by Asa Candler. Note the ad for

De-Lec-Ta-Lave, a mouthwash that

is also sold by Candler. After 1892,

he focuses his energies exclusively

on Coca‐Cola.

The Coca‐Cola Company in 1888,

finalizes the purchase and incorporates

The Coca‐Cola Company as a Georgia

Corporation.

An advertising budget of $11,000

is authorized.

trademark is registered with the

U.S. Patent office.

At the Company’s second annual

meeting, the first dividend is paid

to investors.

Report that Coca‐Cola is sold and

drunk in every state and territory in

the United States.

the sole purpose of housing

The Coca‐Cola Company. It is quickly

outgrown as the Company moves to

larger quarters five times in the next

12 years.

most of the United States are sold by

Asa Candler to Benjamin F. Thomas and

Joseph B. Whitehead of Chattanooga,

Tennessee, for $1. Chattanooga becomes

the first city to bottle Coca‐Cola under

the contract.

becomes the first celebrity to appear

in multiple advertising formats,

including trays, posters and even

bookmarks.

The second bottling plant to begin

production under the 1899 contract

opens in Atlanta.

appears in national magazines.

Annual sales of Coca‐Cola hit the

1 million-gallon mark.

Lillian Nordica, noted opera singer,

begins to endorse Coca‐Cola and appears

in nationwide advertising in 1905.

Cuba and Panama, becoming the first

three countries outside the United

States to bottle Coca‐Cola.

D’Arcy Advertising Company begins

its 50-year association with

The Coca‐Cola Company.

A straight-sided bottle is first used

in national advertising.

begins publication and is produced

for more than 80 years.

The Coca‐Cola Company surpasses

$1 million for the first time.

is distributed via 2,300 wholesalers by

more than 415,000 retailers.

Examples of advertising spending

include $259,499 on painted wall

signs, $11,011 on pencils and even

$5,411 on napkins.

is distributed via 2,300 wholesalers by

more than 415,000 retailers.

Examples of advertising spending

include $259,499 on painted wall

signs, $11,011 on pencils and even

$5,411 on napkins.

The Coca‐Cola Company, the contour

bottle prototype is designed by

Alexander Samuelson and patented

by the Root Glass Company. It is

approved by the Bottlers’ Association

and becomes the standard bottle.

island of Guam.

A relationship between the Red Cross

and the Coca‐Cola system begins

as the Company and bottlers begin

World War I blood drives.

in Europe in Paris and Bordeaux.

The Coca‐Cola Company is purchased

by a group of investors led by Ernest

Woodruff for $25 million.

a Supreme Court decision ruling that

Coca‐Cola is a “single thing, from a

single source and well known to the

community,” recognizing the strength

of the Company’s trademark.

The Coca‐Cola Company moves to

its current location on North Avenue

in Atlanta.

The Friendly Hand, begins publication.

It is superseded three years later when

The Red Barrel begins its 40-year run.

The first use of the slogan “Thirst

Knows No Season” helps transition

Coca‐Cola from a summer beverage

to one enjoyed year-round.

carton is a significant innovation for

the beverage industry. The carton is

patented the following year.

Robert W. Woodruff is elected

President of The Coca‐Cola Company,

beginning more than six decades of

leadership in the business.

resolution placing the secret formula

for Coca‐Cola in a bank vault at the

Trust Company Bank in Atlanta.

Outdoor billboards are introduced as

part of the advertising mix.

is formed to supply concentrate to

overseas bottlers. Some of the

countries where bottling operations

begin during this decade include

Belgium, Bermuda, China, Colombia,

Germany, Haiti, Italy, Mexico, the

Netherlands and Spain.

its first radio program, “Vivian the

Coca‐Cola Girl.”

created to market Coca‐Cola outside

the United States.

The Coca‐Cola radio program with

Grantland Rice debuts.

Seeking to create an advertising

program that links Coca‐Cola with

Christmas, artist Haddon Sundblom

creates his first illustration showing

Santa Claus pausing for a Coke. For

the next three decades, from 1931 to

1964, Sundblom paints images of

Santa that help to create the modern

interpretation of St. Nick.

renowned author Ida Bailey Allen, is

offered to consumers for 10 cents.

This guide to home entertaining sells

almost 400,000 copies in six months.

the Dole Master, is introduced at the

Chicago World’s Fair.

