Bastille Day and Coke Folk Art

It’s Bastille Day in France. I was in the country last July, and learned in France this day is called "Fête Nationale" ("National Celebration") or "quatorze juillet" ("14 July").

In honor of the day, I thought I’d share this Coca-Cola Folk Art bottle from France with you. The bottle was created for a Coke Art / Folk Art program we had during the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games in Atlanta. We asked countries around the world to make large Coke contour bottles reflecting local folk art traditions.

Though the overall artwork (the “Eiffel Tower” of the French piece) is 10 feet tall, the contour bottle itself – styled like a perfume bottle – is only 12 inches tall. I love the flag at the top!

Other folk art bottles in the program were created to look like Stonehenge (actually three Coke bottles put together) and an American diner scene. Among the materials used to create the bottles are trees (the bark and the entire trunk), leather, coconut shells, ceramics (from Morocco), silk, glass and iron.

Many of the folk art bottles are on display at the World of Coca-Cola in Atlanta. I hope you’ll get a chance to see them in person.

Happy Bastille Day – and Buvez Coca-Cola!