Coca-Cola: The History of an American Icon

Do we take Coke for granted? Sure we do, and therein lies the secret to the soft drink's global success. Chronicling the evolution of the Coca-Cola Company from a whim to a multi-national giant, this compelling tale of seminal marketing and cultural identity tells a fascinating American entrepreneurial story. The drink's formula was a post-Civil War invention by pharmacist and former Confederate officer John Pemberton, who partnered with a Yankee capitalist to sell Coke as a fountain drink. But it was the purchase of Pemberton's recipe (for $2,300) by industrialist Asa Candler that re-launched Coke as a ritual icon of America's self-assurance through two world wars, the Great Depression, and much else. While this video was produced under the auspices of the Coca-Cola Company, it presents a fair overview of the beverage's careful and deliberate push (for more than a century) into mainstream traditions and popular culture. Aud: H, C, P. (T. Keogh)