Continued from yesterday”¦ From there we went to the Coca-Cola(tm) Museum, located right next door to the Georgia Aquarium. We do not drink Coke, but it is a fascinating global brand name, and branding is something that is important for Eric’s work. So we decided to take a peek. After you buy your ticket, they take you into a room filled with Coca-Cola advertising paraphernalia spanning back to the earliest days of the product. It is a large room and it is crammed full of assorted posters, signs, and trinkets that all say Coca-Cola. Even the ceiling was full. They did a little trivia show, then ushered you into a theater to watch a movie. The movie was starred the little elf-like creatures who work in the coca-cola factory, carefully handcrafting every bottle of coke in a beautiful, lush, mountainous setting. The characters all talk about how much they love working for coca-cola. The propaganda factor was nauseating. We were relieved when they let us into the museum.
The museums really only had two display areas, both relatively small. One outlines the history of coca-cola and the company. Each room represents a different decade, and is filled with the advertising of that time period. We’ll give you the quickie summary. In 1886, John Pemberton, an inventor with a handful of products to his credit, creates a new type of non-alcoholic beverage, called soda pop. He called his soda Coca-Cola. In 1887, Atlanta businessman Asa Candler tastes Coca-Cola for the first time and likes it so much that he buys the company. Candler is a marketing genius, a true pioneer. He put the Coca-Cola label on all kinds of household products, like clocks and calendars, to constantly remind people of Coca-Cola. He was one of the first to give coupons for free samples. He is also the first to use the strategy of depicting people enjoying life while holding a Coca-Cola. Prior to that, advertising simply praised the product and didn’t incorporate it into daily life. Up until 1899, you could only get Coke in restaurants. Two lawyers from Tennessee convinced Candler to bottle the product. Skeptical of how well bottled Coke would sell, Candler sold the bottling rights to the two men. Needless to say, Coke in bottles was wildly popular. In 1906, the started selling Coke internationally. In 1915, the Coca-Cola Company decided that you needed to be able to reach into an ice box and find a Coke without looking, so they held a contest for a uniquely shaped bottle. They managed to get trademark protection on the bottle, which is rare for consumer packaging. In 1955, The Coca-Cola Company started adding more beverages to its repertoire, starting with Fanta. Now they have 400 different beverages sold in 200 countries and are the largest beverage company in the world. It’s all about the marketing.
The second display shows how a bottling plant works. We were surprised to discover that the Coca-Cola Company only makes the syrup. It does not bottle at all. The syrup is sold to independent bottling plants local to the target distribution area. The bottlers mix the syrup with sweetener and carbonated water in big vats, then bottle the drink and distribute the bottles. Of course, Coke seems to have control over the bottling method the plants are allowed to use.
We walked into the mini-factory, expecting to be in a lush mountain forest as soon as we crossed the threshold, just like the movie. No forest. Just a stark room with no windows and harsh fluorescent lighting. Hmmm. The bottles were on an automated assembly line. Where were the elves? We figured they would appear soon enough. We watched the bottles move from the sterilization area, through the mixing vats for filling, to capping, to quality control. The machinery involved is interesting, kind of reminiscent of the brewery that Laverne and Shirley worked in. The elves never came out. Maybe they were hiding. They must be shy. The machinery must be a front for them and they are handcrafting each bottle from behind the big machines.
As a side note, on our travels we have noticed that Coke products use different sweeteners in different countries, and had always wondered why. For example, in America they use corn syrup, but in Indonesia they use real sugar. Also, in some countries, Fanta is noticeably sweeter, sometimes so sweet you have to dilute it with water to make it palatable. You can definitely taste the difference between the same brands of sodas in different countries.
Upstairs there is a tasting room and a gift shop. They said there was over 60 varieties of soda made by the Coca-Cola company, which makes you think 60 different products. It was more like two dozen products, with several of the same product from different regions of the world. The entrance fee was $15.00, which we thought was a lot of money compared to the size and quality of the museum.
Once we finished up at the museum, we hopped back on the train and headed to the airport.