Happy Birthday, Coca-Cola!

This past week marked the 125th birthday of what many Americans call their favorite soda! Coca Cola’s brand is now ranked #1 in the world, so it comes to no surprise the company is valued at over $70 billion!
When it comes to advertising, Coca Cola is king! When you think about ads in the beverage world, one brand comes to mind….Mean Joe Green? Polar Bears? The jolly soda drinking Santa Claus? All Coke! Coke’s branding has evolved over the last 125 years, but their iconic “coke bottle” ads stuck  with us. The ads for other brands seem to fade in comparison. Growing up in Kentucky, many people (including myself) typically refer to all carbonated beverages as “Coke.” When someone asks “Do you want a coke?”, they are generally inferring “Do you want any general soda flavor including lemon/lime, orange, diet?”….and the list goes on!
To celebrate this birthday in monumental fashion, Coca Cola created the largest ad illumination ever. The 26-story Coca Cola headquarters in Atlanta was transformed to light up on all four sides – that’s more than 210,000 square feet of ad space! The display featured 125 years of our favorite Coca Cola ads, and also specially programed architectural effects.
More impressive, the brand is thanking loyal fans by also displaying their own favorite photos of Coca Cola. Fans that upload their Coca Cola pics to Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, and other social media sites, will have a chance to be featured on the world’s largest building illumination! Being one of the most recognizable brands in the world, Coca Cola does not “need” to advertise, but still devotes generous amounts of time and money to keep their well built empire top of mind! This brings new meaning to my daily 2:30 trip to the fridge for a diet Coke!
Check out the video: