The World of Coca-Cola at Pemberton Place® celebrated its
Grand Opening on May 24, 2007. It’s the only place where you can explore the
fascinating story of Coca‑Cola® –
the world’s best-known beverage brand. Learn a
little more about Coca-Cola before your visit.
Coca-Cola History:
Coca-Cola history began in 1886 when the curiosity of an
Atlanta pharmacist, Dr. John S. Pemberton, led him to create a distinctive
tasting soft drink that could be sold at soda fountains. He created a flavored
syrup, took it to his neighborhood pharmacy, where it was mixed with carbonated
water and deemed “excellent” by those who sampled it. Dr. Pemberton’s partner
and bookkeeper, Frank M. Robinson, is credited with naming the beverage “Coca‑Cola” as well as designing the trademarked, distinct script, still
used today.
Did you know? The first servings of Coca‑Cola
were sold for 5 cents per glass. During the first year, sales averaged a modest
nine servings per day in Atlanta. Today, daily servings of Coca‑Cola
beverages are estimated at 1.9 billion globally.
Prior to his death in 1888, just two years after creating
what was to become the world’s #1-selling sparkling beverage, Dr. Pemberton
sold portions of his business to various parties, with the majority of the
interest sold to Atlanta businessman, Asa G. Candler. Under Mr. Candler’s
leadership, distribution of Coca‑Cola expanded to soda fountains
beyond Atlanta. In 1894, impressed by the growing demand for Coca‑Cola
and the desire to make the beverage portable, Joseph Biedenharn installed
bottling machinery in the rear of his Mississippi soda fountain, becoming the
first to put Coca‑Cola in bottles. Large scale bottling was made possible
just five years later, when in 1899, three enterprising businessmen in
Chattanooga, Tennessee secured exclusive rights to bottle and sell Coca‑Cola.
The three entrepreneurs purchased the bottling rights from Asa Candler for just
$1. Benjamin Thomas, Joseph Whitehead and John Lupton developed what became the
Coca‑Cola
worldwide bottling system.
Among the biggest challenges for early bottlers, were
imitations of the beverage by competitors coupled with a lack of packaging
consistency among the 1,000 bottling plants at the time. The bottlers agreed
that a distinctive beverage needed a standard and distinctive bottle, and in
1916, the bottlers approved the unique contour bottle. The new Coca‑Cola
bottle was so distinctive it could be recognized in the dark and it effectively
set the brand apart from competition. The contoured Coca‑Cola bottle was
trademarked in 1977. Over the years, the Coca‑Cola bottle has been inspiration for
artists across the globe — a sampling of which can be
viewed at the World of Coca‑Cola in Atlanta. Check out a preview of the latest art
exhibit.
The first marketing efforts in Coca‑Cola history were
executed through coupons promoting free samples of the beverage. Considered an
innovative tactic back in 1887, couponing was followed by newspaper advertising
and the distribution of promotional items bearing the Coca‑Cola
script to participating pharmacies.
Fast forward to the 1970s when Coca‑Cola’s advertising started to reflect a brand connected with fun,
friends and good times. Many fondly remember the 1971 Hilltop Singers
performing “I’d
Like to Buy the World a Coke”, or the
1979 “Have a Coke and a Smile” commercial featuring a young fan giving Pittsburgh Steeler,
“Mean Joe Greene”, a refreshing bottle of Coca‑Cola. You can enjoy these and many
more advertising campaigns from around the world in the Perfect Pauses Theater
at the World of Coca‑Cola.
Fast forward to the 1970s when Coca‑Cola’s advertising started to reflect a brand connected with fun,
friends and good times. Many fondly remember the 1971 Hilltop Singers
performing “I’d
Like to Buy the World a Coke”, or the
1979 “Have a Coke and a Smile” commercial featuring a young fan giving
Pittsburgh Steeler, “Mean Joe Greene”, a refreshing bottle of Coca‑Cola.
You can enjoy these and many more advertising campaigns from around the world
in the Perfect Pauses Theater at the World of Coca‑Cola.
EVOLUTION OF THE COCA-COLA BOTTLE
The 1980s featured such memorable slogans as “Coke is It!”,
“Catch the Wave” and “Can’t Beat the Feeling”. In 1993, Coca‑Cola
experimented with computer animation, and the popular “Always
Coca‑Cola” campaign was launched in a series of ads featuring animated
polar bears. Each animated ad in the “Always Coca‑Cola” series took 12 weeks to produce from beginning to end. The
bears were, and still are, a huge hit with consumers because of their
embodiment of characteristics like innocence, mischief and fun. A favorite
feature at the World of Coca‑Cola is the ability to have your photo taken with the
beloved 7′ tall Coca‑Cola Polar Bear.
Did you know? One of the most famous advertising slogans in
Coca‑Cola
history “The Pause That Refreshes” first appeared in the Saturday Evening Post in 1929. The
theme of pausing with Coca‑Cola refreshment is still echoed in today’s marketing.
In 2009, the “Open Happiness” campaign was unveiled
globally. The central message of “Open Happiness” is an invitation to billions
around the world to pause, refresh with a Coca‑Cola, and continue to enjoy one of
life’s simple pleasures. The “Open Happiness” message
was seen in stores, on billboards, in TV spots and printed advertising along
with digital and music components — including a single featuring Janelle Monae
covering the 1980 song, “Are You Getting Enough Happiness?” The happiness theme
continued with “Open the Games. Open Happiness” featured during the 2010 Winter
Olympic Games in Vancouver, followed by a 2010 social media extension,
“Expedition 206″ — an initiative whereby three happiness ambassadors travel to
206 countries in 365 days with one mission: determining what makes people happy.
The inspirational year-long journey is being recorded and communicated via blog
posts, tweets, videos and pictures.
Experts have long believed in the connection between
happiness and wellness, and Coca‑Cola is proud to have played a part
in happy occasions around the globe. In Atlanta, check out the Coca‑Cola
Theater at the World of Coca‑Cola and see the magic that goes into every bottle of
Coca-Cola.