How the marketing campaigns of Coca- Cola reflected the American society throughout the decades.

Classic Commercial for Coca-Cola (1953)

The 50’s

The 60’s 60's Coke Commercial - Everything's better With Coke

The 70’s Coca- Cola Commercial 1976 (featuring Gladys Knight & the Pips). It’s the real thing. Coke.

The 80’s Have a Coke and a Smile!

Always Coca-Cola: An AD timeline. (2011). Advertising Age, 82(18), 8. The central theme of this page is that of the history of marketing by the Coca-Cola Company. What is interesting about this page, is that it details and explains how Coca-Cola was ahead of its time in the marketing industry. Coca-Cola used politicians, celebrities, fashion, and current societal trends to sell its product to national and international consumers. Coca- Cola is a prime example of a company that used images and trends to keep the pace with American consumerism for the past 126 years. Coca-Cola: Year By Year. (2011). Beverage World, 130(2), I found this journal article published in Beverage World to be quite entertaining. If you ever wondered why Coca-Cola took off so quickly, and has stayed so trendy—moreover a household name—for over a century, this article is a must read. The section I found of most interest was when the author likened the Coca-Cola Companies marketing scheme to that of drug dealers. This simile was proffered based on Coca-Colas idea to give out coupons for a “free glass of Coca-Cola” so that customers could get a taste, get hooked, and come back as paying customers; just like in the drug trade.

Haig, M. (2011). Brand Success : How the World's Top 100 Brands Thrive and Survive. Kogan Page. This book is quite the read for anyone who is curious about how successful companies rose to popularity within American and international cultures. While this book does not explicitly focus on the Coca-Cola brand, it does provide some interesting insights, and comical quips regarding the Coca-Cola companies disasters in foreign advertising debacles, failures with “New Coke,” and other interesting analysis and juxtapositions between Coca-Cola and other soft-drink manufacturers. Mueller, B. (1987). Reflections of culture: An analysis of Japanese and American advertising appeals. Journal of Advertising Research, 27(3), In this journal article Muller focuses on the advertising methodologies applied by American and international advertising companies. What I found to be most interesting while reading the article was some of the charges faced by international marketing companies in regard to misguided and illegal practices perpetrated against societies in nations throughout the world. Some of the charges include consumer manipulation, consumerism, and cultural imperialism; all from which we as consumers unwittingly suffer.

Mycoke. (2011). Retrieved from This source will take the user to an interactive website full of games, social media access, and creative videos created by the Coca-Cola Company. While this site does not contain much research or informational content, it does provide a stimulating visual example of Coca-Colas ability to keep up with current generations and further perpetuate American consumerism. This perpetuation of consumerism is evident by links to “My Coke Rewards” which offers greater rewards to customers who purchase more Coca-Cola product.

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Oldcommercials101. (Producer). (2011). 60's coke commercial: Everything's better with coke. [Web Video]. Retrieved from Reid, J. (Producer). (2007). Mean Joe Green superbowl ad – [Web Video]. Retrieved from The Interobang. (2012). 42 Coca Cola ads. Retrieved from Thorpe, L. (2011, May 23). Coca-cola enterprises: Creating a water sustainable business. Retrieved from