Anniversary Of An Icon

Atlanta, September 2006 -- This year marks the anniversary of a true icon - the Coca-Cola® contour bottle. Ninety years after its creation, the contour bottle remains a symbol of innovation, instantly differentiating the world's best known soft drink from all other products.

Widely recognized as a pioneering example of package-driven branding, the contour bottle is one of the few packages to ever receive a trademark from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, helping to make Coca-Cola one of the most famous brands in the world today.

Over the years the contour bottle has carved out a career beyond simple refreshment. In the movie "The Gods Must Be Crazy," a tribe of Bushmen assume that the Coca-Cola contour bottle is a message from heaven, resulting in total pandemonium. The contour bottle also has appeared alongside a number of Hollywood stars in movies such as "A Walk on the Moon," "Behind Enemy Lines" and "Catch Me if You Can."

The art world also has embraced the appeal of the contour bottle. Making art out of daily life, Andy Warhol's "Green Coca-Cola Bottles" confirmed the contour bottle's place in pop culture history. Other artists, including Howard Finster, Tom Wesselmann, Ulrich Walter and Carlos Vergar have featured the contour bottle in their masterpieces.

"The contour goes to the very root of what makes Coca-Cola special," explains Phil Mooney, director of Archives, The Coca-Cola Company. "It creates a unique visual identity for the brand that is, arguably, as cherished as the beverage itself."

Advertising for the contour bottle has reflected the changing times. For the last five decades, the original contour bottle has been by far the most prominently used package in television advertising for Coca-Cola around the world. From connecting the bottle with Santa Claus to recent spots showing the 'The Coke Side of Life™,' the ads feature the proprietary bottle as a part of a story line, stirring emotions within consumers and reminding them why they love Coke.

Over the years, the Company has leveraged the equity established in the contour bottle to help advance innovation in the Coke brand. All Coca-Cola trademark brands released globally - from Diet Coke (1982) to Coke Blak (2006) - are proudly packaged in contour bottles.

The contour bottle continues to inspire creativity with today's leading designers. In 2005, Coca-Cola partnered with five of the world's top design firms to develop the Coca-Cola M5 collection of contour aluminum bottles, targeting young trendsetters.

"We have taken one of the iconic pieces of our business and translated it into modern packaging," said Eugenio Mendez, global group brand manager, Coca-Cola Franchise. "It is remarkable and inspiring to think that our legacy of unique packaging lives on today because of something created ninety years ago."

Standing Apart From the Crowd
In 1916, when most beverages were packaged in generic, straight-sided glass bottles, The Coca-Cola Company sought out a package that a person could recognize as a Coca-Cola bottle when feeling it in the dark and so shaped that, even if broken, a person could tell at a glance what it was.

Drawing inspiration from an illustration of a cocoa bean with a convoluted shape and grooves running the vertical length of the pod, Alexander Samuelson and Earl R. Dean of the Root Glass Company in Terre Haute, Indiana, created the first prototype of the contour bottle. The prototype was patented in Samuelson's name on November 16, 1915. Subsequently, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office granted the trademark to The Coca-Cola Company, indefinitely protecting the unique design.

"Receiving a trademark for the contour bottle was an important milestone for Coca-Cola," Mooney added. "Coke is well-known for innovation and setting itself apart from the competition. As one of the few forms of packaging to ever receive a trademark, the contour bottle secured its place in history."

Evolving over time
Technological and societal changes prompted several evolutions in the contour bottle design during the 1950s. Consumers were drinking greater quantities of the product, so the Company introduced 'king-size' versions of the original 6.5-ounce bottle. In 1955, The Coca-Cola Company added 10-, 12-, 16- and 26-ounce bottles to the line up.

During the 1960s, the advent of products designed to make life easier for the consumer created a need for "convenience" packaging. In response, Coca-Cola introduced the first non-returnable glass bottles in 1961. Available in 10- 12- and 16-ounce sizes, the new contour bottles were an instant success. Continuing to meet consumer demand, The Coca-Cola Company introduced a 20-ounce plastic contour bottle in 1993.

About Coca-Cola
The Coca-Cola Company is the world's largest beverage company. Along with Coca-Cola, recognized as the world's most valuable brand, the Company markets four of the world's top five soft drink brands, including Diet Coke®, Fanta® and Sprite®, and a wide range of other beverages, including diet and light soft drinks, waters, juices and juice drinks, teas, coffees and sports drinks. Through the world's largest beverage distribution system, consumers in more than 200 countries enjoy the Company's beverages at a rate exceeding 1 billion servings each day.

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