Spotlight on The World of Coca-Cola - 1953 Football Play Refreshed Poster

As we come to the end of the football playoffs and we prepare to enter Black History month, this poster in the World of Coca-Cola is relevant for both. You'll find this 1953 poster in the loft area at the New World of Coke, which is decked out with Coke memorabilia from over a century. It features Pro Football Hall of Famers Marion Motley, Bill Willis and Emlen Tunnell, and Leonard Ford. If you get close enough to read the fine print, you'll see that Motley is called a "Powerful Fullback", Willis a "Panther-Like Guard", Tunnell a "Spectacular Safety Man" and Ford a "Giant Wingman." Motley and Willis were also the first to break pro football's color barrier.

Collector Focus - James Love

We recently received photographs and a letter from a young collector that I wanted to share with you.  James Love is only 17 years old, but he has already amassed a wonderful collection.  I reached out to James with some questions and here are his answers.

What was your first item and how did you begin collecting?

As a young child, I sort of grew up with Coke.  My aunt worked for The Coca-Cola Company and sent me a stuffed polar bear when I was about 5.  In 2000, when I was 8, we took a trip to Atlanta to visit my aunt, and she took us The World of Coke Museum. I saw an old 1950’s vending machine, and there were people around the machine putting quarters in it and a glass bottle would come out.  I was completely drawn toward this machine because I had never seen a glass bottle before and I thought it was very unique.  I drank one of the glass bottles, loved the taste, and saved the bottle as a memory.  Later that night my family went to a grocery store and I saw a six-pack of glass bottles.  I had to have it. I bought it drank them all and saved them.  Well we got back home and I put these bottles on a shelf in my room as a memory.  Then I remembered that stuffed polar bear that I was given to me; took it out of the toy chest and put it on display as well. 

What are your favorite items in your collection?

I think the most important ones would have to be the stuffed polar bear and those glass bottles that started it all. I don’t think that I would have a collection if it were not fore these items.  Next, I think back to the summer of 2008 when I returned to Atlanta. My aunt set up a meeting for me with a vice president, Mary Riddle, who is also from Danville.  I showed her pictures of my collection and she loved them.  A couple weeks later she came by my house and gave me an Olympic pin and coin set.  This was very special to me because it is very rare and it was given to me by someone of The Coca-Cola Company.  Another item or set of items that is very important to me is my National Geographic magazines. I have about 150 National Geographics. Every one has a Coca-Cola add on them.  The reason they are special is the dates of the magazines.  The National Geographics dates range from 1937 to 1964.

How do you get the items for your collection?

My collection has grown tremendously since that first bottle.  However, I have purchased maybe 10 percent of my collection.  90 percent has been given to me as gifts.  For 10 years I have received Coca-Cola memorabilia for both Christmas’s and birthdays.  Many kids want toys and electronics but I wanted Coca-Cola.  Many of my friends say I am addicted to Coca-Cola, but I always tell them, “ It’s not an addiction, it’s dedication.”

 

Coca-Cola Conversations 2nd Birthday and Coke By The Numbers

The monitors in the loft portion of the World of Coca-Cola in Atlanta display a feature we call "Coke by the Numbers," which have a dizzying array of numerical facts about our Company.  For example, did you know that in the first year of operation, we only averaged sales of nine drinks per day?

We were recently discussing some of the numbers associated with our blog and other social media outlets and we were amazed at the outreach.  Part of this was spurred on by the fact that this blog just celebrated its second birthday on Saturday, January, 23rd.  In those two years, we have written over 450 posts and fielded over 3,700 comments.  While we are still not able to answer questions about the value of individual collectibles, we have created a section of the blog which gives you broad guidelines on values.

In addition to the blog, we have started our own YouTube Channel where we have posted 45 videos which have been viewed nearly 500,000 times.  We are really excited about the addition of videos to the YouTube Channel and embedding them on the blog and are proud of some of the content like the Cooking with Coke series featuring James Beard nominated Chef Linton Hopkins and the oral history interview with Mean Joe Greene.

We have also launched a facebook page where you can join the more that 600 fans of the Coke Archives and you can also follow us now on Twitter where we are approaching 500 followers.  While you will generally see all of our blog post on these two sites, we try to offer some different or expanded stories and photos via facebook and Twitter.

Thanks to everyone who has read and commented on the site these last two years and I hope that we will continue to provide a blog that entertains and educates.

Friday Spotlight on the World of Coca-Cola - 1930s American Flyer Kite

One of my favorite items on display at the World of Coca-Cola is one of the more unusual and fragile artifacts.  The "logo" portion of the Milestones of Refreshment Gallery features a number of items which have the standard spencerian Coca-Cola logo.  I have blogged about several of the other items in this case including the airline cooler and the sandwich press so you know we have fun stuff in this case.

The image to the left is a 1930s American Flyer kite.  Because paper disintegrates over time and kite are rather fragile and prone to end up in trees, this is a pretty rare  item.  The one on display was acquired by the Archives in the mid 1990s and we had it restored.  The most recent price guide list the estimated value of a kite in good condition between $ 250 and $ 350 dollars.

Milan Fashion Week Coca-Cola Light Bottles

Part of the fun of writing this blog is to give the readers a "behind the scenes" look at some of our activities.  With that in mind, I am going to be writing several blog post over the next month giving the details on some fashion art bottles we just acquired and their eventual display next month at the World of Coca-Cola.

