Coca‑Cola is celebrating 100 years of its Contour Bottle.
Featuring a sensuous, curvaceous silhouette, the bottle was 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, recognized by touch alone and identifiable even when in the dark or shattered on the floor”.
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.
A large scale OOH will run from the 30th March, for two weeks, featuring Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe and Ray Charles drinking from the Contour bottle.
These classic images touch on the inspirational role of Coca‑Cola’s iconic glass bottle in film, music and social history.
The OOH campaign will be London-focused, and feature on Oxford Circus tube station’s ‘Wonderwall’ – creating an eye catching display over the entire length of the underground platform.
Another part of the campaign is an uplifting brand TVC, which launched on March 1, 2015 and will run for a month. This is the first time Coca‑Cola has had a TVC of which the central focus is the famous glass Contour Bottle, and shows how the bottle has been a part of life and moments of happiness and celebration over the past 100 years.
The beverage company will also be advertising digitally on YouTube and XBOX in the first week of March, for 24 hours, as well as running promoted social media.
“The Coca‑Cola Contour Glass Bottle is a design classic, which has stood the test of time and fashion changes” says Bobby Brittain, marketing strategy and activation director, Coca‑Cola Great Britain.
“We wanted to create a campaign that celebrates the rich history and heritage of Coca‑Cola throughout the past 100 years, and show how it continues to endure as a pop culture icon.”
Originally inspired by the organic curves and grooves of the cocoa bean, due to a mistaken belief that the cocoa pod was part of the drink’s secret formula, the bottle has gone on to inspire legendary artists, musicians and fashion designers – from Warhol to Dali; Elvis to Marilyn; Versace to Lagerfeld.
