Discovery Channel Filming At The World of Coke

I had an early morning today as a production crew from the Discovery Channel was in town to film a segment for the program How Do They Do It. All filming at the World of Coca-Cola has to do in in the morning before the building is open to the public because we often need to open the cases. This has led to many early mornings there.  Matt Shakespeare and cameraman Peter Thorn of the crew were great and recorded segments on the secret formula of Coca-Cola and a variety of other scenes.  We will give an update when we get the details on when the program will air.

 

Sitting On A Bench With You - 1928 Style

The Coca-Cola Company has always tried to help our service sales staff decorate their customer's stores and fountains to attract more foot traffic. We sent out a number or pamphlets with ideas and instructions.  I ran across this 1928 dealer sales aid showing several options to set up a window display using this 1928 three dimensional bench.  We had this bench on display at the old World of Coca-Cola for over a decade and it is a beautiful item. 

The one photograph I had of the bench as it was displayed at Irwin's Confectionery in Columbus, Ohio.It looks a bit more cluttered than the simple approach shown in the dealer sales aid pamphlet which I attached at the bottom of the post.  While the pamphlet featured eight, I only scanned three of them.

Last week I blogged about the Red Barrel Magazine and how I use them for research.  This is a good example.  I have attached the April 1928 Red Barrel.  This issue had a special article on how the bench window display, fence festoon and bathing girl poster were all to be used for different location between May and August 1928.  Download RB1928-Apr

While we have the bench, I sure would love to have some of the crepe paper shown in these displays!

Opening the "Vault of the Secret Formula"

On more occasions than I can count, people have told me that I have the best job at The Coca-Cola Company. For almost three and a half decades, I have served as the corporate archivist, charged with the responsibility of preserving the history of an American icon. In our collection, we have thousands of pieces of advertising, merchandising and packaging that document the growth of Coca-Cola from a regional soda fountain drink to a global beverage company. In addition to their historical value, many of these items have become high end collectibles commanding premium prices from fans of the brand.

Every day I have an opportunity to touch this incredibly rich collection and to create opportunities to share chapters of the Coca-Cola story with others through interviews, websites and exhibitions. I am trained as a professional archivist, but at The Coca-Cola Company, I am really a storyteller. Whether it is a discussion of the role of the soda fountain in nineteenth century America, the delivery of Coca-Cola to the troops during World War II, or the creation of the modern image of Santa Claus by illustrator Haddon Sundblom, it is really the stories about the brand that make Coca-Cola special and my job unique.

Today was one of those very special days in the history of Coca-Cola, a day that will generate many new stories about the most intriguing aspect of Coca-Cola: its Secret Formula. Today, the Company announced that the most closely guarded secret in the history of American commerce had been moved from a bank vault in Atlanta to the World of Coca-Cola. For the first time in over 85 years, the formula will have a new home. Please take a look at the video below that we used at todays event.

Normally, I only have the opportunity to tell stories after an event has been concluded. This time I had a chance to tell stories in conjunction with a very special event as it was happening. Today was a reminder that I do have the best job at The Coca-Cola Company.

125 Years Ago... Life without Coca-Cola - Letter One

What was life like before Coca-Cola? There's probably no one walking the Earth today that would know. Coke was introduced 125 years ago at a soda fountain in Atlanta, Georgia, and picked up steam as the first Cola beverage on the market. While we may not have known life before Coke first hand, there are some testimonial letters in the Archives that talk about the impact of Coca-Cola in the marketplace. This is the first letter in a short series that I will do over the next few weeks that captures the feelings soda fountain operators had about serving this new product, "Coca-Cola". This first letter, from a drug store in Woonsocket, Rhode Island in January of 1893 reads, "In over twenty years experience of Soda Fountain management I have not known a beverage to be put upon the market that in point of giving universal satisfaction and extent of sales can compare with Coca-Cola." You can view this actual letter in the Milestones Gallery at the World of Coca-Cola.

Leonard Maltin on Coke and the movies

I have always been a big fan of Leonard Maltin and enjoy both his great knowlege about the movies as well as his reviews.  Last week I was excited to see this great post about Coca-Cola and the movies that Leonard Maltin wrote after a recent visit to the World of Coca-Cola.  It is always interesting to see what people focus on and how they react to the artifacts we selected for the World of Coke, I just wish I had been there to give him the tour!

All American Eats on the Food Network

The Food Network filmed an interview with me at the World of Coca-Cola several months ago.  The interview was for an episode of their popular program, Unwrapped.  The episode, "All American Eats," premiered while I was in Singapore, but it will be re-run several times in the coming weeks.  The theme of the episode was to reveal unknown secrets about Coca-Cola.  The team from Food Network was fun to work with (even at 7:00 in the morning) and the episode turned out great.  This link will take you to the episode guide for Unwrapped to see when it airs in your area.

Dance Mob At The World Of Coca-Cola

To help celebrate the 125th anniversary, on Saturday, May 7th, the World of Coca-Cola had a dance mob perform routine to the One Night Only song "Can You Feel It."  The dance was choreographed by KiKi Ely, a noted Atlanta choreographer and 125 people came to the World of Coke to perform.

I spoke with Brittaney Zellner who is Associate Digital Media Manager for the World of Coca-Cola and she gave me some of the behind the scenes details on how the performance was planned.  On April 26th, the World of Coke sent a notice via it's Facebook page that they were looking for dancers.  125 of the respondents were selected and were e-mailed a video of the dance choreography to learn.  On May 7th, right as the doors of the theatre opened to allow a large crowd into the hub, the dance began with a few people and took off as the crowd of dancers swelled.

Enjoy the video and let me know what you think.

 

 

Shake Up Some Happiness

A friend just sent me a link to a video that has the polar bear and a bunch of Coke employees performing a dance to Train's Shake Up Some Happiness.  I just want to know why I wasn't invited!  It looked fun.

 

 

 

 

 

Mexican Bottles

This has been a good week for mail.  I already posted a blog about the special Diet Coke bottles I received from our UK office and today, I opened up a couple of boxes and discovered the long awaited Mexican commemorative bottles had arrived.  They came with a special box that holds all 32 of the bottles and opens into a great display case.  While these cell phone photos are not great quality, you can see how interesting the display can be.  I will have to see if we can find a place for them at the World of Coca-Cola.

Two great packages and it is only Thursday, I wonder what tomorrow will bring?

Heritage Media Event At Shanghai EXPO

On Tuesday,  I participated in a heritage event for the Chinese media at the Coke Pavilion at the Shanghai EXPO.  During the event I presented stories and images focusing on themes that are central to the Coke Pavilion including our long history in Shanghai, our longtime participation with World EXPOS and fairs, our long history of innovations and our heritage of sustainability.  Brenda Lee, Vice President of Coca-Cola Greater China, hosted the event and was able to offer current examples in each of these areas bringing our heritage up to the present.  The event, which was attended by nearly 35 members of the press including television stations from both Shanghai and Hong Kong, also featured a miniature museum of artifacts I had brought from Atlanta. 

One of the highlights of the event for me was when we invited the media to vote for three items that were developed for the Coke Pavilion at EXPO that I should bring back with me to Atlanta to put on display at the World of Coke in Atlanta.  The voting was fun and all the members of the press were excited to be part of the process with cameramen and photographers pausing from their duties for a minute to cast their votes.  The voting was close, but I am excited that I will be able to put the specially designed plant bottle, a beautiful magnolia EXPO pin set and a custom set of the EXPO aluminum bottles on display in the loft at the World of Coke upon my return.

You will have to know Chinese to follow along, but here is a television report from the event.