Introduction More than a century after the creation of Coca-Cola,we’re still as much in love with this famous soft drink as our great-grandparents were. Hold up a Coke and you proclaim all that’s best about the American way of life. Coca-Cola is also one of the most successful companies the world has ever known; nothing can be that big and popular, so much a part of everyday life,without having legends spring up around it. The history of Coca-Cola is a story of special moments – times with family and friends and special occasions when Coke was naturally there.
Every person who drinks a Coca-Cola enjoys a moment of refreshment-and share in an experience that millions of others have savored. And all of those individual experiences combined have created a worldwide phenomenon – a truly global brand that plays its own small part on the world stage. Coca-Cola touches the lives of millions of people each and every day. The brand has become a special part of people’s lives. Refreshment is a language everyone understands and no one speaks it better than Coca-Cola. This is the reason why I decided to write about “America’s Real Choice“, Coca-Cola. So…
Have a Coke and a smile ! ( History Birth of Coca Cola It was 1886, and in New York Harbor, workers were constructing the Statue of Liberty. Eight hundred miles away, another great American symbol was about to be unveiled. Like many people who change history, John Pemberton, an Atlanta pharmacist, was inspired by simple curiosity. One afternoon, he stirred up a fragrant, caramel-colored liquid and, when it was done, he carried it a few doors down to Jacobs’ Pharmacy. Here, the mixture was combined with carbonated water and sampled by customers who all agreed — this new drink was something special.
So Jacobs’ Pharmacy put it on sale for five cents a glass. Pemberton’s bookkeeper, Frank Robinson, named the mixture Coca-Cola®, and wrote it out in his distinct script. To this day, Coca-Cola is written the same way. In the first year, Pemberton sold just 9 glasses of Coca-Cola a day. A century later, The Coca-Cola Company produced more than 10 billion gallons of syrup. Unfortunately for Pemberton, he died in 1888 without realizing the success of the beverage he had created. Over the course of three years, 1888-1891, Atlanta businessman Asa Griggs Candler secured rights to the business for a total of about $2,300.
Candler would become the Company’s first president, and the first to bring real vision to the business and the brand. [pic] New Coke On April 23, 1985, Coca-Cola, amid much publicity, attempted to change the formula 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. New Coke was the unofficial name of the sweeter formulation introduced in 1985 by The Cola-Cola Company to replace its flagship soft drink,Cola-Cola or Coke.
Properly speaking,it had no separate name of its own, but simply known as “the new taste of Coca-Cola “, until 1992 when it was renamed Coca-Cola II. Public reaction to the change was devastating,and the new Cola quickly entered the pantheon of major marketing flops . The subsequent reintroduction of Coke’s original formula led to a significant gain in sales. [pic] [pic] 21st Century On February 7,2005, the Coca-Cola Company announced that in the second quarter of 2005 they planned a launch of a Diet Coke product sweetened with the artificial sweetener sucralose (“Splenda”), the same sweetener currently used in Pepsi One.
On March 21,2005,it announced another diet product, “Coca-Cola Zero”, sweetened partly with a blend of aspartame and acesulfame potassium. Recently Coca-Cola has begun to sell a new “healthy soda” Diet Coke with Vitamins B6, B12, Magnesium, Niacin and Zinc, marketed as “Diet Coke Plus”. In April 2007, in Canada, the name “Coca-Cola Classic” was changed back to “Coca-Cola”. The word “Classic” was removed because “New Coke” as no longer in production, eliminated the need to differentiate between the two. The formula remained unchanged.
Production Original formula [pic] 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. Woodruff, the company presents the formula as a closely held trade secret known only to a few employees, mostly executives. Published versions say it contains sugar or high fructose corn syrup, caramel color, caffeine, phosphoric acid, coca extract, kola nut extract, lime extract, vanilla, and glycerin.
The basic “cola” taste from Coca-Cola and competing cola drinks comes mainly from vanilla and cinnamon; distinctive tastes among various brands are the result of trace flavorings such as orange, lime and lemon and spices such as nutmeg. Some natural colas also include cola nut; Coca-Cola does not, and chemical testing reveals none. Coca-Cola was originally one of hundreds of coca-based medicines that claimed benefits to health; in Coca-Cola’s case it claimed to alleviate headaches and to be a “brain and nerve tonic”. Coca leaves were used in its preparation, and the small amounts of cocaine provided a buzz to drinkers.
In 1903 Coca-Cola removed cocaine from the formula, started using caffeine as the buzz-giving element,[and started dropping all the medicinal claims. Coca-Cola replaced unprocessed coca leaves with “spent” coca leaves, which have gone through a cocaine extraction process, and served only to flavor the beverage. These changes were in response to increasing pressure from the Food and Drug Administration, which was carrying a campaign against harmful food ingredients and misleading claims, under the direction of Harvey Washington Wiley.
