Today, every person in the world, regardless of their nationality, race and social status, will not hesitate to say what a Coca-Cola drink is. And for a Westerner, these 8 letters with a red background are considered sacred at all.
How it all began
The story began in American Atlanta in May 1886. In order to somehow survive the defeat of the Civil War, people began to actively use drugs. Then it was not tablets, but various tinctures, the basis of which was alcohol. Since people, at that difficult time for them, adhered to a healthy lifestyle, pharmacists decided to create a new medicinal drink in which it was possible to replace alcohol with another substance, so as not to lose customers. The ingredient that replaced it was called cocaine.
The teetotaler society forces a pharmacist named Steve Pemberton to change the composition of the French Wine Coca drink. For a long time he was looking for an ingredient that could replace alcohol, but at the same time possessing the same tonic property. And, fortunately, discovers it as part of a stake plant nut. By combining Coca drink and cola extract, the pharmacist gets a powerful tool to tone the body, but with a disgusting taste. It will take him a lot of time to drown it out and make it sweet. The drink was a thick liquid that was sold in beer bottles. People bought this tonic (although the creator himself advertised it as a medicinal drink that can cure any nervous disorders) for use during a hangover and diluted with tap water to make it easier to drink.
How did the carbonated Cola appear?
Once a shopper suffering from a hangover went to the pharmacy to purchase a Coca-Cola non-carbonated drink. The price of a miracle remedy, which instantly removed the unpleasant sensations after drinking, was 25 cents. Having bought a tonic, he asked the pharmacist to dilute it with water. Since the seller was too lazy to go to the other end of the hall, where the tap was located, he suggests diluting it with soda syrup. The visitor at that moment was absolutely not important how to dilute his drink, and he agreed. Having tasted the fizzy drink, the buyer exclaimed that it is much tastier than with water. News of this spread throughout the district in a matter of days, and everyone wanted to feel the taste of the new Coca-Cola. From that moment began a new time - the era of carbonated "Cola".
The appearance of the famous logo
Frank Robinson is the person who presented the world with the famous logo, which after 130 years uses the Coca-Cola brand. Thanks to his entrepreneurial talent during the Prohibition in Atlanta, the sale of drinks from 25 gallons per year increased to 1049. This is the only person who believed in the potential of the company and the product manufactured and remained in the company until the end of his days, while the creator himself in desperation, the drink was sold to 2/3 of the company by a pharmacist who had diluted Cola with soda.
The basis for the creation of the first logo was the font Spencerian. From 1850 to 1925 it was actively used in printing business magazines and newspapers. Robinson himself, creating this advertising label, said a prophetic phrase: "2 letters C will look great in advertising." But he did not lose. Over the years of the competitive war, the Coca-Cola brand has carefully watched their red-blue rival rushing about and working on creating new logos. The company itself was pierced only in 1980, introducing the world a new style of writing 8 famous letters. Since they did not take root, and people did not appreciate the fancy spelling, the brand returned to the old font.
In 1958, the Coca-Cola logo has a red background.
1969 added only a white wave under the letters. And only after many years, namely in 2003, are yellow and one more light added to the lonely wave. Funny bubbles also appear.
The genius of the new logo, created in 2007, amused many. The white wave becomes lonely again.
2011 was a jubilee year - the company turned 125 years old. But is this not a reason to create a new logo? On a white background is a bottle of drink and the inscription in English “125 years”.
The legendary glass bottle celebrates its 100th anniversary - and a new logo is created as a gift.
Today, the main logo of the brand has lost its background and is rounded red letters.
The very first composition of the drink and the death of its creator
Even when the sale of the drink increased 40 times, there was not enough income for the company to become independent. And thanks to the decision to resell most of the company, the inventory that Pemberton himself wrote revealed to the whole world the secret of the Coca-Cola tonic. The composition of the drink included: lemon, nutmeg and lime oils, nutmeg extract, vanillin, orange elixir, caffeine, oil obtained from orange flowers and, of course, coca plant extract .
On August 16, 1888, Pemberton, being a poor man, leaves this world. And only after 70 years a stone tombstone appeared on his grave.
The long-awaited popularity
Beggar Irishman Aza Kendler, who came to Atlanta to earn money and had only $ 1.75 at his disposal, believed that the new land would certainly bring happiness. After a while, he makes good money and decides to buy the famous drink recipe from Mrs. Pemberton. The purchase cost him a lot of money. He had to buy it for $ 2,300.
With their brother and two other people, they found the Coca-Cola Company to date. Aza registered the trademark of the company, which existed since 1886, only on January 31, 1893 in the United States of America.
The first year of an officially registered company brought only a loss. For 365 days, revenue was $ 50, when the contribution was 70.
But Aza believed in his company, and indeed, by 1902 it had already become popular and brought in $ 120,000 a year.
If Pemberton is considered to be the creator of the drink, then the father of the company is Kendler, who, since the creation of the drink, namely from 1886 to 1912, has turned Coca-Cola into the most popular drink in the West.
Interesting Facts
Fact No. 1. The first billboard of an advertising campaign, created by Frank Robinson in 1904, hangs in the state of Georgia - in the city of Cartersville.
Fact No. 2. May 2013 will be remembered by the people of Singapore for a long time. Ordinary passers-by received free drinks from Coca-Cola. The can of the handed out "Coke" consisted of 2 parts, thereby urging people to share happiness with others.
Fact No. 3. Coca-Cola is the most popular drink. Every second, 8,000 glasses are drunk.
Fact No. 4. Put on a plate with "Cola" the steak will completely dissolve after 2 days.
