an estimated nine milligrams of cocaine per glass. In 1903 it was removed.
After 1904, instead of using fresh leaves, Coca-Cola started using "spent" leaves — the leftovers of the cocaine-extraction process with trace levels of cocaine. Coca-Cola now uses a cocaine-free coca leaf extract prepared at a Stepan Company
Stepan Company
Stepan Company is a manufacturer of specialty chemicals headquartered in Northfield, Illinois. The company was founded in 1932 by Alfred C. Stepan, Jr., and has approximately 1,500 employees. It is currently run by his grandson, F. Quinn Stepan, Jr...
plant in Maywood, New Jersey
Maywood, New Jersey
Maywood is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 9,555.Maywood was incorporated as a borough on June 29, 1894, from portions of Midland Township, based on the results of a referendum held that day, at the height of the...
.
In the United States, the Stepan Company is the only manufacturing plant authorized by the Federal Government to import and process the coca plant, which it obtains mainly from Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
and, to a lesser extent, Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
. Besides producing the coca flavoring agent for Coca-Cola, the Stepan Company extracts cocaine from the coca leaves, which it sells to Mallinckrodt
Mallinckrodt
Mallinckrodt is a set of pharmaceutical, chemical, imaging, and respiratory equipment suppliers based in the St. Louis, Missouri, area. Founded in 1867 when the Mallinckrodt brothers formed G. Mallinckrodt & Company to manufacture pharmaceutical chemicals, Mallinckrodt was purchased by Tyco...
, a St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
pharmaceutical manufacturer that is the only company in the United States licensed to purify cocaine for medicinal use.
Kola nuts — caffeine
Kola nuts act as a flavoring and the source of caffeine in Coca-Cola. In Britain, for example, the ingredient label states "Flavourings (Including Caffeine)." Kola nuts contain about 2 percent to 3.5 percent caffeine, are of bitter flavor and are commonly used in colaCola
Cola is a carbonated beverage that was typically flavored by the kola nut as well as vanilla and other flavorings, however, some colas are now flavored artificially. It became popular worldwide after druggist John Pemberton invented Coca-Cola in 1886...
soft drinks. In 1911, the U.S. government initiated United States v. Forty Barrels and Twenty Kegs of Coca-Cola
United States v. Forty Barrels and Twenty Kegs of Coca-Cola
United States v. Forty Barrels and Twenty Kegs of Coca-Cola, , was a federal suit under which the government unsuccessfully attempted to force the Coca-Cola company to remove caffeine from its product.-Claim:...
, hoping to force Coca-Cola to remove caffeine from its formula. The case was decided in favor of Coca-Cola. Subsequently, in 1912 the U.S. Pure Food and Drug Act was amended, adding caffeine to the list of "habit-forming" and "deleterious" substances which must be listed on a product's label.
Coca-Cola contains 34 mg of caffeine per 12 fluid ounces (12.9 mg per 100 ml).
Production
Ingredients
- Carbonated water
- Sugar (sucroseSucroseSucrose is the organic compound commonly known as table sugar and sometimes called saccharose. A white, odorless, crystalline powder with a sweet taste, it is best known for its role in human nutrition. The molecule is a disaccharide composed of glucose and fructose with the molecular formula...
or high-fructose corn syrup depending on country of origin) - Caffeine
- Phosphoric acid
- Caramel color (E150d)
- Natural flavorings
A can of Coke (12 fl ounces/355 ml) has 39 grams of carbohydrates (all from sugar, approximately 10 teaspoons), 50 mg of sodium, 0 grams fat, 0 grams potassium, and 140 calories.
Formula of natural flavorings
The exact formula of Coca-Cola's natural flavorings (but not its other ingredients which are listed on the side of the bottle or can) is a trade secretTrade secret
A trade secret is a formula, practice, process, design, instrument, pattern, or compilation of information which is not generally known or reasonably ascertainable, by which a business can obtain an economic advantage over competitors or customers...
. The original copy of the formula is held in SunTrust Bank's main vault in Atlanta. Its predecessor, the Trust Company
SunTrust Banks
SunTrust Banks, Inc., is an American bank holding company. The largest subsidiary is SunTrust Bank. It had US$172.7 billion in assets as of September 30, 2009...
, was the underwriter for the Coca-Cola Company's initial public offering
Initial public offering
An initial public offering or stock market launch, is the first sale of stock by a private company to the public. It can be used by either small or large companies to raise expansion capital and become publicly traded enterprises...
in 1919. A popular myth states that only two executives have access to the formula, with each executive having only half the formula. The truth is that while Coca-Cola does have a rule restricting access to only two executives, each knows the entire formula and others, in addition to the prescribed duo, have known the formulation process.
On February 11, 2011 Ira Glass
Ira Glass
Ira Glass is an American public radio personality, and host and producer of the radio and television show This American Life.- Early life :...
revealed on his PRI
Public Radio International
Public Radio International is a Minneapolis-based American public radio organization, with locations in Boston, New York, London and Beijing. PRI's tagline is "Hear a different voice." PRI is a major public media content creator and also distributes programs from many sources...
radio show, This American Life
This American Life
This American Life is a weekly hour-long radio program produced by WBEZ and hosted by Ira Glass. It is distributed by Public Radio International on PRI affiliate stations and is also available as a free weekly podcast. Primarily a journalistic non-fiction program, it has also featured essays,...
, that the secret formula to Coca-Cola had been uncovered in a 1979 newspaper. The formula found basically matched the formula found in Pemberton's diary.
Franchised production model
The actual production and distribution of Coca-Cola follows a franchising model. The Coca-Cola Company only produces a syrup concentrate, which it sells to bottlers throughout the world, who hold Coca-Cola franchises for one or more geographical areas. The bottlers produce the final drink by mixing the syrup with filtered water and sweeteners, and then carbonate it before putting it in cans and bottles, which the bottlers then sell and distribute to retail stores, vending machines, restaurants and food service distributors.The Coca-Cola Company owns minority shares in some of its largest franchises, like Coca-Cola Enterprises
Coca-Cola Enterprises
Coca-Cola Enterprises is a marketer, producer, and distributor of Coca-Cola products. It is the anchor bottler for Western Europe, and was formerly the anchor bottler for most of North America....
, Coca-Cola Amatil
Coca-Cola Amatil
Coca-Cola Amatil is an Australian company that bottles and distributes The Coca-Cola Company soft drinks and other beverages in several countries...
, Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company
Coca-Cola Hellenic
Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company S.A. is the world's second-largest Coca-Cola anchor bottler. It is the bottler in 28 countries, its well established markets include Greece, Cyprus, the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, Austria, Switzerland and Italy, its developing markets include...
(CCHBC) and Coca-Cola FEMSA, but fully independent bottlers produce almost half of the volume sold in the world.
Independent bottlers are allowed to sweeten the drink according to local tastes.
The bottling plant in Skopje
Skopje
Skopje is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Macedonia with about a third of the total population. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre...
, Macedonia, received the 2009 award for "Best Bottling Company".
Brand portfolio
This is a list of variants of Coca-Cola introduced around the world. In addition to the caffeine free version of the original, additional fruit flavors have been included over the years. Not included here are versions of Diet CokeDiet Coke
Diet Coke is a sugar-free soft drink produced and distributed by The Coca-Cola Company. It was first introduced in the United States on August 9, 1982, as the first new brand since 1886 to use the Coca-Cola trademark...
and Coca-Cola Zero
Coca-Cola Zero
Coca-Cola Zero or Coke Zero is a product of the Coca-Cola Company. It is a low-calorie variation of Coca-Cola specifically marketed to males, who were shown to associate 'diet' drinks with women....