The coca leaves are imported from Peru, and they are treated by US chemical company Stepan, which then sells the de-cocainized residue to Coca-Cola. Since 1929, the beverage only contains trace amounts of cocaine alkaloids, not enough to have any effect. The Coca-Cola Company currently refuses to confirm whether Coca-Cola still contains spent coca leaves, saying that this is part of the secret formula. In 1911 the Food and Drug Administration tried to get caffeine removed from Coca-Cola’s formula in United States v. Forty Barrels and Twenty Kegs of Coca-Cola, claiming that it was harmful to health.
The FDA lost the case, but the decision was partly reversed in 1916 by the Supreme Court. Coca-Cola settled to avoid further litigation, paying all legal costs and reducing the amount of caffeine in its product. The government passed bills forcing caffeine to be listed in the ingredient list of beverages. Other formulas In the United States, Coca-Cola normally uses high-fructose corn syrup instead of sugar as its main sweetener, due to the combined effect of corn subsidies and sugar import tariffs making HFCS substantially cheaper.
There are two main sources of sugar-based Coca-Cola in the United States: Kosher Coca-Cola – produced for Passover is sold in 2-liter bottles with a yellow cap marked with an OU-P, indicating that the Orthodox Jewish Union certifies the soda as Kosher for Passover, or with a white cap with a CRC-P indicating that the certification is provided by the Chicago Rabbinical Council. While the usual Coca-Cola formula is kosher (the original glycerin from beef tallow having been replaced by vegetable glycerin), during Passover Ashkenazi Jews do not consume Kitniyot, which prevents them from consuming high fructose corn syrup (HFCS).
Even sugar-based formulas would still require certification of both the formula and the specific bottling plant, as the strictures of Kashrut on Passover are far higher and more complicated than usual kosher observance. Mexican Coca-Cola – In the United States, there is strong demand from Latin-American immigrant customers for the Coke they drank “back home”, so Mexican sugar-based Coca-Cola in traditional contour bottles is sold in ethnic markets. In recent times, a cult following has emerged amongst younger Coke drinkers who believe this to be the pre-New Coke original formula.
The company advises people seeking a sugar-based Coca-Cola to buy “Mexican Coke”. Coca-Cola commercial : On January 23, 2011, during an NFL commercial, Coca-Cola teased that they would share the secret formula only to flash a comical “formula” for a few frames. This required the use of DVR to freeze on the formula for any analysis, which ultimately proved to be a marketing ploy with no intention of sharing the full official formula. Ingredients listed in the commercial: Nutmeg Oil, Lime Juice, Cocoa, Vanilla, Caffeine, “flavoring”, and a smile. pic] Bottle design The equally famous Coca-Cola bottle, called the “contour bottle” within the company, but known to some as the “hobble skirt” bottle, was created by bottle designer Earl R. Dean. 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 of Terre Haute, Indiana, turned the project over to members of his supervisory staff, including company auditor T. Clyde Edwards, plant superintendent Alexander Samuelsson, and Earl R. Dean, 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, but were unaware of what either ingredient looked like. Dean and Edwards went to the Emeline Fairbanks Memorial Library 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 theEncyclop? dia 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. Chapman Root approved the prototype bottle and a design patent 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 belts. 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! “. 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 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. [pic] [pic] [pic] Advertising Slogans for Coca-Cola Throughout the years, the slogans used in advertising for Coca-Cola have reflected not only the brand,but the times.
Slogans provide a simple, direct way to communicate about Coca-Cola. The 1906 slogan, “The Great National Temperance Beverage”, reflects a time when the society in the United States was veering away fron alcoholic beverages, and Coca-Cola provided a nice alternative. Other slogans have concerned our sales figures, such as “Three Million a Day” from 1927 or “ Six Million a Day” from 1925. In terms of drinks a day, that’s a vast difference from the one billion a day mark The Coca-Cola Company passed in 1997.
Some slogans for Coca-Cola have concentrated on the quality of the product, its refreshing taste,or even its role in entertaining,as in 1948’s “Where There’s Coke There’s Hospitality”. In 1985, the introduction of a new taste of Coca-Cola (commonly called new Coke®) and the reintroduction of Coca-Cola classic and the original formula led to multiple slogans. 1985 featured “America’s Real Choice”, while by 1986,two slogans were used to differenciate the brands,with “Red,White and You” for Coca-Cola classic and “Catch the Wave“ for Coca-Cola.
