Coca-Cola

Coca–Cola is a soft drink sold by the Coca-Cola Company. This American brand is seen as one of the most important symbols of Americanism.
It was invented in 1886 by a druggist, John Pemberton, who wanted to find a cure against stomach aches. The name Coca–Cola comes from some used ingredients: the coca leaf and the caffeine of the kola nuts. Its flavour is based on sugar, orange and lemon extracts and vanilla. Since 1980 Coca-Cola has no longer changed the recipe of the fabrication of its products. The formula was determined in function of Pepsi’s drinks which were according to surveys preferred. This has lead to a huge competition between both brands.
Coca-Cola is a big company, it consists in different brands: Coca-Cola but also among the most famous Fanta, Sprite, Minute Maid, Chaudfontaine, Dr Pepper, Nestea and many more. It also consists in a lot of tastes (like Coca-cola lemon, vanilla, raspberry and so on) as well as low-fat variations of the original one (Diet Coke, Coca-Cola Zero…).
The slogan of this year is “Open happiness” but it changes almost every year. The marketers try to find a link between the product and the social events and their repercussion on the people’s mood. For example, Coca-Cola compared itself after World War II to a member of a family whom everybody is happy to see again after years of absence and suffering.
The American brand continually insists that it is the best refreshing solution.
If you look around you, you will see that Coca-Cola is omnipresent in our everyday life: in stadiums, restaurants, magazines, at parties or events, on clothes… And you are going to notice it more and more because of the Christmas period. Indeed Coca-Cola is present at special events such as parades. And if you are a real fan you can even go and visit the “Coca-Cola” truck. It will soon travel trough Belgium.


Valentine Etienne and Maite Moriaux