; variant versions of those no-calorie colas can be found at their respective articles.
| Name | Launched | Discontinued | Notes | Picture |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coca-Cola | 1886 | The original version of Coca-Cola. | ||
| Caffeine-Free Coca-Cola | 1983 | The caffeine free version of Coca-Cola. | ||
| Coca-Cola Cherry Coca-Cola Cherry Coca-Cola Cherry, originally introduced as Cherry Coke, is a cherry-flavored version of Coca-Cola. It is produced and distributed by The Coca-Cola Company and its bottlers in the United States and some international markets.-History:Long before its official introduction in 1985, many diners and... |
1985 | Was available in Canada starting in 1996. Called "Cherry Coca-Cola (Cherry Coke)" in North America until 2006. | ||
| New Coke New Coke New Coke was the reformulation of Coca-Cola introduced in 1985 by The Coca-Cola Company to replace the original formula of its flagship soft drink, Coca-Cola... /"Coca-Cola II" |
1985 | 2002 | Still available in Yap Yap Yap, also known as Wa'ab by locals, is an island in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean. It is a state of the Federated States of Micronesia. Yap's indigenous cultures and traditions are still strong compared to other neighboring islands. The island of Yap actually consists of four... and American Samoa American Samoa American Samoa is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the sovereign state of Samoa... |
|
| Coca-Cola with Lemon Coca-Cola with Lemon Coca-Cola with Lemon is a soft drink brand owned by The Coca-Cola Company, launched to compete with Pepsi Twist. It is produced and distributed by The Coca-Cola Company's bottlers. Diet Coke with Lemon was introduced in the U.S... |
2001 | 2005 | Available in: American Samoa American Samoa American Samoa is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the sovereign state of Samoa... , Austria, Belgium, Brazil Brazil Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people... , China, Denmark, Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina is one of the two political entities that compose the sovereign country of Bosnia and Herzegovina . The two entities are delineated by the Inter-Entity Boundary Line... , Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Iceland Iceland Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population... , Korea, Luxembourg Luxembourg Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south... , Macau Macau Macau , also spelled Macao , is, along with Hong Kong, one of the two special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China... , Malaysia, Mongolia Mongolia Mongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest... , Netherlands, Norway, Réunion Réunion Réunion is a French island with a population of about 800,000 located in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar, about south west of Mauritius, the nearest island.Administratively, Réunion is one of the overseas departments of France... , Singapore Singapore Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the... , Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan Taiwan Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following... , Tunisia Tunisia Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area... , United Kingdom, United States, and West Bank West Bank The West Bank ) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan... -Gaza Gaza Gaza , also referred to as Gaza City, is a Palestinian city in the Gaza Strip, with a population of about 450,000, making it the largest city in the Palestinian territories.Inhabited since at least the 15th century BC,... |
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| Coca-Cola Vanilla | 2002; 2007 | 2005 | Available in: Austria, Australia, China, Germany, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Malaysia, Sweden, United Kingdom and United States. It was reintroduced in June 2007 by popular demand. | |
| Coca-Cola with Lime Coca-Cola with Lime Coca-Cola with Lime was a variation of the original Coca-Cola. It was introduced in North America in the first quarter of 2005 before being quietly discontinued in 2006. The formula is the same as regular Coke but with added lime flavor... |
2005 | Available in Belgium, Netherlands, Singapore Singapore Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the... , Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States. |
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| Coca-Cola Raspberry | June 2005 | End of 2005 | Was only available in New Zealand. Currently available in the United States in Coca-Cola Freestyle fountain since 2009. | |
| Coca-Cola Black Cherry Vanilla Coca-Cola Black Cherry Vanilla Coca-Cola Black Cherry Vanilla and Diet Coke Black Cherry Vanilla were varieties of Coca-Cola that were launched in January 2006 by The Coca-Cola Company in United States. The diet version was sweetened with a blend of aspartame and acesulfame potassium and was marketed as part of the Diet Coke... |
2006 | Middle of 2007 | Was replaced by Vanilla Coke in June 2007 | |
| Coca-Cola Blāk Coca-Cola Blak Coca-Cola BlāK was a coffee-flavored soft drink introduced by Coca-Cola in 2006 and discontinued in 2008. The mid-calorie drink was introduced first in France, before making its way to the United States and other markets.... |
2006 | Beginning of 2008 | Only available in the United States, France, Canada, Czech Republic, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria and Lithuania | |
| Coca-Cola Citra Coca-Cola Citra Coca-Cola Citra is a beverage made by The Coca-Cola Company. The design shows yellow and green stripes, and a pair of citrus fruits resembling a lemon and a lime... |
2006 | Only available in Bosnia and Herzegovina, New Zealand and Japan. | ||
| Coca-Cola Orange Coca-Cola Orange Coca-Cola Orange was a variation of Coca-Cola available for a limited time that was flavoured with orange. It was introduced in June 2007 in the UK and Gibraltar only, following the success of the previous year's Coke with Lime, for which 40% of the launch sales represented new customers and... |
2007 | Was available in the United Kingdom and Gibraltar for a limited time. In Germany, Austria and Switzerland it's sold unter the label Mezzo Mix Mezzo Mix Mezzo Mix is a product of the Coca-Cola Company sold only in Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Finland. Its slogan, translated into English, is "Cola Kisses Orange". It is basically standard Coca-Cola with a light orange flavor, much like a Spezi, which is usually Coke mixed with orange... . Currently available in Coca-Cola Freestyle fountain outlets in the United States since 2009. |
Logo design
Logo
A logo is a graphic mark or emblem commonly used by commercial enterprises, organizations and even individuals to aid and promote instant public recognition...
was created by John Pemberton's bookkeeper, Frank Mason Robinson
Frank Mason Robinson
Frank Mason Robinson , was an important early marketer of what became known as Coca-Cola.As a young man he was in Iowa where he married Laura Clapp. In 1886 Frank Mason Robinson settled in Atlanta, where he was secretary and bookkeeper for the Pemberton Chemical Company.Dr...
, in 1885. Robinson came up with the name and chose the logo's distinctive cursive script. The typeface
Typeface
In typography, a typeface is the artistic representation or interpretation of characters; it is the way the type looks. Each type is designed and there are thousands of different typefaces in existence, with new ones being developed constantly....
used, known as Spencerian script
Spencerian Script
Spencerian Script is a script style that flourished in the United States from 1850 to 1925.Platt Rogers Spencer, whose name the style bears, was impressed with the idea that America needed a penmanship style that could be written quickly, legibly, and elegantly to aid in matters of business...
, was developed in the mid 19th century and was the dominant form of formal handwriting in the United States during that period.
Robinson also played a significant role in early Coca-Cola advertising
Advertising
Advertising is a form of communication used to persuade an audience to take some action with respect to products, ideas, or services. Most commonly, the desired result is to drive consumer behavior with respect to a commercial offering, although political and ideological advertising is also common...
. His promotional suggestions to Pemberton included giving away thousands of free drink coupons and plastering the city of Atlanta with publicity banners and streetcar signs.
Contour bottle design
The equally famous Coca-Cola bottle, called the "contour bottle" within the company, but known to some as the "hobble skirtHobble skirt
A hobble skirt is a skirt with a narrow enough hem to significantly impede the wearer's stride, thus earning its name. A knee-long corset is also used to achieve this effect...
" bottle, was created by bottle designer Earl R. Dean
Earl R. Dean
Earl R. Dean designed the famous contour Coca Cola bottle.In 1915, Harold Hirsch, a lawyer for the Coca-Cola Company, came up with a plan to launch a national competition in which bottle manufactures across the country would be asked to design a distinctive bottle – a bottle which a person could...
. In 1915, the Coca-Cola Company launched a competition among its bottle suppliers to create a new bottle for their beverage that would distinguish it from other beverage bottles, "a bottle which a person could recognize even if they felt it in the dark, and so shaped that, even if broken, a person could tell at a glance what it was."
Chapman J. Root, president of the Root Glass Company
The Root Glass Company
The Root Glass Company in Terre Haute, Indiana, was one of Coca-Cola's bottle suppliers. It was Earl R. Dean, Root Glass Company's bottle designer, who designed the famous contour Coca-Cola bottle. In the mid 1930s, Chapman J. Root, the company's president, sold the Root Glass Company to...
of Terre Haute, Indiana
Terre Haute, Indiana
Terre Haute is a city and the county seat of Vigo County, Indiana, United States, near the state's western border with Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 60,785 and its metropolitan area had a population of 170,943. The city is the county seat of Vigo County and...
, turned the project over to members of his supervisory staff, including company auditor T. Clyde Edwards, plant superintendent Alexander Samuelsson, and Earl R. Dean
Earl R. Dean
Earl R. Dean designed the famous contour Coca Cola bottle.In 1915, Harold Hirsch, a lawyer for the Coca-Cola Company, came up with a plan to launch a national competition in which bottle manufactures across the country would be asked to design a distinctive bottle – a bottle which a person could...