Some advertisments themselves rise to the level of memorable slogans. The 1971 “Hilltop” ad featured a song with the words “I’d Like to Buy the World a Coke”. Althought that wasn’t an actual slogan (the ad in fact was part of the “It’s Real Thing” campaign), the ad and song lyrics are still so well known today that the lyrics are considered a slogan to many. In January 2003, latest slogan for Coca-Cola was introduced – “Coca-Cola… Real”. The Campaign(and slogan in turn) reflects genuine, authentic moments in life and the natural role Coca-Cola plays in them.
Coca-Cola has been notable for its advertising slogan over the years, since its inception in 1886. • 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. • 1922 – Thirst knows no season. • 1923 – Enjoy life. • 1924 – Refresh yourself. • 1925 – Six million a day. • 1926 – It had to be good to get where it is. • 1927 – Pure as Sunlight • 1927 – Around the corner from anywhere. • 1928 – Coca-Cola … pure drink of natural flavors. 1929 – The pause that refreshes. • 1932 – Ice-cold sunshine • 1937 – America’s favorite moment. • 1938 – The best friend thirst ever had. • 1938 – Thirst asks nothing more. • 1939 – Coca-Cola goes along. • 1939 – Coca-Cola has the taste thirst goes for. • 1939 – Whoever you are, whatever you do, wherever you may be, when you think ofrefreshment, think of ice cold Coca-Cola. • 1941 – Coca-Cola is Coke! • 1942 – The only thing like Coca-Cola is Coca-Cola itself. • 1944 – How about a Coke? • 1945 – Coke means Coca-Cola. • 1945 – Passport to refreshment. 1947 – Coke knows no season. • 1948 – Where there’s Coke there’s hospitality. • 1949 – Coca-Cola … along the highway to anywhere. • 1952 – What you want is a Coke. • 1954 – For people on the go. • 1956 – Coca-Cola … makes good things taste better. • 1957 – The sign of good taste. • 1958 – The Cold, Crisp Taste of Coke • 1959 – Be really refreshed. • 1963 – Things go better with Coke. • 1966 – Coke … after Coke … after Coke. • 1969 – It’s the real thing. • 1971 – I’d like to buy the world a Coke. • 1974 – Look for the real things. • 1976 – Coke adds life. 1979 – Have a Coke and a smile • 1982 – Coke is it! • 1985 – America’s Real Choice • 1986 – Red White & You (for Coca-Cola Classic) • 1986 – Catch the Wave (for New Coke) • 1989 – Can’t Beat the Feeling. (also used in the UK) • 1991 – Can’t Beat the Real Thing. (for Coca-Cola Classic) • 1993 – Always Coca-Cola. • 2000 – Enjoy. • 2001 – Life tastes good. (also used in the UK) • 2003 – Real. • 2005 – Make It Real. • 2006 – The Coke Side of Life (used also in the UK) • 2007 – Live on the Coke Side of Life (also used in the UK) • 2008 – love it light (also used in the UK) 2009 – Open Happiness • 2010 – Twist The Cap To Refreshment • 2011 – Life Begins Here Coca-Cola and Santa Claus Though he was not the first artist to create an image of Santa Claus for Coca-Cola advertising, Haddon Sundblom’s version became the standard for other Santa renditions and is the most-enduring and widespread depiction of the holiday icon to this day. Coca-Cola’s Santa artworks would change the world’s perception of the North Pole’s most-famous resident forever and would be adopted by people around the world as the popular image of Santa.
In the 1920s, The Coca-Cola Company began to promote soft drink consumption for the winter holidays in U. S. magazines. The first Santa ads for Coke used a strict-looking Claus. In 1930, a Coca-Cola advertised with a painting by Fred Mizen, showing a department store Santa impersonator drinking a bottle of Coke amid a crowd of shoppers and their children. Not long after, a magical transformation took place. Archie Lee, then the agency advertising executive for The Coca-Cola Company, wanted the next campaign to show a wholesome Santa as both realistic and symbolic.
In 1931, the Company commissioned Haddon Sundblom, a Michigan-born illustrator and already a creative giant in the industry, to develop advertising images using Santa Claus. Sundblom envisioned this merry gentleman as an opposite of the meager look of department store Santa imitators from early 20th century America. Sundblom’s Santa was very different from the other Santa artworks: he radiated warmth, reminded people of their favorite grandfather, a friendly man who lived life to the fullest, loved children, enjoyed a little honest mischief, and feasted on snacks left out for him each Christmas Eve.
