I was thrilled yesterday to visit a Coca-Cola bottling plant for the first time in my 6 1/2 years with the Company, and go on a "market visit" as well. What a treat it was to see the process from the onset of the pre-form bottles (in some cases) traveling down the filling line until the moment the final product is sealed for delivery, and ultimately returned, recycled and repeated (in other cases). My gracious host for the day was Coca-Cola Shanduka Beverages in Nigel, Gauteng, South Africa.

Once we left the plant, our Coca-Cola market representatives took us to a "Strategic Distribution Center", a mini-warehouse which was run by two women, where local shop owners were stopping by to pick up orders of Coca-Cola to take to their local "tuck" shops to sell to consumers. Most of the product they picked up was in red crates like the ones I am surrounded by in the picture at the top (Yes, I agree that the hairnet is a good look). Two local shop owners drove off in a car with a man sitting in the trunk riding along because of all of the Coca-Cola in the small car. He was also holding on to a crate - I should have had my camera ready to capture that moment!

Then, we went to several typical "tuck" shops probably not unlike one that those very shop owners might have been heading to. (By the way, maybe someone from South Africa can drop me a line in comments to let me know why they are called "tuck" shops??) There we met local families, individuals, neighbors, enterprising businessmen and women alike who warmly welcomed us in to see how their business is run, and what makes Coca-Cola an essential part of it. Just as this ad from Johannesburg in 1952, which states that the local Coca-Cola bottling plants are "truly local enterprises forming an integral part of the community in which they are situated. Local capital-local labour and localy produced good are fully utilised to the benefit of the community", I can truly say I witnessed this in action yesterday around Nigel, Gauteng, South Africa, even 60 years later.

I was fortunate to travel to the Philippines for work just over a year ago.  I blogged about my visit as I gave both media and employee presentations on our rich history in that country.  During my stay there, I learned that the Philippine people love the Christmas season and begin decorating months ahead of the actual holiday.  I was there in early November and Manila was already decked out with lights and Christmas carols.

I was reminded of my trip when one of my colleages from the Philippines sent me this inspirational video. This Christmas version of "Where will happiness strike next" captures the holiday spirit.

I blogged last week about the Heidi Klum Dress we have in the Archives.  The photograph to the left is Photo courtesy of The Heart Truth's Red Dress Collection 2011, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and features Natasha Bedingfield wearing the Diet Coke Red Dress from the kickoff event at the New York Fashion Week a few weeks ago.

For the fourth consecutive year, Diet Coke is partnering with the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute to support The Heart Truth campaign. This year, Diet Coke has created a national game of “Capture the Flag,” inviting people to visit DietCoke.com/HeartTruth where they can capture flags with a click of the mouse to trigger a donation from Diet Coke to heart health programs.

The Heidi dress is always one of the hits when we give Archive tours to our marketing colleagues.

I am excited to write that I am about to travel to Shanghai China for the month of October to work at the Shanghai EXPO and then on for a week to work with our colleagues in Manilla Philippines.  The Coca-Cola Company has a long history of sponsoring and activating World's Fairs and Expos.  In fact I have blogged about our introduction of the first automatic fountain dispenser at the Chicago Exposition in 1933.  As I see items related to the Archives or heritage of Coca-Cola, I will continue to put up photos and blog about them.  If you happen to be in Shanghai, make sure to stop by the Coke Pavaillion at the EXPO to say 'Hi."

We have blogged before about our long heritage and some of the efforts of The Coca-Cola Company to partner with organizations to help the environment.  In this post from last year, we highlighted our 40th anniversary of the Keep America Beautiful and Bend A Little campaigns. 

More recently, The Coca-Cola Company celebrated our 15th anniversary partnering with Ocean Conservancy on the International Coastal Cleanup.  Please take a minute to watch the video below to find out what you can do in your local area.

While my wife and kids were on vacation in Seattle last week I received a text from them with a photograph of the menu from the 5 Spot restaurant.  The portion of the menu she sent me offered Coca-Cola Brisket and they wanted to let me know because they knew how much I loved to find places that serve Coke as an ingredient.  

The 5 Spot is interesting in that the menu and the interior decor have changed over time as they have completed a regional food festival altering the menu every few months to focus on a different region of the US.  While my family was there, Seattle was the theme and the place was decorated with computer paraphernalia and grunge band flannel shirts.

I e-mailed Jessica Skye Bolt who is the General Manager of the 5 Spot and she said that the Coca-Cola Brisket was added to the menu more that 10 years ago when they were focusing on the food of Brooklyn and wanted a good brisket recipe.  It has been a top seller ever since.  In fact, they sell out of it every night, so if you are in the Seattle area looking for a good meal, make sure to get there early.  I know my family loved it!

Just in case you had not seen the news, Mello Yello has received a brand and graphic overhaul.  We worked with the brand team during the last six months as they reviewed the packaging and positioning of the brand. Mello Yello was introduced in 1979 in the US and apparently made an impact on a brand blogger.  Garland Pollard writes the BrandlandUSA blog and recently had an interesting post remembering Mello Yello.  Check out his post and let me know what you remember of our "Smooth" brand.

I was going through some old photos in the Collection today when I stumbled across an old friend.  We often used images of our products in market as part of our training courses for our service force.  In the photograph to the left, Franklin Garrett had to serve as a stand-in model for a service station photo shoot. 

People in Atlanta will remember the Franklin Garret served as the City's Official Historian for a number of years and was long associated with the Atlanta History Center.

However, many readers do not know that Franklin was employed by The Coca-Cola Company in 1940 as Asst. Head of the Advertising Department and eventually rose to the position of Director of Information before he took early retirement in 1974 to assume the role of President of the Atlanta History Center.  While Garrett possessed a Law Degree, history was his passion and he even noted on an internal Company memo that his function was "compiling and making Company history available for use."

Anyone who has researched at the Atlanta History Center will recognize Franklin's distinctive handwriting on this document on the "Origin and Progress of Coca-Cola in Bottles."  I also value his meticulous  research and his ability to tell a great story in an interesting fashion. 

I wonder how he was pressed into service as a model for this photo from 1941?

Returning to our ongoing theme of Coca-Cola and food we have a real treat for you this week.  Carver's Country Kitchen is an incredible restaurant that is housed in a grocery store around the corner from Coca-Cola headquarters in Atlanta.  While the building has stood for decades, Sharon and Robert Carver opened their restaurant in 1992 and have been serving fantastic Southern food ever since. 

We asked the Carvers if they would let us make a few videos and blog about their menu and the decor and they were thrilled - but we had to be there when they cooked the food at 6:00 AM.  Our dutiful staff set their alarms a little earlier than usual and arrived at the grocery to film.  The first thing you noticed was the amazing smell of the Coca-Cola ham which you could smell as you approached the store.  The second was how gracious and welcoming the Carvers were during the whole process.  Sharon had some wonderful insights about her cooking and Robert regaled us with stories as he peeled the potatoes for that day's serving of mashed potatoes (no powdered stuff served here!).

I hope you enjoy the video as much as we did filming it and keep reading to catch the next one where Sharon shares her Coca-Cola Cake recipe.  If you are ever in Atlanta during the week, make sure to stop by and try some ham and cake. 

We are celebrating 40 years of Earth Day here in the US, and Coke has been along for the green ride since the beginning. I told you all last year about the Ecology Kit called Man In His Environment that Coke put out in 1970 as a way to teach about environmental issues and the impact of everyday decisions on the environment. We had a few readers comment that they actually remember playing the game, so I thought this video from the Archives might ring a bell for those of you familiar with it, and be a good overview for those who had not heard of it.