History of Coca-Cola and Their Advertising Campaign

Coca-Cola was first sold in 1886 in Atlanta, Georgia and was the creation of John Styth Pemberton. Pemberton was the creator of patent medicines, and Coca-Cola was one of his experiments with the coca leaf and the cola nut. Pemberton unfortunately died at the age of 57 penniless, before Coca-Cola became popular. It was Pemberton who made the first Coke commercial, using the advertising slogan "Delicious, Refreshing, Exhilarating" which, compared to today's short, snappy and easy to remember slogans, is primitive.

It was Asa Candler who made Coca-Cola the popular drink of today, after having bought Coca-Cola for a small price in 1888. He changed the recipe by removing the alcohol and cocaine and spent a record 20% revenue on advertising. Candler was one of the first people to make advertising pay off in a big way for their company. In a short space of time the drink was being sold and loved all over America. Asa Candler was one of the pioneers of large-scale advertising, which has brought Coke its great success. Coke slogans are much more sophisticated today, compared to the original commercials used by Candler and are usually very short to influence the audience straight away. "Coke is it", 1982 and "Always", 1993 are examples of new campaigns in which the audience are reminded that Coke is the original cola.
Today Coca-Cola is the most recognised brand in the world. Most of its success is based on over one hundred years of advertising and a very recognisable logo designed by Frank Robinson, Pemberton's book keeper.