, bottle designer and supervisor of the bottle molding room. Root and his subordinates decided to base the bottle's design on one of the soda's two ingredients, the coca leaf or the kola nut
Kola nut
Kola Nut is the nut of the kola tree, a genus of trees native to the tropical rainforests of Africa, classified in the family Malvaceae, subfamily Sterculioideae . It is related to the South American genus Theobroma, or cocoa...
, but were unaware of what either ingredient looked like. Dean and Edwards went to the Emeline Fairbanks Memorial Library
Emeline Fairbanks Memorial Library
Emeline Fairbanks Memorial Library is located in Terre Haute, Indiana. It was built in 1906 by the Modern Construction Company of Terre Haute. The building is in the Beaux Arts architectural style....
and were unable to find any information about coca or kola. Instead, Dean was inspired by a picture of the gourd-shaped cocoa pod in the Encyclopedia Britannica. Dean made a rough sketch of the pod and returned to the plant to show Root. He explained to Root how he could transform the shape of the pod into a bottle. Root gave Dean his approval.
Faced with the upcoming scheduled maintenance of the mold-making machinery, over the next 24 hours Dean sketched out a concept drawing which was approved by Root the next morning. Dean then proceeded to create a bottle mold and produced a small number of bottles before the glass-molding machinery was turned off.
Chapman Root approved the prototype bottle and a design patent
Design patent
In the United States, a design patent is a patent granted on the ornamental design of a functional item. Design patents are a type of industrial design right. Ornamental designs of jewelry, furniture, beverage containers and computer icons are examples of objects that are covered by design...
was issued on the bottle in November, 1915. The prototype never made it to production since its middle diameter was larger than its base, making it unstable on conveyor belt
Conveyor belt
A conveyor belt consists of two or more pulleys, with a continuous loop of material - the conveyor belt - that rotates about them. One or both of the pulleys are powered, moving the belt and the material on the belt forward. The powered pulley is called the drive pulley while the unpowered pulley...
s. Dean resolved this issue by decreasing the bottle's middle diameter. During the 1916 bottler's convention, Dean's contour bottle was chosen over other entries and was on the market the same year. By 1920, the contour bottle became the standard for the Coca-Cola Company. Today, the contour Coca-Cola bottle is one of the most recognized packages on the planet..."even in the dark!".
As a reward for his efforts, Dean was offered a choice between a $500 bonus or a lifetime job at the Root Glass Company
The Root Glass Company
The Root Glass Company in Terre Haute, Indiana, was one of Coca-Cola's bottle suppliers. It was Earl R. Dean, Root Glass Company's bottle designer, who designed the famous contour Coca-Cola bottle. In the mid 1930s, Chapman J. Root, the company's president, sold the Root Glass Company to...
. He chose the lifetime job and kept it until the Owens-Illinois Glass Company bought out the Root Glass Company
The Root Glass Company
The Root Glass Company in Terre Haute, Indiana, was one of Coca-Cola's bottle suppliers. It was Earl R. Dean, Root Glass Company's bottle designer, who designed the famous contour Coca-Cola bottle. In the mid 1930s, Chapman J. Root, the company's president, sold the Root Glass Company to...
in the mid-1930s. Dean went on to work in other Midwestern glass factories.
One alternative depiction has Raymond Loewy
Raymond Loewy
Raymond Loewy was an industrial designer, and the first to be featured on the cover of Time Magazine, on October 31, 1949. Born in France, he spent most of his professional career in the United States...
as the inventor of the unique design, but, while Loewy did serve as a designer of Coke cans and bottles in later years, he was in the French Army
French Army
The French Army, officially the Armée de Terre , is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces.As of 2010, the army employs 123,100 regulars, 18,350 part-time reservists and 7,700 Legionnaires. All soldiers are professionals, following the suspension of conscription, voted in...
the year the bottle was invented and did not emigrate to the United States until 1919. Others have attributed inspiration for the design not to the cocoa pod, but to a Victorian
Victorian fashion
Victorian fashion comprises the various fashions and trends in British culture that emerged and grew in province throughout the Victorian era and the reign of Queen Victoria, a period which would last from June 1837 to January 1901. Covering nearly two thirds of the 19th century, the 63 year reign...
hooped dress.
In 1944, Associate Justice Roger J. Traynor
Roger J. Traynor
Roger John Traynor served as the 23rd Chief Justice of California from 1964 to 1970, and as an Associate Justice from 1940 to 1964...
of the Supreme Court of California
Supreme Court of California
The Supreme Court of California is the highest state court in California. It is headquartered in San Francisco and regularly holds sessions in Los Angeles and Sacramento. Its decisions are binding on all other California state courts.-Composition:...
took advantage of a case involving a waitress injured by an exploding Coca-Cola bottle to articulate the doctrine of strict liability
Strict liability
In law, strict liability is a standard for liability which may exist in either a criminal or civil context. A rule specifying strict liability makes a person legally responsible for the damage and loss caused by his or her acts and omissions regardless of culpability...
for defective products
Product liability
Product liability is the area of law in which manufacturers, distributors, suppliers, retailers, and others who make products available to the public are held responsible for the injuries those products cause...
. Traynor's concurring opinion
Concurring opinion
In law, a concurring opinion is a written opinion by one or more judges of a court which agrees with the decision made by the majority of the court, but states different reasons as the basis for his or her decision...
in Escola v. Coca-Cola Bottling Co.
Escola v. Coca-Cola Bottling Co.
Escola v. Coca-Cola Bottling Co., 24 Cal.2d 453, 150 P.2d 436 , was a decision of the Supreme Court of California involving an injury caused by an exploding bottle of Coca-Cola...
is widely recognized as a landmark case in U.S. law today.
In 1997, Coca-Cola introduced a "contour can," similar in shape to its famous bottle, on a few test markets, including Terre Haute, Indiana. The can has never been widely released.
A new slim and tall can began to appear in Australia on December 20, 2006; it cost AU$1.95. The cans have a resemblance to energy drink
Energy drink
Energy drinks are beverages whose producers advertise that they "boost energy." These advertisements usually do not emphasize energy derived from the sugar and caffeine they contain but rather increased energy release due to a variety of stimulants and vitamins....
cans. The cans were commissioned by Domino's Pizza and are available exclusively at their restaurants.
In January 2007, Coca-Cola Canada changed "Coca-Cola Classic" labeling, removing the "Classic" designation, leaving only "Coca-Cola." Coca-Cola stated this is merely a name change and the product remains the same. The cans still bear the "Classic" logo in the United States.
In 2007, Coca-Cola introduced an aluminum can designed to look like the original glass Coca-Cola bottles.
In 2007, the company's logo on cans and bottles changed. The cans and bottles retained the red color and familiar typeface, but the design was simplified, leaving only the logo and a plain white swirl (the "dynamic ribbon").
In 2008, in some parts of the world, the plastic bottles for all Coke varieties (including the larger 1.5- and 2-liter bottles) were changed to include a new plastic screw cap and a slightly taller contoured bottle shape, designed to evoke the old glass bottles.
Designer bottles
Karl LagerfeldKarl Lagerfeld
Karl Lagerfeld is a German fashion designer, artist and photographer based in Paris. He has collaborated on a variety of fashion and art related projects, most notably as head designer and creative director for the fashion house Chanel...
is the latest designer to have created a collection of aluminum bottles for Coca-Cola. Lagerfeld is not the first fashion designer to create a special version of the famous Coca-Cola Contour bottle. A number of other limited edition bottles by fashion designers for Coca Cola Light soda have been created in the last few years.
In 2009, in Italy, Coca-Cola Light had a Tribute to Fashion to celebrate 100 years of the recognizable contour bottle. Well known Italian designers Alberta Ferretti, Blumarine, Etro, Fendi, Marni, Missoni, Moschino, and Versace each designed limited edition bottles.
Competitors
PepsiPepsi
Pepsi is a carbonated soft drink that is produced and manufactured by PepsiCo...
, the flagship product of PepsiCo
PepsiCo
PepsiCo Inc. is an American multinational corporation headquartered in Purchase, New York, United States, with interests in the manufacturing, marketing and distribution of grain-based snack foods, beverages, and other products. PepsiCo was formed in 1965 with the merger of the Pepsi-Cola Company...
