Coca-Cola

Coca-Cola is a carbonated   soft drink  sold in stores, restaurants, and  vending machines  in more than 200 countries.| [1]  It is produced by  The Coca-Cola Company  of  Atlanta,  Georgia , 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  when it was invented in the late 19th century by  John Pemberton, Coca-Cola was bought out by businessman  Asa Griggs Candler , whose marketing tactics led Coke to its dominance of the world soft-drink market throughout the 20th century. February 27, 2000

The company produces concentrate, 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, which is the largest single Coca-Cola bottler in North America and western Europe. The Coca-Cola Company also sells concentrate for soda fountains  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, with others including  Caffeine-Free Coca-Cola , Diet Coke Caffeine-Free,  Coca-Cola Cherry ,  Coca-Cola Zero ,  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.| [2] {| class="toc" id="toc"

Contents
[| hide ] *| 1 History
 * | 1.1 New Coke
 * | 1.2 21st century
 * | 2 Use of stimulants in formula
 * | 2.1 Coca — cocaine
 * | 2.2 Kola nuts — caffeine
 * | 3 Production
 * | 3.1 Ingredients
 * | 3.2 Formula of natural flavorings
 * | 3.3 Franchised production model
 * | 4 Brand portfolio
 * | 4.1 Logo design
 * | 4.2 Contour bottle design
 * | 4.3 Designer bottles
 * | 5 Competitors
 * | 6 Advertising
 * | 6.1 Holiday campaigns
 * | 6.2 Sports sponsorship
 * | 6.3 In mass media
 * | 7 Health effects
 * | 8 Criticism
 * | 9 Use as political and corporate symbol
 * | 10 See also
 * | 11 References
 * | 12 External links
 * }

History
|Believed to be the first coupon ever, this ticket for a free glass of Coca-Cola was first distributed in 1888 to help promote the drink. By 1913, the company had redeemed 8.5 million tickets.| [3] |This Coca-Cola advertisement from 1943 is still displayed in the small city of Minden,  Louisiana .The  prototype  Coca-Cola recipe was formulated at the Eagle Drug and Chemical Company, a drugstore in  Columbus ,  Georgia , by  John Pemberton , originally as a  coca wine  called  Pemberton's French Wine Coca .| [4] | [5] | [6]  He may have been inspired by the formidable success of  Vin Mariani , a European coca wine.| [7]

In 1886, when Atlanta and Fulton County  passed  prohibition  legislation, Pemberton responded by developing Coca-Cola, essentially a non-alcoholic version of French Wine Coca.| [8]  The first sales were at Jacob's Pharmacy in Atlanta,  Georgia, on May 8, 1886.| [9]  It was initially sold as a patent medicine for five  cents | [10]  a glass at  soda fountains , which were popular in the United States at the time due to the belief that  carbonated water  was good for the health.| [11]  Pemberton claimed Coca-Cola cured many diseases, including  morphine  addiction,  dyspepsia ,  neurasthenia ,  headache , and  impotence. Pemberton ran the first advertisement for the beverage on May 29 of the same year in the  Atlanta Journal .| [12]

By 1888, three versions of Coca-Cola — sold by three separate businesses — were on the market. Asa Griggs Candler acquired a stake in Pemberton's company in 1887 and incorporated it as the  Coca Cola Company  in 1888.| [13]  The same year, Pemberton sold the rights a second time to four more businessmen:  J.C. Mayfield, A.O. Murphey, C.O. Mullahy and E.H. Bloodworth. Meanwhile, Pemberton's son Charley Pemberton  began selling his own version of the product.| [14]

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 rights  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.| [15]

In 1892 Candler incorporated a second company, The Coca-Cola Company  (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, after the company made minor changes in the sourcing of some ingredients.| [16]

Coca-Cola was sold in bottles  for the first time on March 12, 1894. The first outdoor wall advertisement was painted in the same year as well in Cartersville, Georgia .| [17]   Cans  of Coke first appeared in 1955.| [18]  The first bottling of Coca-Cola occurred in  Vicksburg,  Mississippi , 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, 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.| [19] 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.| [20]

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
Main article: New Coke |Coca-Cola sign in  Colorado City,  Texas 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, but Coca-Cola management was unprepared for the public's  nostalgia  for the old drink, leading to a  backlash. The company gave in to protests and returned to a variation of the old formula, 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 Iraq  for the first time since the  Arab League  boycotted the company in 1968.| [21]

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.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-21">| [22] The formula remained unchanged.

