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- Robert Woodruff
- was 33 when he
- succeeded his
- father, Ernest, as
- president of the
- Coca-Cola
- company. He
- already had a
- reputation as an
- energetic
- businessman. He
- transformed
- Coca-Cola in to
- the world's best-
- known brand
- #
- Coca-Cola was
- invented in 1886
- by a pharmacist
- named Dr John
- Pemberton.
- According to
- legend he
- concocted the
- syrup in a
- brass pot in his
- backyard. A local
- pharmacy in
- Atlanta, Georgia,
- started selling it
- at five cents a
- glass as a soda
- fountain drink
- #
- By 1928, five
- years after
- Woodruff took
- over, bottle sales
- of Coke had
- outstripped
- fountain sales for
- the first time. The
- following year
- saw the
- introduction of
- the open-top
- cooler, which
- made it possible
- for the drink to
- be sold chilled in
- retail outlets
- #
- By 1941 Coke
- was on sale in 44
- countries. The
- second world
- war boosted
- Coca-Cola's
- expansion, thanks
- to Woodruff's
- determination
- that "every man
- in uniform gets a
- bottle of Coca-
- Cola for 5 cents,
- wherever he is
- and whatever it
- costs the company"
- #
- Through astute
- advertising and
- clever marketing
- Coke has come to
- symbolize global
- friendship. For
- several decades,
- the energetic and
- cheerful sprite,
- drawn by
- Haddon Sundblom,
- was Coca-Cola's
- signature
- advertisement
- around the world
- #
- Coca-Cola has
- always had to
- defend its name
- and packaging
- vigorously. The
- battle against
- imitators and
- fraudulent
- manufacturers
- was the main
- reason for
- developing the
- distinctive bottle
- in 1916. 70
- years later, the
- company was still
- fighting for its
- trademark
- #
- Coca-Cola has
- always varied its
- packaging: larger
- bottles in the
- Fifties, the
- aluminum can
- (first developed
- for export to the
- army) in 1960,
- the two-liter
- plastic bottle
- in 1977. The
- product has been
- developed, too.
- Sugar-free Coke,
- to compete with
- Diet Pepsi, came
- in 1983
- #
- The Olympic
- Games are the
- ideal vehicle for
- promoting Coca-
- Cola, a soft drink
- which wants to
- transcend all
- cultural and
- national boun-
- daries and be
- associated with
- events which are,
- in theory at least,
- good, clean,
- healthy fun
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