Beery, Maurice Chevalier, Jean Harlow,

Maureen O’Sullivan, Johnny

Weissmuller and Joan Crawford

appear in advertising for Coca‐Cola.

1935 “Out Fishin’” calendar. Rockwell

also developed artwork for the 1931,

1932 and 1934 calendars.

of the Board. He serves until 1942.

He later serves from 1952 to 1954. He

serves as President of the Company

from 1923 to 1939.

Laura Lee Burroughs are distributed

to consumers. More than 5 million

booklets reach American homes.

United States to ensure that quality

standards are maintained in the

bottling plants.

The first paper cups for Coca‐Cola

are introduced.

American fighter planes is issued for

use in schools, restaurants and retail

stores. Additional series are issued in

1943, 1944 and 1945.

The Sprite Boy character is introduced

in advertising to convey the message

that “Coca‐Cola” and “Coke” are two

terms that reference the same product.

During World War II, the Company

operates a propellant ammunition

loading plant in Talladega, Alabama,

called the Brecon Loading Company.

An average of 30 railroad cars of

ammunition is produced daily for

the U.S. military.

Coca‐Cola be made available to the

troops. Robert Woodruff pledges to

provide Coke to the military for a

nickel regardless of what it costs the

Company to produce the product.

During the war, 64 portable bottling

to appear on the cover of Time

magazine. The magazine wants to

have a photo of Robert Woodruff on

the cover, but he refuses stating that

the product is the only important

element in the Company.

The first television commercial for

Coca‐Cola is broadcast on Thanksgiving

Day on a CBS half-hour special

featuring Edgar Bergen and Charlie

McCarthy.

Eddie Fisher, debuts on both radio

and television. Fisher’s program is

so popular that the Company issues

promotional records with his songs.

The program airs until 1957.

featuring African-Americans in market‐

ing with the Harlem Globetrotters in 1951

and Olympic Games athletes Jesse

Owens and Alice Coachman in 1953.

Clark University student Mary Alexander

becomes one of the first African-

American women to appear in print

advertising when she is featured in 1955.

The first king-size bottles make their

appearance in the United States. In

addition to the standard 6.5-ounce

bottles, consumers can now purchase

Coke in 10-, 12-, 16- and 26-ounce bottles.

pavilion at the Brussels World’s Fair.

The pavilion houses an operating

bottling plant and includes an exhibit

that documents the Coca‐Cola

business around the globe.

help make Coca‐Cola more portable.

The Coca‐Cola Company acquires

The Minute Maid Corporation, adding

a line of juice products to its portfolio.

Coca‐Cola sponsors a nationwide

competition for high school singers

and musicians called Talentsville USA.

The winner is a lyric soprano from

Carrier Mills, Illinois, who goes on to

have a successful career in opera.

to feature Coca‐Cola premieres. Billy

Wilder’s comedy “One, Two, Three”

stars Jimmy Cagney as the manager

of a Coca‐Cola bottling plant in

West Berlin during the Cold War.

The Company celebrates its 75th

anniversary. A national bottler conven‐

tion in Miami attracts more than

4,000 attendees, mostly U.S. bottlers.

Sprite, a lemon-lime beverage,

is introduced on February 1.

the Company, is launched. Its name is

selected from a computer-generated

search that yields more than

300,000 options.

The “Things Go Better with Coke”

advertising campaign begins. On the

radio, pop singers like The Supremes,

Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Jan and

Dean, Roy Orbison and The Coasters

use their unique musical styles to swing

the jingle. On television, celebrities like

football star Joe Namath, designer

The Coca‐Cola Company pavilion

houses an exhibit called Global Holiday

that takes visitors to six exotic locales.

The pavilion also houses the world’s

largest carillon—a 610-bell instrument.

bottlers sponsor the first animated

television special for the cartoon strip

Peanuts, “A Charlie Brown Christmas.”

soft drink, makes its debut.

Republic and Yugoslavia.

A one-way, or nonreturnable, contour

bottle is introduced.

system is introduced, featuring a

red-and-white color scheme and logo.

The launch of the new slogan

“It’s the Real Thing” ushered in a new

advertising look for brand Coke.

red-and-white graphic representing

two adjacent contour bottles, is

launched nationwide.

