The C Story

• 1886.5.8: Coca-Cola was born in Atlanta, GA, by Dr. John Styth Pemberton
• 1886.5.29: first Coca-Cola ad appeared in the Atlanta Journal
• 1886: "Drink Coca-Cola"
• 1888: Asa G. Candler purchased Coca-Cola after Pemberton's death
• 1891.4.13: complete control of Coca-Cola bought for $2300 by Candler
• 1892.1.29: The Coca-Cola Company formed by Candler
• 1893.1.31: The trademark "Coca-Cola" first registered with the U.S. patent office
• 1894: Joseph A. Biedenharn of Vicksburg, MS, first to bottle Coca-Cola using Hutchinson stopper-type glass bottles.
• 1894: first outdoor sign advertising "Coca-Cola" painted in Cartersville, Georgia.
• 1895: Coca-Cola sold in every state and territory in the United States.
• 1899: first bottling plant opened in Chattanooga, TN
• 1904: "Delicious and Refreshing"
• 1905: "Coca-Cola Revives and Sustains"
• 1905: Straight-sided crown-top bottles used for bottling Coca-Cola.
• 1906: "The Great National Temperance"
• 1908: "Good to the last drop"
• 1915: Chapman Root Glass Company of Terre Haute, Indiana created a contour Coca-Cola bottle, based on a drawing of a coca bean.
• 1915.11.16: the Root hobble skirt or contour glass bottle was first patented
• 1916: The 6.5 oz. contour bottle was approved as a standard by bottlers
• 1917: "Three Million a Day"
• 1917: "BOTTLE PAT'D. NOV 16 1915" contour bottles in production until 1928.
• 1919: The Coca-Cola Company was sold by Candler to Ernest Woodruff's investment group for $25 million
• 1922: "Thirst Knows no season"
• 1923: The Coca-Cola Company was incorporated in Delaware.
• 1923.3: The six-bottle cardboard carton was introduced.
• 1923.12.25: the Root contour glass bottle patent was renewed.
• 1925: "Six million a day"
• 1927: "Around the corner from everywhere"
• 1928: "BOTTLE PAT'D. DEC 25 1923" contour bottles, a.k.a. "Christmas bottles" in production until 1938.
• 1929: The bell-shaped fountain glass was adopted as standard.
• 1929: "The pause that refreshes"
• 1932: "Ice-cold sunshine"
• 1933.4: first National Geographic issue Vol 63, No. 4 with full page color Coca-Cola advertisement.
• 1933: First automatic fountain dispenser was test marketed at the 1933 World's Fair in Chicago.
• 1938: "The best friend thirst ever had"
• 1938: "BOTTLE PAT. D-105529" contour bottles, a.k.a. "patent-D bottles" in production until 1951
• 1939: "Coca-Cola goes along"
• 1940: Coca-Cola was bottled in more than 45 countries
• 1941.6: "Coke" first used in magazine advertisement.
• 1941.12.10: "Coke" first appeared on bottle
• 1942: "Wherever you are, whatever you do, wherever you may be, when you think of refreshment, think of ice-cold Coca-Cola"
• 1942: "The only thing like Coca-Cola is Coca-Cola itself. It's the real thing"
• 1942: "Sprite Boy" created by Haddon Sundblom was first used in promotion.
• 1943.6.29: General Dwight D. Eisenhower sent a telegram requesting 10 "Coca-Cola" bottling plants for the troops overseas.
• 1944.7.12: first billionth gallons of Coca-Cola syrup was manufactured.
• 1945: Coke was registered as a trademark with the US Patent Office.
• 1948: "Where there's Coke there's hospitality"
• 1949: "Coca-Cola ... along the highway to anywhere"
• 1952: "What you want is a Coke"
• 1951.5.15: Time Magazine issue featured Coca-Cola on the cover.
• 1951: "US PATENT OFFICE/MIN CONTENTS 6 FL OZ" contour bottles in production until 1958.
• 1953.4.9: second billionth gallons of Coca-Cola syrup was manufactured.
• 1955: King- and family-size bottles were introduced.
• 1955: flat-topped all steel Coca-Cola cans were produced for overseas U.S. military until 1959.
• 1956: "Coca-Cola ... making good things taste better"
• 1957: "Sign of good taste"
• 1958: "The cold, crisp taste of Coke"
• 1958.8: Fanta was first test-marketed in Boston, Chicago and San Francisco.
• 1958: "US PATENT OFFICE/MIN CONTENTS 6 1/2 FL OZ" contour bottles in production until 1965.
• 1959: "Be Really refreshed"
• 1959.5: third billionth gallons of Coca-Cola syrup was manufactured.
• 1960: 12-oz. "diamond" cans were introduced.
• 1960: Fanta was introduced.
• 1960: Purchased Minute Maid Corporation.
• 1960.4.12: the contour bottle shape was patented.
• 1961.2.1: Sprite was introduced.
• 1963: TAB was introduced.
• 1963: "Things go better with Coke"
• 1963.6.6: fourth billionth gallons of Coca-Cola syrup was manufactured.
• 1966: fifth billionth gallons of Coca-Cola syrup was manufactured.
• 1967: The Coca-Cola Company Foods division formed from Minute Maid Company and Duncan Foods
• 1969.1: sixth billionth gallons of Coca-Cola syrup was manufactured.
• 1970: "It's the Real Thing"
• 1971: "I'd like to buy the world a Coke"
• 1971.1: seventh billionth gallons of Coca-Cola syrup was manufactured.
• 1972: Mr. Pibb was introduced
• 1974: Sugar-free Sprite was introduced.
• 1975: "Look up America"
• 1975: Georgia Coffee was introduced in Japan.
• 1976: "coke adds life"
• 1977: The contour bottle design trademark was granted by the U.S. Patent Office.
• 1978: plastic PET (Polyethylene Terephthalate) bottles were introduced
• 1979: Mello Yello and Ramblin' root beer were introduced
• 1979: "Have a coke and a smile"
• 1982: Diet Coke was introduced
• 1982: "Coke is it!"
• 1982: Purchased Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc.
• 1983: caffeine-free Coca-Cola, diet Coke, TAB were introduced
• 1983: sugar-free Sprite renamed diet Sprite
• 1984: diet Fanta was introduced
• 1985: cherry Coke, Coca-Cola with a new taste and Coca-Cola classic were introduced
• 1985: "We've got a Taste for You (Coca-Cola and Coca-Cola classic) America's Real Choice
• 1985: New Coke was introduced
• 1985.7: "Coca-Cola" became the first soft drink consumed in space aboard the space shuttle Challenger.
• 1986 Coca-Cola celebrates its 100th Anniversary
• 1986: "Catch the wave (Coca-Cola) Red White & You (Coca-Cola classic)
• 1986: Coca Cola Enterprises Inc. was formed from existing and acquired bottling operations
• 1987: Minute Maid brand soft drinks were introduced
• 1987: Columbia Pictures Entertainment, Inc. formed from Columbia and Tristar Pictures.
• 1989: Diet Mello Yello was introduced
• 1989: "Can't Beat the Feeling"
• 1990: Caffeine-free Coca-Cola classic and Powerade introduced
• 1990: "Can't beat the Real Thing"
• 1991: blend of recycled and virgin plastic bottles were introduced
• 1992: New Coke renamed Coke II
• 1992: more than 685 million servings of all Coca-Cola products were consumed per day worldwide
• 1992: 506 million 8-oz. servings of Coca-Cola brand soft drinks were consumed per day worldwide
• 1992: Coca-Cola was available in 195 countries and territories and appeared in more than 80 languages
• 1993.1: Coca-Cola worldwide unit case volume exceeded 10 billion cases
• 1993: "Taste It All"
• 1993: 20-oz contour PET plastic bottle was introduced
• 1993: "Always Coca-Cola"
• 1994: Fruitopia was introduced
• 1994.6: "Play Red Hot Summer"
• 1995.6: "Play Red Hot Summer Again"
• 1995.8.2: Coca-Cola completes its acquisition of Barq's Inc.
• 1996.6: "Play Red Hot Olympic Summer"
• 1996.9: "Play NFL Red Zone"
• 1997: 0.5 liter contour PET plastic bottle was introduced
• 1997.1: Surge was introduced
• 1997.1: Citra was introduced
• 1997.1: "Always Coca-Cola Classic" without the white ribbon logo introduced.
• 1997.3: contour-shaped aluminum cans test-marketed in Terre Haute, Indiana and four other cities in the U.S.
• 1997.6.16 The IXth FIFA/Coca-Cola  World Youth Cup held in Malaysia
• 1997.6: "Coca-Cola Incredible Summer"
• 1997.10.18: CEO Roberto C. Goizueta since 1981 died at age 65 in Atlanta, Georgia.
• 1997.10.23: M. Douglas Ivester became the 10th Chairman of the board.
• 1998.05: 1998 Coca-Cola Card Promotion
• 1998.12.11: Coca-Cola Buys Cadbury Schweppes' non-US beverage business.
• 1999.05: 1999 Coca-Cola Card Promotion
• 1999.06: Coca-Cola Red Hot Summer Days Promotion