Philippines - Where Will Happiness Strike Next?

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.

 

Coca-Cola Cherry Blossom Festival Fan

I came across a nice item in our collection I wanted to share.  We recently acquired this Coca-Cola fan celebrating the 11th Annual Cherry Blossom Festival sponsored by the Honolulu Japanese Junior Chamber of Commerce.  The front of the fan features an ad for the "Tokyo Shockiku Revue" on one side and Coca-Cola on the other side.  The Cherry Blossom Festival is still going strong in Honolulu and is celebrating its 59th anniversary this year.

While the fan is not an extremely rare collectible, it was a nice addition to our collection and in mint condition would be worth approximately $ 100.00.

Natasha Bedingfield In The Diet Coke Red Dress

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.

 

A Conversation With Gordon Muir of The Varsity

As a native of Atlanta, I grew up with The Varsity.  I always loved it when our family would make the trip to midtown for a dinner and sit in one of the television rooms.  When I was at college at Emory University we would head down to North Avenue for lunch at least once a week and now that I am at Coke headquarters I love to walk over for a great lunch.  In other words, I am a huge fan.

In addition to all the meals, I also grew up hearing all the stories about The Varsity and I enjoyed my interview with Gordon Muir, the manager and grandson of founder Frank Gordy, as an opportunity to discuss all these legends.  This is the first of two videos we will be posting and I hope that you enjoy learning about the long term partnership between The Coca-Cola Company and the worlds largest drive-in.

Greetings (Almost) From Shanghai

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."

International Coastal Cleanup

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.

 

 

 

Coca-Cola Brisket At The 5 Spot In Seattle

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!

They Call Me Mello Yello

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.

Fernandina Beach Wall Sign

People frequently send us photographs when they find interesting Coca-Cola memorabilia, but I recently received the photograph to the left from Audrey Kupferberg and Rob Edelman.  Audrey has consulted with us about our film and video collection and Rob has done extensive research on Coke and Baseball.  The photograph was taken as they visited Fernandina Beach on Amelia Island.  I love the way the script still has the old fashioned feel on this sign.

Photo Courtesy of Rob Edelman and Audrey Kupferberg

An Old Friend In A Photograph - Franklin M. Garrett

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?