In January 2009, Coca-Cola stopped printing the word "Classic" on the labels of 16-US-fluid-ounce (470 ml) bottles sold in parts of the southeastern United States .<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-wsj_22-0">| [23]  The change is part of a larger strategy to rejuvenate the product's image.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-wsj_22-1">| [23]  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  stopped restocking its shelves with Coke and Diet Coke. However, some Costco locations (like the ones in Tucson, Arizona ), sell imported Coca Cola from Mexico.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-23">| [24]

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.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-24">| [25]

Use of stimulants in formula
When launched, Coca-Cola's two key ingredients were cocaine  and  caffeine. The cocaine was derived from the coca  leaf and the caffeine from  kola nut, leading to the name Coca-Cola (the "K" in Kola was replaced with a "C" for marketing purposes).<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-25">| [26]  <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-autogenerated1_26-0">| [27]

Coca — cocaine
Pemberton called for five ounces  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.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-27">| [28]

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.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-28">| [29] Coca-Cola now uses a cocaine-free coca leaf extract prepared at a  Stepan Company  plant in  Maywood, New Jersey.

In the United States, the Stepan Company is the only manufacturing plant authorized by the Federal Government to import and process the coca plant,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-29">| [30] which it obtains mainly from  Peru  and, to a lesser extent,  Bolivia. Besides producing the coca flavoring agent for Coca-Cola, the Stepan Company extracts cocaine from the coca leaves, which it sells to Mallinckrodt, a  St. Louis, Missouri   pharmaceutical  manufacturer that is the only company in the United States licensed to purify cocaine for medicinal use.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-30">| [31]

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)."<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-31">| [32] Kola nuts contain about 2 percent to 3.5 percent caffeine, are of bitter flavor and are commonly used in  cola   soft drinks. In 1911, the U.S. government initiated  United States v. Forty Barrels and Twenty Kegs of Coca-Cola , 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).<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-32">| [33]

Production
EnlargeCoca-Cola 375 mL cans - 24 pack ( AU )===Ingredients=== A can of Coke (12 fl ounces/355 ml) has 39 grams of carbohydrates (all from sugar, approximately 10 teaspoons),<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-34">| [35] 50 mg of sodium, 0 grams fat, 0 grams potassium, and 140 calories.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-35">| [36]
 * Carbonated water
 * Sugar ( sucrose or  high-fructose corn syrup  depending on country of origin)
 * Caffeine
 * Phosphoric acid
 * Caramel color (E150d)
 * Natural flavorings<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-33">| [34]

Formula of natural flavorings
Main article: Coca-Cola formula 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 secret. The original copy of the formula is held in SunTrust Bank 's main vault in Atlanta. Its predecessor, the Trust Company, was the  underwriter  for the Coca-Cola Company's  initial public offering  in 1919. A popular myth states that only two executives have access to the formula, with each executive having only half the formula.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-36">| [37] 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.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-37">| [38]

On February 11, 2011, Ira Glass  revealed on his  PRI  radio show,  This American Life , 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.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-38">| [39] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-39">| [40]  <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-40">| [41]  <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-41">| [42]

On December 8, 2011, the original secret formula to Coca-Cola has been removed from the vault at SunTrust Banks to a new vault containing the formula which will be on display for visitors to its World of Coca-Cola  museum in downtown Atlanta. The formula had been held in the vault at SunTrust Banks for 86 years.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-42">| [43]

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.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-43">| [44]

The Coca-Cola Company owns minority shares in some of its largest franchises, like Coca-Cola Enterprises,  Coca-Cola Amatil ,  Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company  (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.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-44">| [45]

The bottling plant in Skopje,  Macedonia , received the 2009 award for "Best Bottling Company".<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-45">| [46]

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.

Logo design
EnlargeDetail on Elmira Coca-Cola Bottling Plant, Elmira, New York The famous Coca-Cola  logo  was created by John Pemberton's bookkeeper,  Frank Mason Robinson, in 1885.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-46">| [47]  Robinson came up with the name and chose the logo's distinctive cursive script. The typeface  used, known as  Spencerian script, 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. 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.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-47">| [48]

Contour bottle design
Enlarge Earl R. Dean 's original 1915 concept drawing of the contour Coca-Cola bottle.EnlargeThe prototype never made it to production since its middle diameter was larger than its base, making it unstable on conveyor belts .EnlargeDesigner label for 2 litre Coca-Cola bottleThe 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."<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-vigo.lib.in.us_48-0">| [49]

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 the  Encyclopædia 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.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-vigo.lib.in.us_48-1">| [49]

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.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-49">| [50]

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!".<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-50">| [51]

As a reward for his efforts, Dean was offered a choice between a $500 bonus or a lifetime job at the Root Glass Company. He chose the lifetime job and kept it until the Owens-Illinois Glass Company  bought out  the Root Glass Company  in the mid-1930s. Dean went on to work in other Midwestern glass factories.

