Coca-Cola Contour Bottle Celebrates Its Centenary Design Story

Last month, the iconic Coke contour bottle turns 100 years, so the company is set for a massive centenary global celebration campaign.

Created in 1915 by The Root Glass Company of Terre Haute Indiana to stop the efforts of copycat cola brands, the bottle answered a brief that called for “the packaging to be highly distinctive, recognised by touch alone and identifiable even when in the dark or shattered on the floor”.

The first and major festive event was held at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, where the company hosted an art exhibition devoted to the Coca-Cola’s history and design—“The Coca-Cola Bottle: An American Icon at 100″. The four-part exhibit celebrates the contour Coca-Cola bottle, the first-ever product packaging that became a trademark itself, and features dozens of historical bottle prototypes and sketches, along with over 100 original bottle-inspired artworks and photographs, including two famous Any Warhol’s paintings.

Coke bottles

1899 - 1994

The 100th anniversary of the Contour Bottle is being celebrated through the unveiling of “I’ve Kissed…”, a global marketing campaign that features icons including Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe and Ray Charles being ‘kissed by’ the Coca‑Cola bottle. The idea is that anyone can “Kiss Happiness” by simply drinking from the iconic original glass bottle.
The exhibit which became open to the public from February 28 will run till October 4, 2015.

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