, The Coca-Cola Company's main rival in the soft drink industry, is usually second to Coke in sales, and outsells Coca-Cola in some markets. RC Cola, now owned by the Dr Pepper Snapple Group
Dr Pepper Snapple Group
Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc. is an American soft drink company, based in Plano, Texas.It was spun off from Britain's Cadbury Schweppes, on May 5, 2008, with trading in its shares starting on May 7, 2008...
, the third largest soft drink manufacturer, is also widely available.
Around the world, many local brands compete with Coke. In South and Central America Kola Real
Kola Real
Kola Real is a Peruvian soft drink. Kola Real is one of the most popular brands of Ajegroup, a leader in the Latin American beverage market. Started in Peru on June 23, 1988 in the middle of a coup d'état, the company has grown and expanded not only in Peru, but also in Cuba, Ecuador, Dominican...
, known as Big Cola in Mexico, is a growing competitor to Coca-Cola. On the French island of Corsica
Corsica
Corsica is an island in the Mediterranean Sea. It is located west of Italy, southeast of the French mainland, and north of the island of Sardinia....
, Corsica Cola
Corsica Cola
Corsica Cola is a regional cola distributed by the corsican brewery Pietra but produced in Cholet in western France.Corsica Cola benefited from an unexpected kick start during its launch in May 2003: a heat wave. The stock was exhausted in two months. On the 31 December 2003 in Corsica alone, the...
, made by brewers of the local Pietra beer, is a growing competitor to Coca-Cola. In the French region of Brittany
Brittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
, Breizh Cola
Breizh Cola
Breizh Cola, "the cola of Brittany", is bottled by Phare Ouest. It is one of many new types of alternate cola, or "altercola," competing with more established and widespread brands such as Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Cola...
is available. In Peru, Inca Kola
Inca Kola
Inca Kola is a soft drink created in Peru in 1935 by British immigrant José Robinson Lindleyhttp://www.urosario.edu.co/urosario_files/12/12e72337-b358-45ac-9228-bb9ba34ffa2c.pdf...
outsells Coca-Cola, which led The Coca-Cola Company
The Coca-Cola Company
The Coca-Cola Company is an American multinational beverage corporation and manufacturer, retailer and marketer of non-alcoholic beverage concentrates and syrups. The company is best known for its flagship product Coca-Cola, invented in 1886 by pharmacist John Stith Pemberton in Columbus, Georgia...
to purchase the brand in 1999. In Sweden, Julmust
Julmust
Julmust is a soft drink that is mainly consumed in Sweden around Christmas. During the rest of the year it is usually hard to find in stores, but sometimes it is sold at other times of the year under the name must. At Easter the name is påskmust ...
outsells Coca-Cola during the Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
season. In Scotland, the locally produced Irn-Bru
Irn-Bru
Irn-Bru is a carbonated soft drink produced in Westfield, Cumbernauld, Scotland. It is made by A.G. Barr of Glasgow since moving out of their original Parkhead factory in the mid-1990s and at a second manufacturing site in Mansfield, England...
was more popular than Coca-Cola until 2005, when Coca-Cola and Diet Coke began to outpace its sales. In India, Coca-Cola ranked third behind the leader, Pepsi-Cola, and local drink Thums Up
Thums Up
Thums Up is a best-selling brand of cola in India, where its bold, red thumbs up logo is common. Introduced in 1977 to offset the expulsion of The Coca-Cola Company and other foreign companies from India, Thums Up, Limca, and Campa Cola gained nationwide acceptance...
. The Coca-Cola Company
The Coca-Cola Company
The Coca-Cola Company is an American multinational beverage corporation and manufacturer, retailer and marketer of non-alcoholic beverage concentrates and syrups. The company is best known for its flagship product Coca-Cola, invented in 1886 by pharmacist John Stith Pemberton in Columbus, Georgia...
purchased Thums Up
Thums Up
Thums Up is a best-selling brand of cola in India, where its bold, red thumbs up logo is common. Introduced in 1977 to offset the expulsion of The Coca-Cola Company and other foreign companies from India, Thums Up, Limca, and Campa Cola gained nationwide acceptance...
in 1993. As of 2004, Coca-Cola held a 60.9% market-share in India. Tropicola, a domestic drink, is served in Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
instead of Coca-Cola, due to a United States embargo. French brand Mecca Cola and British brand Qibla Cola
Qibla Cola
Qibla Cola a cola-flavored carbonated beverage is the flagship product of the Qibla Cola Company, based in Derby, England. The company differentiated itself and its products from its rivals by making an ethical stance in all its operations including giving 10% of its profits to worthy charitable...
are competitors to Coca-Cola in the Middle East. In Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, Cola Turka
Cola Turka
Cola Turka is a cola brand from Turkish company Ülker that is also sold in Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, and Denmark.The two television commercials feature American actor Chevy Chase playing a confused American who notices his friend, wearing a stereotypically American cowboy...
, in Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
and the Middle East, Zam Zam Cola
Zam Zam Cola
Zam Zam Cola is a cola-flavoured soft drink produced in Iran by Zamzam Soft Drink Mfg. Co.It is particularly popular in Iran and parts of the Arab World, having gained a cult status there as a Muslim alternative to "Western" products such as Coca-Cola and Pepsi...
and Parsi Cola
Parsi Cola
Parsi Cola is a cola-flavoured soft drink produced in Iran. It is popular in parts of the Middle East, where people both enjoy soft drinks and appreciate alternatives to U.S. brands such as Pepsi and Coca-Cola for political reasons. In Iran it is the main competitor to Zam Zam Cola....
, in some parts of China, China Cola
China Cola
Future Cola is a cola-flavoured carbonated beverage manufactured by Hangzhou Wahaha Group of China, where it holds a 7% market share, making it the third-largest manufacturer of soft drinks in China behind Coca-Cola and Pepsi Cola...
, in Slovenia
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
, Cockta
Cockta
Cockta is a soft drink from Slovenia.Its main ingredient comes from the dog rose hip. The other ingredients come from 11 different herbs, lemon and orange. It contains neither caffeine nor orthophosphoric acid.-Origins:...
and the inexpensive Mercator Cola, sold only in the country's biggest supermarket chain, Mercator
Mercator (retail)
Mercator is a Slovenian retail chain based in Ljubljana. The company was founded in 1949 under the name Živila Ljubljana, but four years later it was renamed and given its current name...
, are some of the brand's competitors. Classiko Cola, made by Tiko Group, the largest manufacturing company in Madagascar
Madagascar
The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
, is a serious competitor to Coca-Cola in many regions. Laranjada
Laranjada
Laranjada is a type of carbonated soft drink with an orange flavour, which is sold in Bars, Restaurants & supermarkets all over the island of Madeira. It may also be purchased on mainland Portugal on Campo Pequeno, in the supermarket "Sá"...
is the top-selling soft drink on Madeira
Madeira
Madeira is a Portuguese archipelago that lies between and , just under 400 km north of Tenerife, Canary Islands, in the north Atlantic Ocean and an outermost region of the European Union...
.
Advertising
Coca-Cola's advertising has significantly affected American cultureCulture of the United States
The Culture of the United States is a Western culture originally influenced by European cultures. It has been developing since long before the United States became a country with its own unique social and cultural characteristics such as dialect, music, arts, social habits, cuisine, and folklore...
, and it is frequently credited with inventing the modern image of Santa Claus
Santa Claus
Santa Claus is a folklore figure in various cultures who distributes gifts to children, normally on Christmas Eve. Each name is a variation of Saint Nicholas, but refers to Santa Claus...
as an old man in a red-and-white suit. Although the company did start using the red-and-white Santa image in the 1930s, with its winter advertising campaigns illustrated by Haddon Sundblom
Haddon Sundblom
Haddon Hubbard "Sunny" Sundblom was an artist best known for the images of Santa Claus he created for The Coca-Cola Company.-Background:Sundblom was born in Muskegon, Michigan to a Swedish-speaking family...
