World of Coca-Cola

The World of Coca-Cola is a museum showcasing the history of The Coca-Cola Company that contains a host of entertainment areas and attractions, and is located in Atlanta, Georgia (where the company's headquarters are located) at Pemberton Place (named in honor of John Pemberton, the inventor of Coca-Cola). The 20-acre (81,000 m²) complex is located across Baker Street from Centennial Olympic Park that is home to the Georgia Aquarium and the Center for Civil & Human Rights. It opened to the public on May 24, 2007, relocating from and replacing the original exhibit.

Original museum

Former World of Coca-Cola by Underground Atlanta

The original World of Coca-Cola was in the heart of Atlanta, adjacent to Underground Atlanta at 55 Martin Luther King Jr Drive. It opened in 1990, and remained open for 17 years until it was replaced by the current location. The original museum welcomed around nine million visitors during that time to become Atlanta's most visited indoor attraction.^[1]

The museum was located in a three-story pavilion and its entrance had a huge neon Coca-Cola sign (30 feet high and 26 feet wide). This sign was built by Metals Manufacturing in west valley Utah. The tour started on the top floor and worked downwards, featuring approximately 1,000 Coca-Cola artifacts presented in chronological order, interactive exhibits such as a replica 1930s soda fountain, video presentations of Coca-Cola advertising over the years, and a 10-minute film called "Every Day of Your Life" about Coke around the world.

The highlight of the tour was the 'Spectacular Fountain,' allowing visitors to sample various Coke products and, at the 'Tastes of the States' area in the same room, guests were able to try 22 different soft drink brands, some available only regionally, including Citra and Barq's Red Creme Soda. The 'Tastes of the World' exhibit in the International Lounge featured brands made by the Coca-Cola Company around the world. There was also a gift shop.

The museum was relocated and updated as the Coca-Cola Company wanted a bigger, more modern facility at which they could display more of the vast amount of memorabilia at their disposal.^[2] By September 2007, the building stood empty, the neon sign had been removed, and there was little to indicate its former use.

Lower level

After going through a security checkpoint involving airport-style metal detectors, guests begin their visit in "The Lobby," which features large Coca-Cola bottles made from different materials from around the world. Music heard there in the background is a world music style medley of 10 Coke jingles from the last 60 years arranged by Stephen James Taylor. Guests are then funneled into the "Coca-Cola Loft," a collection of Coca-Cola advertising artifacts dating back as far as 1896, while they wait to enter the "Happiness Factory Theatre." Once in the theatre, guests view a new short film called, "Moments of Happiness",^[3] set to the music of Imagine Dragons "Top of the World", and featuring montages of real-life emotion. The film is a key part of Coca-Cola's current advertising campaign, "Open Happiness." Unlike the old museum, this allows Coca-Cola to prominently feature its current marketing campaign early in the tour to a literally captive audience. The use of a film also allows the company to change the presentation as advertising campaigns change, though the original film (and a variation of the campaign it represents) is still in use as of October 2010.

Following the film, the screen scrolls upward, revealing a walkway into "The Hub." From this point forward, guests can visit the various attractions in whatever order they choose, all of which can be accessed from The Hub. This is a departure from the old museum, which was toured in a linear fashion.

A number of attractions can be accessed from The Hub. On Level One in the Hub, guests can pose for a picture with the Coca-Cola mascot, the Coca-Cola Polar Bear. Guests can also see the "Vault of the Secret Formula," which is an interactive exhibit on the mystique of the Coca-Cola Secret Formula.

A display of Coca-Cola memorabilia

Also on Level One is the Milestones of Refreshment attraction, showcasing artifacts from Coca-Cola's branding efforts. The oldest artifact is a packing slip from 1888 detailing Coca-Cola sales figures nationwide. The Bottle Works display allows guests to see the operation of a fully functioning bottling line which produces commemorative 8-ounce bottles of Coca-Cola Classic. The bottling process is slowed down significantly to allow guests an easier view. A complex robotic delivery system sends the bottles upstairs to "Taste It!" where guests retrieve them as they exit the museum.

Upper level

Coca-Cola product tasting center.