Last September in Italy, Coca-Cola light and eight renowned female designers teamed up to present a Coca-Cola light "Tribute to Fashion."  32 contour bottles were designed and presented at the opening of Milan Fashion Week.  These bottles were later auctioned by Sotheby's with the proceeds going to aid the victims of the earthquake in the Abruzzo region of Italy.  Collector bottles were also produced and were quickly sold out and are still popular and valuable on E-bay.

The designer bottles were recreated as part of a citywide two week outdoor exhibition of the designers work. Eight of these outdoor bottles were just acquired by the Archives as part of our permanent collection.

While the photos below are not as glamorous as the activations around Milan Fashion week, I thought you might want an early glimpse of the bottles.  We will have better and more photos to come, along with the stories from the eight designers as we prepare the exhibition at the World of Coca-Cola.

 

New Acquisition for the Collection - Norman Rockwell Painting

I am proud to announce that we have acquired a new painting for our collection. The painting to the right was done by Norman Rockwell as a proposed ad for Coca-Cola in 1937.  When Coca-Cola did not accept the artwork, Rockwell used the same basic concept for a cover for This Week Magazine on July 19, 1937 and later as a study for a Brown and Bigelow calendar in 1939. 

As this work was only a study, it does not have the same level of detail as his other works, however, I feel that this more impressionistic style is a very interesting example of Rockwell's work.  We are coordinating with the team at the World of Coca-Cola to find an area to display the new painting and will let you know when the display opens.

Spotlight on The World of Coca-Cola - Argentina Delivery Truck

A long while back, I told you a little about the Coca-Cola delivery truck from Argentina that is on display at the World of Coke. For our spotlight this week, we have a video that chronicles the story of how we got the truck, and its travels from Buenos Aires, across the ocean, and eventually into the building. As you may remember, our bottler in Argentina, David Lee (who you'll see in the video) loaned us the truck for permanent display in the Milestones of Refreshment gallery. Ted Ryan, a member of my team, drove the truck into the building in June of 2006, and that's when I recorded this video. Our current weather in Atlanta is far from the sunny day we had for this interview.

Coca-Cola Happiness Machine Video

Earlier this week I blogged about efforts of two students at Nebraska Wesleyan to give the world a Coke because of their love of the old commercial.  That spirit of giving on campus continues with today's entry.

This Coca-Cola viral video was filmed in December at St. John's University's Queens campus by Definition 6, an integrated interactive marketing agency.  The staging for the video came complete with the construction of a wall built and painted to look like part of the University’s Marillac Cafeteria. Hidden cameras were installed as producers and staff sat behind the wall to capture responses on film.

While the students quickly figured out that something unusual was going on with the magical Coca-Cola "Happiness Machine," all of the reactions were unscripted.  The filming, which took place at the beginning of exams,  offered a chance for the kids to relax and enjoy the fun. 

The best part of the filming was the generosity of the students as they offered the surplus Coke and food to their friends.  Everyone was sharing the happiness.

King Size Coca-Cola

I was researching in the photograph collection today and ran across this image from the February 1960 issue of Coca-Cola Overseas.  The Coca-Cola Overseas magazine was produced by The Coca-Cola Export Corporation from 1948 until 1971 and featured stories and photographs from our offices around the world.  The magazine serves as a great reference resource whenever I need to research our activities or advertising campaigns in different countries.

The photograph to the right was taken in November, 1959 and had the caption, "Maracaibo, Venezuela - During a recent promotion at the Sears store, this man on stilts introduced King-size Coca-Cola to over 7,000 visitors."

I was trying to guess how tall the stilts were?  Based on the car and the sign, I figure he must have been nearly 12 feet tall.  What do you think?

To Buy The World a Coke

I was sent an article entitled "They'd like to buy the campus a Coke" from Nebraska's Lincoln Journal Star a few months back, about a pair of Nebraska Wesleyan University students who bought Cokes for their peers. I reached out to the students, Nick Myers and Jordan Mruz, to ask why they did it. Here's what they shared:

What do you think of when you hear the song, "I'd Like to Buy the World a Coke"?

I guess I just think of people being decent to each other. Taking a break from things, if only for a few minutes, and being happy with life.

What inspired you to buy fellow students a Coke?

We just liked the song and we were talking one day and thought it would be neat to try and make the jingle come to life for a few people. That and it was an opportunity to meet people new people in our building.

Do you know how much it would cost to buy the world a Coke?

A bunch. I suppose it would depend on if you had to buy it at retail price or wholesale.

Are you planning to give away more Cokes in the future?

Yes, although we're not exactly sure when. It will be sometime this spring after the weather warms up a bit. Not sure if we'll continue once we're out of school.

Do either of you have any memories or stories of growing up with Coca-Cola?

Nick: I suppose one memory I have is when I was a little kid and going to [Nebraska] Cornhusker games, they would have Coke ads running on HuskerVision before and after replays. Another is hanging out with my cousins on Independence Day setting off firecrackers all day and having a few Cokes.

In the photo, the Jordan is the one handing the can of Coke to a student while Nick is sitting next to him in the hat. The signs behind them read, "Once Again... We are Buying the World a Coke. Take one and Enjoy. It's The Real Thing" and "Good luck on mid-terms!" I'd like to thank Nick and Jordan for sharing a little Happiness with everyone.