, the motif was already common. Coca-Cola was not even the first soft drink company to use the modern image of Santa Claus in its advertising: White Rock Beverages
White Rock Beverages
White Rock Beverages is an American beverage company located in Whitestone, NY. The company was established in 1871 by pharmacist H.M. Colver in Waukesha, Wisconsin...
used Santa in advertisements for its ginger ale
Ginger ale
Ginger ale is a carbonated soft drink flavored with ginger. Dr. Thomas Cantrell, an American apothecary and surgeon, claimed to have invented ginger ale and marketed it with beverage manufacturer Grattan and Company. Grattan embossed the slogan "The Original Makers of Ginger Ale" on its bottles...
in 1923, after first using him to sell mineral water
Mineral water
Mineral water is water containing minerals or other dissolved substances that alter its taste or give it therapeutic value, generally obtained from a naturally occurring mineral spring or source. Dissolved substances in the water may include various salts and sulfur compounds...
in 1915. Before Santa Claus, Coca-Cola relied on images of smartly dressed young women to sell its beverages. Coca-Cola's first such advertisement appeared in 1895, featuring the young Bostonian actress Hilda Clark
Hilda Clark
Hilda Clark was an American model and actress. She was born in Leavenworth, Kansas, to Lydia and Milton Edward Clark. As a young adult she moved east to Boston to become a popular music hall songstress and actress. However, Clark became famous as a model in 1895 when she became the first woman to...
as its spokeswoman.
I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing
"I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing " is a popular song which originated as a jingle in the groundbreaking 1971 "Hilltop" television commercial for Coca-Cola. The song, produced by Billy Davis and performed by The New Seekers, portrayed a positive message of hope and love sung by a multicultural...
", produced by Billy Davis
Roquel Billy Davis
Roquel "Billy" Davis of Detroit was an American songwriter, record producer, and singer. Davis is best known as a songwriter for a number of soul musicians label, and as a writer/producer of commercial jingles, mostly for Coca-Cola...
, became a hit single
Hit single
A hit single is a recorded song or instrumental released as a single that has become very popular. Although it is sometimes used to describe any widely-played or big-selling song, the term "hit" is usually reserved for a single that has appeared in an official music chart through repeated radio...
.
Coke's advertising is pervasive, as one of Woodruff
Ernest Woodruff
Ernest Woodruff was an important businessman in the U.S. city of Atlanta.-Biography:Woodruff was born in Columbus, Georgia, USA...
's stated goals was to ensure that everyone on Earth drank Coca-Cola as their preferred beverage. This is especially true in southern areas of the United States, such as Atlanta, where Coke was born.
Television advertisement
A television advertisement or television commercial, often just commercial, advert, ad, or ad-film – is a span of television programming produced and paid for by an organization that conveys a message, typically one intended to market a product...
between 1960 through 1986 were written and produced by former Atlanta radio veteran Don Naylor
Don Naylor
Don Naylor , born Donald Covey Naylor in Millwood, Texas, was a writer, producer, singer and radio personality, a radio and television program director and an advertising creative director throughout a fifty-year career in Atlanta, Georgia.Naylor worked at WGST Radio and later WAGA radio and...
(WGST 1936–1950, WAGA
WAGA (TV)
WAGA-TV, virtual channel 5.1 is an owned-and-operated television station of the News Corporation-owned Fox Television Network and based in Atlanta, Georgia, United States...
1951–1959) during his career as a producer for the McCann Erickson
McCann Erickson
McCann Erickson is a global advertising agency network, with offices in more than 130 countries. McCann is a subsidiary of the Interpublic Group of Companies, one of the four large holding companies in the advertising industry....
advertising agency
Advertising agency
An advertising agency or ad agency is a service business dedicated to creating, planning and handling advertising for its clients. An ad agency is independent from the client and provides an outside point of view to the effort of selling the client's products or services...
. Many of these early television commercials for Coca-Cola featured movie star
Movie star
A movie star is a celebrity who is well-known, or famous, for his or her starring, or leading, roles in motion pictures. The term may also apply to an actor or actress who is recognized as a marketable commodity and whose name is used to promote a movie in trailers and posters...
s, sports heroes and popular singers.
Cola wars
The Cola Wars are a campaign of mutually-targeted television advertisements and marketing campaigns since the 1980s between soft drink manufacturers Coca-Cola Company and PepsiCo Incorporated.- Competition :...
; one of Coke's ads compared the so-called Pepsi challenge
Pepsi Challenge
The Pepsi Challenge has been an ongoing marketing promotion run by PepsiCo since 1975. It is also the name of a cross country ski race at Giant's Ridge Ski Area in Biwabik, Minnesota, an event sponsored by Pepsi.-Method:...
to two chimpanzee
Chimpanzee
Chimpanzee, sometimes colloquially chimp, is the common name for the two extant species of ape in the genus Pan. The Congo River forms the boundary between the native habitat of the two species:...
s deciding which tennis ball
Tennis ball
A tennis ball is a ball designed for the sport of tennis,approximately 6.7 cm in diameter. Tennis balls are generally bright green, but in recreational play can be virtually any color. Tennis balls are covered in a fibrous fluffy felt which modifies their aerodynamic properties...
was furrier. Thereafter, Coca-Cola regained its leadership in the market.
Selena
Selena
Selena Quintanilla-Pérez , known simply as Selena, was a Mexican American singer-songwriter. She was named the "top Latin artist of the '90s" and "Best selling Latin artist of the decade" by Billboard for her fourteen top-ten singles in the Top Latin Songs chart, including seven number-one hits...
was a spokesperson for Coca-Cola from 1989 till the time of her death. She filmed three commercials for the company. In 1994, to commemorate her five years with the company, Coca-Cola issued special Selena coke bottles.
The Coca-Cola Company purchased Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...
in 1982, and began inserting Coke-product images into many of its films. After a few early successes during Coca-Cola's ownership, Columbia began to under-perform, and the studio was sold to Sony
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
in 1989.
Coca-Cola has gone through a number of different advertising slogan
Advertising slogan
Advertising slogans are short, often memorable phrases used in advertising campaigns. They are claimed to be the most effective means of drawing attention to one or more aspects of a product. A strapline is a British term used as a secondary sentence attached to a brand name...
s in its long history, including "The pause that refreshes," "I'd like to buy the world a Coke," and "Coke is it" (see Coca-Cola slogans
Coca-Cola slogans
-Slogans, 1886 - 2011 in America:* 1886 - Drink Coca-Cola.* 1904 - Delicious and refreshing.* 1905 - Coca-Cola revives and sustains.* 1906 - The great national temperance beverage.* 1908 - Good til the last drop* 1917 - Three million a day....
).
In 2006, Coca-Cola introduced My Coke Rewards
My Coke Rewards
My Coke Rewards is a customer loyalty marketing program for Coca-Cola soft drinks. Customers enter codes found on specially marked packages of Coca-Cola products on a website. Codes can also be entered "on the go" by texting them from a cell phone...
, a customer loyalty campaign where consumers earn points by entering codes from specially marked packages of Coca-Cola products into a website. These points can be redeemed for various prizes or sweepstakes entries.
In Australia in 2011, Coca-Cola began the "share a Coke" campaign, where the Coca-Cola logo was replaced on the bottles and replaced with first names. Coca-Cola used the 150 most popular names in Australia to print on the bottles. The campaign was paired with a website page, Facebook page and an online "share a virtual Coke".
Holiday campaigns
Christmas lights
Christmas lights are lights used for decoration around Christmas. The use of decorative, festive lighting during the Christmas holiday season is a long standing tradition in many Christian cultures, and has been adopted as a secular practice in a number of other non-Christian, or predominantly...
, driving through a snowy landscape and causing everything that they pass to light up and people to watch as they pass through.
The advertisement fell into disuse in 2001, as the Coca-Cola company restructured its advertising campaigns so that advertising around the world was produced locally in each country, rather than centrally in the company's headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia. In 2007, the company brought back the campaign after, according to the company, many consumers telephoned its information center saying that they considered it to mark the beginning of Christmas. The advertisement was created by U.S. advertising agency Doner, and has been part of the company's global advertising campaign for many years.
Keith Law, a producer and writer of commercials for Belfast CityBeat
Belfast CityBeat
Belfast CityBeat is a two-time Arqiva 'Station Of The Year' and multi-Sony Award winning Northern Irish radio station. It broadcasts to Greater Belfast on 96.7 MHz FM and on DAB Digital Radio across all of Northern Ireland. From 5 April 2007, Citybeat became available on 102.5FM for North Belfast,...