Coca‐Cola introduces its first sports

drink when Olympade is test marketed

in the United States. The packaging

features a logo for the U.S. Olympic

Committee.

produced as a television commercial,

“I’d Like to Buy the World a Coke”

becomes an international hit and

remains one of the most popular

ads for Coca‐Cola.

in Poland.

Mr. PiBB is introduced.

The Coca‐Cola Collectors Club is

established with 27 members. Club

membership now is nearly 4,000.

Fédération Internationale de Football

Association (FIFA) agree to the

first-ever sponsorship between a

company and an international sports

governing body.

commercial debuts.

reenter the China market after a nearly

30-year absence.

Hi-C soft drinks are introduced.

The 2-liter polyethylene terephthalate

(PET) bottle is introduced, beginning

the Company’s use of PET packaging.

The North Avenue Tower headquarters

building is first occupied.

The “‘Mean’ Joe Greene” television

commercial debuts. The ad is

consistently voted one of the best

commercials of all time.

Coca‐Cola begins worldwide

sponsorship of Special Olympics.

the central focus of the movie “The

Gods Must Be Crazy.”

and CEO of The Coca‐Cola Company.

The first bottling plant opens in

China. By 2010, the Company had

opened more than 40 bottling plants

in the country.

filled ceremony in New York, becoming

the first extension of the trademarks

Coca‐Cola and Coke.

The Coca‐Cola Company purchases

Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc.

While the Company owns the movie

studio, “Gandhi” wins an Academy

Award for best picture.

long association with The Walt Disney

Company as the anchor sponsor of

The formula for Coca‐Cola is changed

for the first time in 99 years. The

product, popularly dubbed “New

Coke,” generated consumer protest

nationwide. Product made with the

original formula, renamed “Coca‐Cola

Classic,” is returned to the market

79 days later.

anniversary with a worldwide

celebration in Atlanta.

The Coca‐Cola Scholars Foundation

is created as a joint program between

the Company and The Coca‐Cola

Bottlers’ Association.

the Soviet Union debuts in Moscow’s

Pushkin Square.

The Company sells Columbia Pictures.

Coca‐Cola is sold in East Germany

for the first time.

The World of Coca‐Cola museum

opens at Underground Atlanta,

greeting an average of 1 million

guests a year until 2007.

designated as the official sports

drink of the Olympic Games.

leaving the country in 1977 rather than

reveal the secret formula of Coca‐Cola.

The popular Coca‐Cola polar bears

are introduced in the commercial

“Northern Lights.”

in Atlanta. The Coca‐Cola Company

creates Coca‐Cola Olympic City as a

way to entertain fans.

A contour bottle folk-art exhibition

is created with more than 50 bottles

from around the world displayed in

Atlanta during the Olympic Games.

Peruvian soft drink Inca Kola and

Schweppes beverages in many

markets around the world.

create a new company, Beverage

Partners Worldwide, to market ready-

to-serve coffee and tea beverages.

Simply Orange, a not-from-concentrate

orange juice, is introduced.

The Coca‐Cola Company joins the

fight against AIDS in Africa with

the joint United Nations Program

on HIV/AIDS, UNAIDS.

Coca‐Cola France sponsors the Tour

de France for the 15th consecutive year.

The Coca‐Cola Foundation and

Coca‐Cola bottlers contribute

$12 million in disaster relief following

the September 11 terrorist attacks in

the United States.

The Fridge Pack, a 12-pack carton

designed to fit conveniently in the

refrigerator, is introduced in the

United States.

The Coca‐Cola Company acquires

Odwalla Inc., a producer of premium

refrigerated fruit beverages.

The Coca‐Cola Company and NASCAR

sign a multiyear sponsorship extension.

United States.

The Coca‐Cola Company sponsors the

FIFA World CupTM competition in Japan

and Korea.

“American Idol,” a singing competition

sponsored by Coca‐Cola, debuts. It

becomes one of the most popular

shows in the history of television.

introduced for use in nightclubs

and at special events.

Coca‐Cola Zero, a zero-calorie cola,

makes its debut.

2006

at Pemberton Place in Atlanta.

The Coca‐Cola Company acquires

Energy Brands Inc. (glacéau), maker

of vitaminwater and smartwater.

The 20-ounce PET contour GRIP

bottle joins the packaging ranks.