One alternative depiction has Raymond Loewy  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  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   hooped dress .<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-51">| [52]

In 1944, Associate Justice Roger J. Traynor  of the  Supreme Court of California  took advantage of a case involving a waitress injured by an exploding Coca-Cola bottle to articulate the doctrine of  strict liability  for  defective products. Traynor's concurring opinion  in  Escola v. Coca-Cola Bottling Co.  is widely recognized as a landmark case in U.S. law today.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-52">| [53]

In 1997, Coca-Cola introduced a "contour can," similar in shape to its famous bottle, on a few test markets, including Terre Haute, Indiana.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-53">| [54] 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.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-54">| [55] |200 mL "stubby" bottle available throughout China===Designer bottles=== Karl Lagerfeld 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.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-55">| [56]

Competitors
Pepsi, the flagship product of PepsiCo , 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 , 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, known as  Big Cola  in Mexico, is a growing competitor to Coca-Cola.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-56">| [57]  On the French island of  Corsica ,  Corsica Cola , made by brewers of the local Pietra beer, is a growing competitor to Coca-Cola. In the French region of Brittany,  Breizh Cola  is available. In Peru, Inca Kola  outsells Coca-Cola, which led  The Coca-Cola Company  to purchase the brand in 1999. In Sweden, Julmust  outsells Coca-Cola during the  Christmas  season.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-57">| [58]  In Scotland, the locally produced  Irn-Bru  was more popular than Coca-Cola until 2005, when Coca-Cola and Diet Coke began to outpace its sales.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-58">| [59]  In India, Coca-Cola ranked third behind the leader, Pepsi-Cola, and local drink  Thums Up. The Coca-Cola Company purchased  Thums Up  in 1993.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-59">| [60]  As of 2004, Coca-Cola held a 60.9% market-share in India.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-60">| [61]  Tropicola, a domestic drink, is served in  Cuba  instead of Coca-Cola, due to a United States embargo. French brand Mecca Cola  and British brand  Qibla Cola  are competitors to Coca-Cola in the Middle East. In Turkey,  Cola Turka , in  Iran  and the Middle East,  Zam Zam Cola  and  Parsi Cola , in some parts of China,  China Cola , in  Slovenia ,  Cockta  and the inexpensive Mercator Cola, sold only in the country's biggest supermarket chain,  Mercator , are some of the brand's competitors. Classiko Cola, made by Tiko Group, the largest manufacturing company in Madagascar, is a serious competitor to Coca-Cola in many regions. Laranjada is the top-selling soft drink on  Madeira.

Advertising
See also: Coca-Cola slogans Coca-Cola's advertising has significantly affected  American culture, and it is frequently credited with inventing the modern image of  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, the motif was already common.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-61">| [62]  <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-usir.salford.ac.uk_62-0">| [63]  Coca-Cola was not even the first soft drink company to use the modern image of Santa Claus in its advertising:  White Rock Beverages  used Santa in advertisements for its  ginger ale  in 1923, after first using him to sell  mineral water  in 1915.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-63">| [64]  <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-64">| [65]  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  as its spokeswoman. EnlargeAn 1890s advertisement showing model Hilda Clark  in formal  19th century attire. The ad is titled Drink Coca-Cola 5¢. (US)1941 saw the first use of the nickname "Coke" as an official trademark for the product, with a series of advertisements informing consumers that "Coke means Coca-Cola".<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-65">| [66] In 1971 a song from a Coca-Cola commercial called " I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing ", produced by  Billy Davis, became a  hit single. EnlargeCoca-Cola sales booth on the Cape Verde  island of  Fogo  in 2004.Coke's advertising is pervasive, as one of  Woodruff '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. EnlargeCoca-Cola signboard in Lahore,  Pakistan .Some Coca-Cola  television commercials  between 1960 through 1986 were written and produced by former Atlanta radio veteran  Don Naylor  ( WGST  1936–1950,  WAGA  1951–1959) during his career as a producer for the  McCann Erickson   advertising agency. Many of these early television commercials for Coca-Cola featured movie stars, sports heroes and popular singers. EnlargeCoca-Cola ghost sign  in  Fort Dodge, Iowa. Older Coca-Cola ghosts behind Borax and telephone ads.During the 1980s, Pepsi-Cola  ran a series of television advertisements showing people participating in taste tests demonstrating that, according to the commercials, "fifty percent of the participants who said they preferred Coke actually chose the Pepsi." Statisticians pointed out the problematic nature of a 50/50 result: most likely, the taste tests showed that in blind tests, most people cannot tell the difference between Pepsi and Coke. Coca-Cola ran ads to combat Pepsi's ads in an incident sometimes referred to as the  cola wars ; one of Coke's ads compared the so-called Pepsi challenge  to two  chimpanzees  deciding which  tennis ball  was furrier. Thereafter, Coca-Cola regained its leadership in the market.