, was not convinced by Coca-Cola's reintroduction of the advertisement in 2007, saying that "I don't think there's anything Christmassy about HGVs and the commercial is too generic."
In 2001, singer Melanie Thornton
Melanie Thornton
Melanie Janene Thornton was an American pop singer who found fame in Germany and fronted the Eurodance group La Bouche, who found success with the singles "Be My Lover" and "Sweet Dreams" in the mid-1990s. She forged a moderately successful solo career in Germany before her death...
recorded the campaign's advertising jingle as a single, Wonderful Dream (Holidays are Coming), which entered the pop-music charts in Germany at no. 9. In 2005, Coca-Cola expanded the advertising campaign to radio, employing several variations of the jingle.
In 2011, Coca-Cola launched a campaign for the Indian holiday Diwali
Diwali
Diwali or DeepavaliThe name of the festival in various regional languages include:, , , , , , , , , , , , , popularly known as the "festival of lights," is a festival celebrated between mid-October and mid-December for different reasons...
. The campaign included commercials, a song and an integration with Shah Rukh Khan’s film Ra.One
Ra.One
Ra.One is a 2011 Indian science fiction superhero film written and directed by Anubhav Sinha. The film features Shahrukh Khan in dual roles, and also stars Kareena Kapoor, Armaan Verma and Arjun Rampal in the lead...
.
Sports sponsorship
Coca-Cola was the first commercial sponsor of the Olympic gamesOlympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
, at the 1928 games
1928 Summer Olympics
The 1928 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the IX Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1928 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Amsterdam had bid for the 1920 and 1924 Olympic Games, but had to give way to war-victim Antwerp, Belgium, and Pierre de...
in Amsterdam, and has been an Olympics sponsor ever since. This corporate sponsorship included the 1996 Summer Olympics
1996 Summer Olympics
The 1996 Summer Olympics of Atlanta, officially known as the Games of the XXVI Olympiad and unofficially known as the Centennial Olympics, was an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia, United States....
hosted in Atlanta, which allowed Coca-Cola to spotlight its hometown. Most recently, Coca-Cola has released localized commercials for the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver; one Canadian commercial referred to Canada's hockey heritage and was modified after Canada won the gold medal game on February 28, 2010 by changing the ending line of the commercial to say "Now they know whose game they're playing".
Since 1978, Coca-Cola has sponsored the FIFA World Cup
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body...
, and other competitions organised by FIFA. One FIFA
FIFA
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association , commonly known by the acronym FIFA , is the international governing body of :association football, futsal and beach football. Its headquarters are located in Zurich, Switzerland, and its president is Sepp Blatter, who is in his fourth...
tournament trophy, the FIFA World Youth Championship from Tunisia
Tunisia
Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...
in 1977 to Malaysia in 1997, was called "FIFA — Coca Cola Cup". In addition, Coca-Cola sponsors the annual Coca-Cola 600
Coca-Cola 600
The Coca-Cola 600, formerly known as the World 600, is a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race held each year at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina on Memorial Day weekend...
and Coke Zero 400
Coke Zero 400
The Coke Zero 400 powered by Coca-Cola at Daytona is a 160 lap, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race held annually, beginning in 1959, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida; the second major stock car event held at Daytona on the Sprint Cup circuit...
for the NASCAR
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...
Sprint Cup Series at Charlotte Motor Speedway
Charlotte Motor Speedway
Charlotte Motor Speedway is a motorsports complex located in Concord, North Carolina, United States 13 miles from Charlotte, North Carolina. The complex features a quad oval track that hosts NASCAR racing including the prestigious Coca-Cola 600 on Memorial Day weekend and the Sprint All-Star Race...
in Concord, North Carolina
Concord, North Carolina
Concord is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. According to Census 2010, the city has a current population of 79,066. It is the largest city in Cabarrus County and is the county seat. In terms of population, the city of Concord is the second largest city in the Charlotte Metropolitan Area...
and Daytona International Speedway
Daytona International Speedway
Daytona International Speedway is a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida, United States. Since opening in 1959, it has been the home of the Daytona 500, one of the most prestigious races in NASCAR. In addition to NASCAR, the track also hosts races of ARCA, AMA Superbike, Grand-Am and Motocross...
in Daytona, Florida.
Coca-Cola has a long history of sports marketing relationships, which over the years have included Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
, the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
, National Basketball Association
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
and the National Hockey League
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
, as well as with many teams within those leagues. Coca-Cola has had a longtime relationship with the NFL's Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
, due in part to the now-famous 1979 television commercial featuring "Mean Joe" Greene
Joe Greene (American football)
Charles Edward Greene, known as “Mean Joe” Greene, is a former all-pro American football defensive tackle who played for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the NFL. Throughout the early 1970s he was the one of most dominant defensive players in the National Football League...
, leading to the two opening the Coca-Cola Great Hall at Heinz Field
Heinz Field
Heinz Field is a stadium located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It primarily serves as the home to the Pittsburgh Steelers and University of Pittsburgh Panthers American football teams, members of the National Football League and National Collegiate Athletic Association respectively...
in 2001 and a more recent Coca-Cola Zero
Coca-Cola Zero
Coca-Cola Zero or Coke Zero is a product of the Coca-Cola Company. It is a low-calorie variation of Coca-Cola specifically marketed to males, who were shown to associate 'diet' drinks with women....
commercial featuring Troy Polamalu
Troy Polamalu
Troy Aumua Polamalu is an American football strong safety for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League. He was drafted in the first round of the 2003 NFL Draft by the Steelers. He played college football at the University of Southern California.-High school:Troy Polamalu graduated...
.
Coca-Cola is the official soft drink of many collegiate football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
teams throughout the nation, partly due to Coca-Cola providing those schools with upgraded athletic facilities in exchange for Coca-Cola's sponsorship. This is especially prevalent at the high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
level, which is more dependent on such contracts due to tighter budgets.
Coca-Cola was one of the official sponsors of the 1996 Cricket World Cup
1996 Cricket World Cup
The 1996 Cricket World Cup, also called the Wills World Cup after its official sponsors, was the sixth edition of the tournament organized by the International Cricket Council . It was the second World Cup to be hosted by Pakistan and India, and for the first time by Sri Lanka...
held on the Indian subcontinent
Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent, also Indian Subcontinent, Indo-Pak Subcontinent or South Asian Subcontinent is a region of the Asian continent on the Indian tectonic plate from the Hindu Kush or Hindu Koh, Himalayas and including the Kuen Lun and Karakoram ranges, forming a land mass which extends...
. Coca Cola is also one of the associate sponsor of Delhi Daredevils
Delhi Daredevils
Delhi Daredevils is the Delhi franchise for the Indian Premier League in cricket. The franchise is owned by the GMR Group.-Franchise history:...
in Indian Premier League
Indian Premier League
The Indian Premier League is a professional league for Twenty20 cricket competition in India. It was initiated by the Board of Control for Cricket in India , headquartered in Mumbai, and is supervised by BCCI Vice President Rajeev Shukla, who serves as the league's Chairman and Commissioner...
.
In England, Coca-Cola is the main sponsor of The Football League
The Football League
The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...
, a name given to the three professional divisions below the Premier League in football (soccer). It is also responsible for the renaming of these divisions — until the advent of Coca-Cola sponsorship, they were referred to as Divisions One, Two and Three. Since 2004, the divisions have been known as The Championship (equiv. of Division 1), League One (equiv. of Div. 2) and League 2 (equiv. of Division 3). This renaming has caused unrest amongst some fans, who see it as farcical that the third tier of English Football
Football in England
Association football is a national sport in England, where the first modern set of rules for the code were established in 1863, which were a major influence on the development of the modern Laws of the Game...
is now called "League One." In 2005, Coca-Cola launched a competition for the 72 clubs of the football league — it was called "Win a Player". This allowed fans to place 1 vote per day for their beloved club, with 1 entry being chosen at random earning £250,000 for the club; this was repeated in 2006. The "Win A Player" competition was very controversial, as at the end of the 2 competitions, Leeds United AFC had the most votes by more than double, yet they did not win any money to spend on a new player for the club. In 2007, the competition changed to "Buy a Player". This competition allowed fans to buy a bottle of Coca-Cola Zero or Coca-Cola and submit the code on the wrapper on the Coca-Cola website {www.coca-colafootball.co.uk}. This code could then earn anything from 50p to £100,000 for a club of their choice. This competition was favored over the old "Win A Player" competition, as it allowed all clubs to win some money.