Fact No. 5. If you pour the entire Coca-Cola drink produced by the company into the pool, then 512 million people can swim in it at the same time.
Fact No. 6. If a drink created over its entire existence is poured into identical bottles and put in a line, then such a chain of the popular soft drink will wrap our planet 4334 times.
Fact No. 7. This is the first company to advertise on Pushkinskaya Square in 1989 in Moscow.
Fact No. 8. The company is the longest sponsor of the Olympic Games. They began cooperation in 1928.
Coca-Cola carbonated drink
Reviews about the taste of this drink are everywhere positive, but a separate discussion on many forums has been awarded the harmfulness of the product. Of course, it is worth agreeing with the fact that this is far from a useful product, but what explains such a huge stream of reviews about the harm and at the same time its megapopularity in the Russian and foreign markets? It turns out that people scream that this is bad, but they do not refuse to buy. The point is in advertising and the ability to interest buyers. Many wrote reviews that they buy "Coke" only during the campaign, because everyone wants to receive a gift. And we can say with confidence that this brand is able to competently promote its product. Suffice it to recall what excitement caused the action during the Olympic Games in Sochi. People swept Coca-Cola carbonated drinks from store shelves, trying to get an Olympic bear, T-shirt or glasses as a present. Now remember what the New Year is associated with you?
Of course, with the red "trucks of happiness" that the Coca-Cola advertisement annually shows us. Therefore, no matter what the negative reviews on the forums are and no matter how people shout about the dangers of this drink, people will always buy it!
Eternal competitor
On June 16, 1903, the company PepsiCo was registered, which subsequently turned out to be a long-term competitor of the Coca-Cola brand.
The First World War, or rather its consequences, played a cruel joke with the company in 1921. Products every day brought less income. As a result, the company went bankrupt and in 1928 it began to belong to the state. But after a while Charlie Guth outbids her.
During the great depression of the 1930s, an attack on the Coca-Cola brand began. The price of a 6-ounce bottle was 5 cents, and PepsiCo’s marketing move was to start selling 12-ounce containers at the same price. The success of this move was known in advance. The Coca-Cola company had only 1 billion 6-ounce bottles in its stock, and this is very small, and the vending machines that sold these drinks accepted only coins of 5 cents. And Coca-Cola could not set a different price. Hence the popularity of the competitor. It was a victory over the rival, since at that time PepsiCo was able to sell more than 5 billion Pepsi bottles.
But most of all was struck by an advertising campaign of the 1970s called "The best collection, chosen blindly." Each participant tried Coke and Pepsi, and then chose a drink they liked. With a score of 3: 2, the PepsiCo brand won. After that, the popularity grew even more.
Even the Coca-Cola commercial was unable to collect as many actors, athletes and singers in its television commercials as PepsiCo did. Celebrities such as Lionel Messi, Pink, Aishwarya Rai, Fergie, Beyoncé and many others starred in commercials. Popularity “Pepsi” at one time contributed Khrushchev himself. Around the world, a photograph of his working visit to the United States of America, where he drinks this carbonated drink, has spread. There was no better advertisement in the USSR, and after that many people ran to look for this advertised product on the shelves.
But most of all, singers and musicians starred in commercials. One of them was King of Pop Michael Jackson.
Fizzy war
Pepsi-Cola drink appeared in 1890 after Coca-Cola. And after so many years, the rivalry of these brands does not end, but rather, is gaining more and more momentum. The peak of Pepsi’s popularity occurred in the 1930s and 1940s, when the company created advertising with an emphasis on African Americans.
Years later, the company went bankrupt, and the creator of the Pepsi-Cola drink, Caleb Bredem, was forced to tell the recipe in court, which had been kept a closely guarded secret for so many years.
If the composition of Coca-Cola is still unchanged, then Pepsi Cola changes it quite often. Not every carbonated drink lover will say how Cola is different from Pepsi. The sugar content in both products is 11%, but why does Pepsi win in numerous tests? The fact is that in Pepsi-Col there are no fats and proteins. But this does not mean that it is more useful than "Cola". And before buying any of these carbonated drinks, remember that such an amount of sugar (11%) becomes a good start for the development of diabetes and fullness, and also gradually destroys tooth enamel.
If you look for the answer to the question of how “Cola” differs from “Pepsi” in the political arena, then we can say this: the former support the Republicans, and the latter - the Democrats. And only in politics did Pepsi win, since the company supported B. Obama. But the greatest popularity so far belongs to Coca-Cola. It is worth noting that both companies actively sponsor education and annually provide college students with about 3,000 grants.
What is the difference
The average consumer will never understand how Cola is different from Pepsi. Today they have the same smell and taste. Experts are sure that if you put a glass of one and the other drink in front of you, then, having tried them, you will not feel the difference. And if there are labels on them, then you will choose Coke. The buyer chooses a particular product through the influence of advertising, and the label of this company has a very strong effect on our brain.
During the long war of these two popular brands to the question: “How is Cola different from Pepsi?” - it was not possible to find a specific answer. The struggle for the championship only affected the difference in marketing moves and advertising, but the composition of the drinks remained the same secret and unchanged. And the new ways created for the promotion of Pepsi and Coca-Cola firms have become the basis of many textbooks on advertising and marketing.
No matter how sharply and negatively the public reacts to the excessive consumption of tasty, but harmful carbonated drinks of these two brands, which have been hating each other for more than half a century, people all over the world will consume them in large quantities every year.
Could Mr. Pemberton, who was dying many years ago in poverty, imagine that some time later a drug-made drink would become popular, and that the United States of America, where he registered his brand, would lead the list of countries that use the drink that creates the most famous company Coca-Cola?