Selena 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.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-66">| [67]

The Coca-Cola Company purchased Columbia Pictures  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  in 1989.

Coca-Cola has gone through a number of different advertising slogans  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 ).

In 2006, Coca-Cola introduced My Coke Rewards, 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.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-67">| [68]

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.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-68">| [69] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-69">| [70]  <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-70">| [71]  The campaign was paired with a website page, Facebook page and an online "share a virtual Coke".

Holiday campaigns
EnlargeCoca-Cola Christmas  truck in  Dresden, Germany.

The "Holidays are coming!" advertisement features a train of red delivery trucks, emblazoned with the Coca-Cola name and decorated with Christmas lights, driving through a snowy landscape and causing everything that they pass to light up and people to watch as they pass through.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Sandison_71-0">| [72]

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.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-72">| [73] 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.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Sandison_71-1">| [72]  The advertisement was created by U.S. advertising agency Doner, and has been part of the company's global advertising campaign for many years.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-73">| [74]

Keith Law, a producer and writer of commercials for Belfast CityBeat, 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."<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-74">| [75]

In 2001, singer Melanie Thornton  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.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-75">| [76]  <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-76">| [77]  In 2005, Coca-Cola expanded the advertising campaign to radio, employing several variations of the jingle.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-77">| [78]

In 2011, Coca-Cola launched a campaign for the Indian holiday Diwali. The campaign included commercials, a song and an integration with Shah Rukh Khan’s film Ra.One .<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-78">| [79]  <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-79">| [80]  <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-80">| [81]

Sports sponsorship
Coca-Cola was the first commercial sponsor  of the  Olympic games, at the  1928 games  in Amsterdam, and has been an Olympics sponsor ever since.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-81">| [82]  This corporate sponsorship included the  1996 Summer Olympics  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".<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-82">| [83]

Since 1978 FIFA World Cup, Coca-Cola has sponsored the  FIFA World Cup , and other competitions organised by FIFA. One FIFA  tournament trophy, the  FIFA World Youth Championship  from  Tunisia  in  1977  to  Malaysia  in  1997, was called "FIFA — Coca Cola Cup".<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-83">| [84]  In addition, Coca-Cola sponsors the annual  Coca-Cola 600  and  Coke Zero 400  for the  NASCAR   Sprint Cup Series  at  Charlotte Motor Speedway  in  Concord, North Carolina  and  Daytona International Speedway  in Daytona, Florida.

Coca-Cola has a long history of sports marketing relationships, which over the years have included Major League Baseball, the  National Football League ,  National Basketball Association  and the  National Hockey League , as well as with many teams within those leagues. Coca-Cola has had a longtime relationship with the NFL's Pittsburgh Steelers, due in part to the now-famous  1979 television commercial  featuring  "Mean Joe" Greene , leading to the two opening the Coca-Cola Great Hall at  Heinz Field  in 2001 and a more recent  Coca-Cola Zero  commercial featuring  Troy Polamalu.

Coca-Cola is the official soft drink of many collegiate football  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  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  held on the  Indian subcontinent. Coca Cola is also one of the associate sponsor of Delhi Daredevils  in  Indian Premier League.

In England, Coca-Cola is the main sponsor of The Football League, 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  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. This sponsorship ended in 2010.

Introduced March 1, 2010, in Canada, to celebrate the  2010 Winter Olympics , Coca Cola will sell  gold colored  cans in packs of 12 355  mL  each, in select stores.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-84">| [85]

Use as political and corporate symbol
EnlargeCoca-Cola advertising in High Atlas  mountains of  Morocco |Coke dispenser flown aboard the  Space Shuttle  in 1996 ( US )

The Coca-Cola drink has a high degree of identification with the United States, being considered by some an "American Brand" or as an item representing America.

The identification with the spread of American culture has led to the pun "Coca-Colanization".<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-usir.salford.ac.uk_62-1">|[63] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-110">|[111]

The drink is also often a metonym for the Coca-Cola Company.

There are some consumer boycotts of Coca-Cola in Arab countries due to Coke's early investment in Israel during the Arab League boycott of Israel (its competitor Pepsi stayed out of Israel).<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-111">| [112]

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  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  and held 1.65 liters each of Coca-Cola and Diet Coke.