From Level Two of the Hub, visitors can visit the In Search of the Secret Formula attraction, a 4-D film presentation featuring an eccentric scientist (actor: James Meehan) and his assistant (actor: Jameelah McMillan) searching for "what makes a Coke a Coke". The seats in the theatre move and the attraction features wind and water effects. It also includes a ten-minute video pre-show providing exposition of the film's storyline. In the Pop Culture Gallery, guests gain insight into Coca-Cola's influence into popular culture. This section includes trinkets and memorabilia Cola cans and bottles, as well as an array of Coca-Cola themed collectible items. Works by artists such as Andy Warhol, Norman Rockwell, Howard Finster, and Steve Penley are on display. In addition, several paintings of Santa Claus by Haddon Sundblom, which have been used in the company's winter advertising campaigns since the 1930s, can be found here. This gallery also houses the museum's only acknowledgment of "New Coke", one of history's most infamous commercial failures, in the form of a video, some original marketing and packaging materials, and artifacts from protests.

In the Perfect Pauses Theater, Coca-Cola's television advertising efforts are displayed in three short films: Magic Moments (memorable Coca-Cola advertisements from the United States), Animation Celebration (animated Coca-Cola-themed advertisements) and International Festival (recent Coca-Cola advertisements from around the world).

People line up outside the World of Coke

Guests can sample 64 products offered by The Coca-Cola Company worldwide in the Taste It! exhibit, including most of the products offered in the United States. One room with a giant Coca-Cola contour bottle features only products that include the name "Coca-Cola" or a variation in their titles, including Coca-Cola Classic, Diet Coke, and most currently available variations on the original formula (including Coca-Cola Vanilla, Coca-Cola Zero,the Italian apéritif Beverly, Coca-Cola Cherry, and others). At the Atlanta location, the tasting exhibit room is arranged as separate self-serve fountain kiosks, each station representing the flavors unique to a continental region, with the floor below containing the massive apparatus of chillers, carbonation, and exotic bag-in-box syrups out of public view. There is also a Coca-Cola Freestyle self-serve machine, which can dispense a guest's choice of over 100 carbonated and non-carbonated beverages produced by the company. The last stop on Level Two, the Coca-Cola Store, features thousands of Coca-Cola-themed products for guests to purchase. Once guests enter the store, they cannot return to the museum. The store can be entered by guests not visiting the museum, via a rear public entrance.

Visitors are given a memento of their tour: an 8-fluid-ounce bottle of Coca-Cola with a special label and cap indicating that it was bottled at this location. The bottom of every bottle of Coke manufactured worldwide carries a code indicating its point of origin; the bottles generated at the World of Coca-Cola are unique to its production line.

Visitor numbers

The World of Coca-Cola welcomes over one million guests each year. Its design allows it to be easily updated as trends and advertising campaigns change, something the previous museum lacked.

Other locations

Coca-Cola around the world

Club Cool, formerly Ice Station Cool, is located in Walt Disney World Epcot park located past the Innoventions West in Future World. The facade was themed to resemble a polar expedition, complete with snowmobile. A plaque when entering the former Ice Station Cool exhibit stated: "This is a recreation of the most recent Refreshus Maximus expedition site where we made one of our "coolest" discoveries yet. You'll discover him just around the corner. Further ahead, you can also discover some of the exciting flavors Coca-Cola Coolologists have brought back from around the world. Join other Coolologists and explore refreshment culture old and new." Like other Coca-Cola exhibits it included an area where guests could taste Coca-Cola beverages from around the world. ^[4]

World of Coca-Cola Las Vegas, built in 1997, was located in the Showcase Mall on the Las Vegas Strip. It closed in 2000, but the Everything Coca-Cola store remains open.

World of Coca-Cola Tokyo was located on the 6th floor of Mediage in Daiba. It closed on January 15, 2007.

There is also a Coca-Cola Museum in Taoyuan City, Taiwan.^[5]

The Always Refreshing Coca-Cola Store Niagara Falls is a retail store that sells Coca-Cola themed items and drinks and located on the ground floor of the Sheraton on the Falls next to Casino Niagara in Niagara Falls, Ontario.

See also

• List of food and beverage museums

References

External links

• World of Coca-Cola Atlanta website
• World of Coca-Cola from Roadside Georgia
• Coca-Cola slogans over the years
• Always Refreshing Soda Shop

Coordinates: 33°45′46″N 84°23′34″W / 33.76280°N 84.39280°W / 33.76280; -84.39280