Introduced March 1, 2010, in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, to celebrate the 2010 Olympics, Coca Cola will sell gold colored
Gold (color)
Gold, also called golden, is one of a variety of orange-yellow color blends used to give the impression of the color of the element gold....
cans in packs of 12 355 mL each, in select stores.
In mass media
Coca-Cola has been prominently featured in countless films and television programs. It was a major plot element in films such as One, Two, ThreeOne, Two, Three
One, Two, Three is a 1961 American comedy film directed by Billy Wilder and written by him and I.A.L. Diamond. It is based on the 1929 Hungarian one-act play Egy, kettö, három by Ferenc Molnár, with a "plot borrowed partly from" Ninotchka, a 1939 film co-written by Wilder...
, The Coca-Cola Kid
The Coca-Cola Kid
The Coca Cola Kid is a romantic comedy Australian film, released in 1985. It was directed by Dušan Makavejev and starred Eric Roberts and Greta Scacchi. The film is based on short stories in The Americans, Baby, and The Electrical Experience by Frank Moorhouse, who wrote the screenplay...
, and The Gods Must Be Crazy
The Gods Must Be Crazy
The Gods Must Be Crazy is a 1980 film, written and directed by Jamie Uys. The film is the first in The Gods Must Be Crazy series of films. Set in Botswana and South Africa, it tells the story of Xi, a Sho of the Kalahari Desert whose band has no knowledge of the world beyond...
. It provides a setting for comical corporate shenanigans in the novel Syrup
Syrup (novel)
Syrup is a satirical comedy of marketing and consumerism written by Max Barry, under the name Maxx Barry. Published in 1999, it is Barry's debut novel...
by Maxx Barry. And in music, in the Beatles' song, "Come Together
Come Together
"Come Together" is a song by The Beatles written by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney. The song is the opening track on The Beatles' September 1969 album Abbey Road....
", the lyrics said, "He shoot Coca-Cola, he say...".
Also, one of the best selling artists of all time and worldwide cultural icon, Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
, promoted Coca-Cola during his last tour of 1977
Elvis in Concert
Elvis in Concert is the title of the soundtrack album released in conjunction with the television special of the same name which featured some of the final performances of Elvis Presley...
. The Coca-Cola Company
The Coca-Cola Company
The Coca-Cola Company is an American multinational beverage corporation and manufacturer, retailer and marketer of non-alcoholic beverage concentrates and syrups. The company is best known for its flagship product Coca-Cola, invented in 1886 by pharmacist John Stith Pemberton in Columbus, Georgia...
used the Elvis' image to promote the product. One of the examples would be that the company used song performed by Elvis, A Little Less Conversation
A Little Less Conversation
"A Little Less Conversation" is a song written by Mac Davis and Billy Strange that was originally performed and written for American rock and roll icon Elvis Presley for the 1968 film Live a Little, Love a Little. When the song was released as a single with "Almost in Love" as the b-side, it became...
in its Japanese Coca-Cola commercial.
Health effects
Since studies indicate "soda and sweetened drinks are the main source of calories in [the] American diet", most nutritionNutrition
Nutrition is the provision, to cells and organisms, of the materials necessary to support life. Many common health problems can be prevented or alleviated with a healthy diet....
ists advise that Coca-Cola and other soft drinks can be harmful if consumed excessively, particularly to young children whose soft drink consumption competes with, rather than complements, a balanced diet. Studies have shown that regular soft drink users have a lower intake of calcium
Calcium
Calcium is the chemical element with the symbol Ca and atomic number 20. It has an atomic mass of 40.078 amu. Calcium is a soft gray alkaline earth metal, and is the fifth-most-abundant element by mass in the Earth's crust...
, magnesium
Magnesium
Magnesium is a chemical element with the symbol Mg, atomic number 12, and common oxidation number +2. It is an alkaline earth metal and the eighth most abundant element in the Earth's crust and ninth in the known universe as a whole...
, ascorbic acid
Ascorbic acid
Ascorbic acid is a naturally occurring organic compound with antioxidant properties. It is a white solid, but impure samples can appear yellowish. It dissolves well in water to give mildly acidic solutions. Ascorbic acid is one form of vitamin C. The name is derived from a- and scorbutus , the...
, riboflavin
Riboflavin
Riboflavin, also known as vitamin B2 or additive E101, is an easily absorbed micronutrient with a key role in maintaining health in humans and animals. It is the central component of the cofactors FAD and FMN, and is therefore required by all flavoproteins. As such, vitamin B2 is required for a...
, and vitamin A
Vitamin A
Vitamin A is a vitamin that is needed by the retina of the eye in the form of a specific metabolite, the light-absorbing molecule retinal, that is necessary for both low-light and color vision...
. The drink has also aroused criticism for its use of caffeine
Caffeine
Caffeine is a bitter, white crystalline xanthine alkaloid that acts as a stimulant drug. Caffeine is found in varying quantities in the seeds, leaves, and fruit of some plants, where it acts as a natural pesticide that paralyzes and kills certain insects feeding on the plants...
, which can cause physical dependence
Physical dependence
Physical dependence refers to a state resulting from chronic use of a drug that has produced tolerance and where negative physical symptoms of withdrawal result from abrupt discontinuation or dosage reduction...
. A link has been shown between long-term regular cola
Cola
Cola is a carbonated beverage that was typically flavored by the kola nut as well as vanilla and other flavorings, however, some colas are now flavored artificially. It became popular worldwide after druggist John Pemberton invented Coca-Cola in 1886...
intake and osteoporosis
Osteoporosis
Osteoporosis is a disease of bones that leads to an increased risk of fracture. In osteoporosis the bone mineral density is reduced, bone microarchitecture is deteriorating, and the amount and variety of proteins in bone is altered...
in older women (but not men). This was thought to be due to the presence of phosphoric acid
Phosphoric acid
Phosphoric acid, also known as orthophosphoric acid or phosphoric acid, is a mineral acid having the chemical formula H3PO4. Orthophosphoric acid molecules can combine with themselves to form a variety of compounds which are also referred to as phosphoric acids, but in a more general way...
, and the risk was found to be same for caffeinated and noncaffeinated colas, as well as the same for diet and sugared colas.
A common criticism of Coke based on its allegedly toxic acidity levels has been found to be baseless by researchers; lawsuit
Lawsuit
A lawsuit or "suit in law" is a civil action brought in a court of law in which a plaintiff, a party who claims to have incurred loss as a result of a defendant's actions, demands a legal or equitable remedy. The defendant is required to respond to the plaintiff's complaint...
s based on these notions have been dismissed by several American courts for this reason. Although numerous court cases have been filed against The Coca-Cola Company since the 1920s, alleging that the acidity of the drink is dangerous, no evidence corroborating this claim has been found. Under normal conditions, scientific evidence
Scientific evidence
Scientific evidence has no universally accepted definition but generally refers to evidence which serves to either support or counter a scientific theory or hypothesis. Such evidence is generally expected to be empirical and properly documented in accordance with scientific method such as is...
indicates Coca-Cola's acidity causes no immediate harm.
Since 1980 in the U.S., Coke has been made with high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) as an ingredient. Originally it was used in combination with more expensive cane-sugar, but by late 1984 the formulation was sweetened entirely with HFCS. Some nutritionists caution against consumption of HFCS because it may aggravate obesity and type-2 diabetes more than cane sugar.
In India, there is a controversy whether there are pesticide
Pesticide
Pesticides are substances or mixture of substances intended for preventing, destroying, repelling or mitigating any pest.A pesticide may be a chemical unicycle, biological agent , antimicrobial, disinfectant or device used against any pest...
s and other harmful chemicals in bottled products, including Coca-Cola. In 2003 the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE)
Centre for Science and Environment
Centre for Science and Environment is a not-for-profit public interest research and advocacy organisation based in New Delhi, India. Established in 1980, CSE has been working on various environment-development issues in India, pushing for policy changes wherever required and better implementation...
