The Coke® Bottle Centennial Campaign Launches

Everything old is new again. And when it comes to the iconic glass Coca-Cola^® bottle, nothing could be more true. In 2015, The Coca-Cola Company is highlighting the Contour bottle through ads, art, retail programs and more.

But before any of that could happen, an icon had to be born.

Yesterday 
According to Mark Pendergrast's book For God, Country & Coca-Cola, Harold Hirsch was a fiery man, a man not prone to quiet. As one of the early general counsels at The Coca-Cola Company, he doggedly pursued imitators across the country. At the Atlanta Bottler's Convention of 1914, as competitors continued to imitate Coca-Cola packaging (and thus success), Hirsch orated to the gathered crowds.

He spoke with passion, imploring the bottle makers to join his cause ‒ the cause, in his eyes, of righteousness. His words were prescient.

"We are not building Coca-Cola alone for today," he said. "We are building Coca-Cola forever, and it is our hope that Coca-Cola will remain the national drink to the end of time."

Today
The bottlers got to work, and two years later, The Coca-Cola Company approved The Root Glass Company of Terre Haute, Indiana's design, which mimicked the shape of a cocoa bean. That curved glass bottle came to symbolize the product nearly as much as the cursive logo or the product within. And now, at the 100-year anniversary of the bottle, the opportunity for retailers and foodservice operators is incalculable.

The Coca-Cola Company is spending all of 2015 highlighting the Contour bottle, including new advertising, new music, and art exhibits featuring works from Andy Warhol, Norman Rockwell, and Peter Blake. A traveling art exhibit, "The Coca-Cola Bottle Art Tour: Inspiring Pop Culture for 100 Years," will visit more than 15 countries and travel more than 62,000 miles around the world this year. The exhibit includes bottle-themed art, historical artifacts, and interactive pieces highlighting the Contour bottle's role in popular culture.

As for a foray into music by The Coca-Cola Company, 19-year-old Canadian singer/songwriter Francesco Yates penned "Nobody Like You," a song not only about love, but also a love story to the famous glass bottle.

"Since its creation in 1915, the Coca-Cola bottle has achieved iconic status as a symbol of refreshment and uplift and it remains an important asset for our business today," says The Coca-Cola Company Chief Marketing Officer Marcos de Quinto. "The campaign, which will be executed in over 130 countries, is our invitation to consumers around the world to share in the specialness of an ice-cold Coca-Cola."

The program includes strategies for every size retailer and foodservice operator alike. To learn more, contact your Coca-Cola representative.

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Through the Years: Coca-Cola History
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