Coke means Coca-Cola

Though it seems strange today, at one point in our Company’s history, we resisted use of the word “Coke.”

We thought that since the brand was called “Coca-Cola,” people should call it just that -- and not use a shortened version. As you can see from how often I use “Coke” to refer to the brand, the idea of only using “Coca-Cola” didn’t stick!

It wasn’t until June 1941 -- 67 years ago – that we embraced the abbreviation and first used the term “Coke” in magazine ads. That began an entire ad campaign in which we connected the names “Coke” and “Coca-Cola.” We actually said that “Coke means Coca-Cola” and told people it was OK to use just “Coke.”