, a non-governmental organization
Non-governmental organization
A non-governmental organization is a legally constituted organization created by natural or legal persons that operates independently from any government. The term originated from the United Nations , and is normally used to refer to organizations that do not form part of the government and are...
in New Delhi, said aerated water
Aerated water
Aerated water is, correctly speaking, distilled water to which purified air is added to improve its flavor.The term is, however, frequently applied to carbonated water.-Purpose of aeration:...
s produced by soft drinks manufacturers in India, including multinational giants PepsiCo
PepsiCo
PepsiCo Inc. is an American multinational corporation headquartered in Purchase, New York, United States, with interests in the manufacturing, marketing and distribution of grain-based snack foods, beverages, and other products. PepsiCo was formed in 1965 with the merger of the Pepsi-Cola Company...
and Coca-Cola, contained toxins including lindane
Lindane
Lindane, also known as gamma-hexachlorocyclohexane, , gammaxene, Gammallin and erroneously known as benzene hexachloride , is an organochlorine chemical variant of hexachlorocyclohexane that has been used both as an agricultural insecticide and as a pharmaceutical treatment for lice and...
, DDT
DDT
DDT is one of the most well-known synthetic insecticides. It is a chemical with a long, unique, and controversial history....
, malathion
Malathion
Malathion is an organophosphate parasympathomimetic which binds irreversibly to cholinesterase. Malathion is an insecticide of relatively low human toxicity, however one recent study has shown that children with higher levels of organophosphate pesticide metabolites in their urine are more likely...
and chlorpyrifos
Chlorpyrifos
Chlorpyrifos is a crystalline organophosphate insecticide that inhibits acetylcholinesterase and is used to control insect pests. It is known by many trade names...
— pesticides that can contribute to cancer and a breakdown of the immune system
Immune system
An immune system is a system of biological structures and processes within an organism that protects against disease by identifying and killing pathogens and tumor cells. It detects a wide variety of agents, from viruses to parasitic worms, and needs to distinguish them from the organism's own...
. CSE found that the Indian-produced Pepsi's soft drink products had 36 times the level of pesticide residues permitted under European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
regulations; Coca-Cola's soft drink was found to have 30 times the permitted amount. CSE said it had tested the same products sold in the U.S. and found no such residues. After the pesticide allegations were made in 2003, Coca-Cola sales in India declined by 15 percent. In 2004 an Indian parliamentary committee backed up CSE's findings and a government-appointed committee was tasked with developing the world's first pesticide standards for soft drinks. The Coca-Cola Company has responded that its plants filter water to remove potential contaminants and that its products are tested for pesticides and must meet minimum health standards before they are distributed. In the Indian state of Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
sale and production of Coca-Cola, along with other soft drinks, was initially banned after the allegations, until the High Court in Kerala overturned ruled that only the federal government can ban food products. Coca-Cola has also been accused of excessive water usage in India.
The 2008 Ig Nobel Prize
Ig Nobel Prize
The Ig Nobel Prizes are an American parody of the Nobel Prizes and are given each year in early October for ten unusual or trivial achievements in scientific research. The stated aim of the prizes is to "first make people laugh, and then make them think"...
(a parody
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
of the Nobel Prize
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
s) in Chemistry was awarded to Sheree Umpierre, Joseph Hill, and Deborah Anderson, for discovering that Coca-Cola is an effective spermicide
Spermicide
Spermicide is a contraceptive substance that eradicates sperm, inserted vaginally prior to intercourse to prevent pregnancy. As a contraceptive, spermicide may be used alone. However, the pregnancy rate experienced by couples using only spermicide is higher than that of couples using other methods...
, and to C.Y. Hong, C.C. Shieh, P. Wu, and B.N. Chiang for proving it is not.
Criticism
Coca-Cola has been criticized for alleged adverse health effects, its aggressive marketing to children, exploitative labor practices, high levels of pesticides in its products, building plants in Nazi GermanyNazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
which employed slave labor, environmental destruction, monopolistic business practices, and hiring paramilitary units to murder trade union leaders. In October 2009, in an effort to improve their image, Coca-Cola partnered with the American Academy of Family Physicians
American Academy of Family Physicians
The American Academy of Family Physicians was founded in 1947 to promote the science and art of family medicine. It is one of the largest medical organizations in the United States, with over 100,000 members...
, providing a $500,000 grant to help promote healthy-lifestyle education; the partnership spawned sharp criticism of both Coca-Cola and the AAFP by physicians and nutritionists.
Use as political and corporate symbol
The identification with the spread of American culture has led to the pun "Coca-Colanization
Cocacolonization
Cocacolonization is a term that refers to globalization or cultural colonization. It is a portmanteau of the name of the multinational soft drink maker Coca-Cola and the word colonization....
".
The drink is also often a metonym
Metonymy
Metonymy is a figure of speech used in rhetoric in which a thing or concept is not called by its own name, but by the name of something intimately associated with that thing or concept...
for the Coca-Cola Company.
There are some consumer boycotts of Coca-Cola in Arab countries
Arab world
The Arab world refers to Arabic-speaking states, territories and populations in North Africa, Western Asia and elsewhere.The standard definition of the Arab world comprises the 22 states and territories of the Arab League stretching from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Arabian Sea in the...
due to Coke's early investment in Israel during the Arab League boycott of Israel
Arab League boycott of Israel
The Arab League boycott of Israel is a systematic effort by Arab League member states to isolate Israel economically to prevent Arab states and discourage non-Arabs from providing support to Israel and adding to Israel's economic and military strength...
(its competitor Pepsi stayed out of Israel).
Mecca Cola and Pepsi have been successful alternatives in the Middle East.
A Coca-Cola fountain dispenser (officially a Fluids Generic Bioprocessing Apparatus-2 or FGBA-2) was developed for use on the Space Shuttle
Space Shuttle
The Space Shuttle was a manned orbital rocket and spacecraft system operated by NASA on 135 missions from 1981 to 2011. The system combined rocket launch, orbital spacecraft, and re-entry spaceplane with modular add-ons...
as a test bed to determine if carbonated beverages can be produced from separately stored carbon dioxide, water and flavored syrups and determine if the resulting fluids can be made available for consumption without bubble nucleation and resulting foam formation.
The unit flew in 1996 aboard STS-77
STS-77
STS-77 was the 77th Space Shuttle mission and the 11th mission of the Space Shuttle Endeavour. The mission began from launch pad 39B from Kennedy Space Center, Florida on 19 May 1996 lasting 10 days and 40 minutes and completing 161 revolutions before landing on runway 33.-Crew:-Mission...
and held 1.65 liters each of Coca-Cola and Diet Coke.
See also
- Coca CollaCoca CollaCoca Colla is an energy drink which is produced in Bolivia with the use of coca extract as its base. It was launched on the Bolivian market in La Paz, Santa Cruz and Cochabamba in mid-April 2010. Not only are the name and ingredients similar to Coca-Cola, but the colors and logo are of a similar...
- ColalifeColalifeColaLife is a company limited by Guarantee which aims to leverage the distribution network of The Coca-Cola Company to get simple medicines, such as rehydration salts, and information on how to use them, to the most remote areas in developing countries...
- FantaFantaFanta is a global brand of fruit-flavored carbonated soft drinks from the Coca-Cola Company. There are over 90 flavors worldwide. The drink debuted in Germany in 1941 and originally sold only in Europe.-History:...
- List of Coca-Cola brands
- Mexican CokeMexican CokeMexican Coke is Coca-Cola that is made and bottled in Mexico in a thick glass bottle. Although intended for consumption in Mexico, Mexican Coke has become very popular in the United States because of a flavor that Mexican Coke fans call "a lot more natural tasting." This "more natural" taste can...
- OpenCola (drink)
- Premix and postmixPremix and postmixPremix and postmix are two methods of serving – usually carbonated – soft drinks that are alternatives to bottles and cans.-Premix:...
External links
- CocaCola.com Coca-Cola website
- Coke.mobi Coca-Cola mobile website
- Kinescope of a live 1954 TV commercial for Coca-Cola (Internet Archive)
- Coca-Cola Advertising History
- Coca-Cola: Refreshing Memories — slideshow by Life magazine
- theContourBottle.com Website dedicated to Earl R. Dean, the designer of Coca-Cola's contour bottle.
- China Advisory: Avoiding the Wax Tadpole – Effective Chinese Language Trademark Strategy Chinese language trademark for Coca-Cola