The world’s most popular soft drink – Coke:
A trademark of the internationally recognized Coca-Cola Company, ‘Coke’ is one of the world’s most loved and consumed soft drink. From its humble beginnings in 1886, when Dr.John S.Pemberton concocted the famous Coke recipe, the soft drink has become an international symbol.
In the late 1800s, carbonated drinks were popular in America as they were thought to be good medicine for various illnesses. As a result Dr.John’s Coca-Cola became very popular at the soda fountain where it was sold. His partner and book-keeper, Frank M. Robinson is credited for coining the actual name “Coca-Cola” as well as for designing the name.
Before he passed away in 1888, Pemberton sold the rights to his beverage to various parties. The major stakeholder, a businessman named Asa G. Candler spread the beverage beyond Atlanta (where it was formed) to other parts of America. Just 10 years later, three entrepreneurs bought the Coca-Cola bottling rights from Candler for just one dollar! Thus, large scale bottling of the famous drink was made possible. By 1977, a trademarked bottle design was selected to be the Coca-Cola bottle to ensure standardization.
The 1970s saw a rise in Coca-Cola advertising made possible by increasing globalization and the advent of radio. The 80’s and 90s saw popular animated ads played on TV such as the popular, ‘Always Coca-Cola’ campaign
2009 saw one of Coke’s largest advertising campaigns, called ‘Open Happiness’. This was followed by a campaign for their 125 year anniversary in 2011.
The Many Faces of Coca-Cola:
Since the Coca-Cola Company has been in the beverage industry for ages, it is unsurprising to see that it has had a variety of different logos that it has altered to meet its needs and to adjust with changing market conditions.
The very first Coke logo, this design was used from 1887 to the 1890s. The elegant flourish to the ‘C’s followed by the completion of the words of the beverage made sure that the logo captured the essence of the popular drink. The font was written in the Spencerian script, a font typeface developed in the mid 1800s. The logo’s clean and attractive design made it the perfect logo for a product as versatile and largely consumed as Coke. Furthermore, the script used added a sense of uniqueness to the Coke logo making sure that it would remain so during the years to come.
A surprising addition of flourishes to the Coca-Cola manuscript seemed shocking when this new logo came out in 1890. It was probably because of its lack of adaptability to the beverage’s heritage that the logo was removed in one year.
This logo was introduced in 1940 and stayed on the scene till a little after 1960. Quite similar to the original logo, the new logo featured a removal of the words ‘trademark registered’ from the tail of the ‘C’ giving it a more professional look.
Coke famously injected a bit of color into its logo when this one came out in 1958. Affectionately referred to as the ‘fishtail logo’, the use of the classic red and white color combination showed the company’s professionalism and ability to adapt to a fast changing world
Introduced in 1969, this logo featured the famous white wave below the text of the logo which is still used to date. This iconic white wave was known as the ‘Dynamic Ribbon Device’. The brilliant addition of the curve not only added a little energy to the logo but was also meant to celebrate the unique contoured body of the Coke bottle.
This logo was inspired by Coca-Cola’s 2003 campaign titled, ‘Keeping it real’. In addition to the white wave, a mix of color highlights and bubbles were added to make the logo seem more fitting to the popular carbonated drink loved by the world.
2007 saw the introduction of the classic Coca-Cola logo as the company took its customers to a trip in the past. This logo was perfect in the sense that it reminded Coca-Cola lovers of the rich heritage of the company.
The latest addition to the Coca-Cola logo family, this design was revealed in 2011 to celebrate Coke’s 125th birthday, a massive achievement.