Coca-Cola’s Christmas campaign featuring this captivating Santa ran year after year. As distribution of Coca-Cola and its ads spread farther around the world, Sundblom’s Santa Claus became more memorable each season, in more and more countries. The character became so likable, The Coca-Cola Company and Haddon Sundblom struck a partnership that would last for decades. Over a p of 33 years, Haddon Sundblom painted imaginative versions of the “Coca-Cola Santa Claus” for for Coke advertising, retail displays and posters.
In 1951, Sundblom captured the Coca-Cola Santa “making his list and checking it twice. ” However, the ads did not acknowledge that bad children existed and showed pages of good boys and girls only. Mischievous and magical, the Coca-Cola Santa was not above raiding the refrigerator during his annual rounds, stealing a playful moment with excited children and pets, or pausing to enjoy a Coca-Cola during stops on his one-night, worldwide trek. When air adventures became popular, Santa also could be caught playing with a toy helicopter around the tree.
Haddon Sundblom passed away in 1976, but The Coca-Cola Company continues to use a variety of his timeless depictions of Saint Nicholas in holiday advertising, packaging and other promotional activities. The classic Coca-Cola Santa images created by Sundblom are as ubiquitous today as the character they represent and have become universally accepted as the personification of the patron saint of both children and Christmas. [pic] [pic] [pic] Criticism The Coca-Cola Company, its subsidiaries and products have been subject to sustained criticism by both consumer groups and watchdogs, particularly since the early 2000s.
Allegations against the company are varied and criticism has been based around; possible health effects of Coca-Cola products, questionable labour practices (including allegations of involvement with paramilitary organisations in suppression of trade unions), the company’s poor environmental record, perception of the companies engagement in monopolistic business practices, questionable marketing strategies and violations of intellectual property rights. Perception of the company as behaving unethically has led to the formation of pressure groups such as “Killer Coke”, boycotts of Coca-Cola and related products and lawsuits.
Health effects [pic] [pic] Since studies indicate “soda and sweetened drinks are the main source of calories in American diet”,most nutritionists 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, magnesium, ascorbic acid, riboflavin, and vitamin A. The drink has also aroused criticism for its use of caffeine, which can cause physical dependence.
A link has been shown between long-term regular cola intake and osteoporosis in older women (but not men). This was thought to be due to the presence of phosphoric acid, and the risk was found to be same for caffeinated and noncaffeinated colas, as well as the same for diet and sugared colas. Acidity and tooth decay Numerous court cases have been filed against the Coca-Cola Company since the 1940s alleging that the acidity of the drink is dangerous. In some of these cases, evidence has been presented showing Coca-Cola is no more harmful than comparable soft drinks or acidic fruit juices.
Frequent exposure of teeth to acidic drinks increases the risk of tooth damage throughdental erosion. This form of tooth decay is unrelated to dental caries. High fructose corn syrup High fructose corn syrup was rapidly introduced in many processed foods and soda drinks in the US over the period of about 1975–1985. Since 1985 in the U. S. , Coke has been made with high fructose corn syrup instead of sucrose to reduce costs. One of the reasons this has come under criticism is because the corn used to produce corn syrup often comes from genetically altered plants.
Some nutritionists also caution against consumption of high fructose corn syrup because of possible links to obesity and diabetes. High fructose corn syrup has been shown to be metabolized differently than sugar by the human body. This causes problems with Coke’s distribution and bottling network, because specific franchise districts are guaranteed an exclusive market area for Coke products. Mexican-made Coca-Cola may often be found for sale in stores catering to the Hipic immigrant community.
Kosher for Passover Coke is also made with cane sugar, rather than corn syrup, due to the special dietary restrictions for observant Jews. Some Orthodox Jews do not consume corn during the holiday. Bottled with yellow caps, this variant can be found in some areas of the US around April. [pic] Conclusion The Coca Cola Company is currently one of the biggest and most recognized soft beverage brands in the world. With over 3000 products in more than 200 countries, the Coca-Cola Company has surely become part of people’s lives.
The Coca-Cola Company owes its success to the people who do their best to achieve the task at hand. In conclusion, Coca-Cola is a successful product, not only because it has built a recognizable logo and brand name, but mostly because it has managed to position its brand in a way that takes advantage of all the elements of marketing mix, place price and promotion/distribution. In doing so, it achieves to develop a brand personality and distinguish itself from competition, while offering consumers a clear view of its brand values.
This leads to increased brand loyalty and satisfaction. [pic] Dear Coca-Cola, We do not share a physical or emotional relationship,nor are we related in any way because, even though we’ve both been designed using that incredible material called water, I’m vertebrate and you don’t have a spine. Even though you couldn’t talk, you were great company during those hot summer days and also during the freezing moments of winter. When it comes to you, thirst knows no season. It made my blood boil when they said you were a menace to ecology and a threat to the human anatomy.
