Feature

In the World of Coca Cola

Amanat Ahmed

Imagine yourself in a world where you will find only coke to quench your thirst, not water! Unbelievable, right? Well, I will take you to that unimaginable World of Coke in downtown Atlanta, Georgia. Here I would like to share my experiences of visiting the Coke Museum and also some information that I collected from the Internet. A week before I landed in Atlanta, when my cousin had told me about the Coke museum, I was simply not convinced. “COKE MUSEUM!!! Ahhh! You've gotta be kidding me!” I thought. Anyways, we reached Atlanta after a week and the very next day we went downtown. We started with the Coke Museum or as it is called “The World of Coke”. It is a huge establishment proving the authenticity of its name and the water fountain in front of it was only adding to its attractiveness. After I finally shut my open mouth we went inside. It was a weekday and fortunately there was much of a rush. Inside it, you would think you are really in a world of coke. It is entirely unlike any other museum. It is mainly designed to celebrate its subject matter without actually teaching museum-goers anything about it. Wherever you go, whichever corner you step in, you will find something about coke. You can also enjoy a small filmshow as a part of the tour. The film describes the history of coke. One can learn about the history of coke and how it reached its current status in the market. The Coca Cola Company protects the formula of coke with painstaking secrecy. The formula is kept in a vault in a federal building in Atlanta, Georgia. The secret formula of coke still remains a secret even 120 years after its invention. But to be honest, the main force behind coke's popularity is not its secret ingredients. It's the advertisements! Their revolutionary advertising really keeps them ahead of their competitors. It turned out that Coke more or less invented the modern advertising campaign, and its evolution from the beverage's first decorous foray into marketing in 1886 to the splashy music videos of the 1980s was fascinating to watch.

Mr. Pemberton

There is a segment where you will find all types of coke bottles delivered all over the world on display. I particularly became very happy when I saw a replica of the coke bottles distributed in our country. I became even more cheerful when I saw a Bangladeshi coke advertisement. After all these amusing and amazing shows and displays, the journey was still not over. The exhibit ends with a wall of self-serve soda fountains featuring flavours of Coke and Coke products from around the world. You can drink any kind of flavour as much as you want,but you can't take your drink outside. Of all the flavours, I liked the lychee flavoured soda the most. And don't worry! There are washrooms inside the museum and you can continue drinking without a care. And after all that marketing gimmicks the museum lets out -- where else? -- into a gift shop full of Coke glasses, key chains, and red-sweatered polar bears. The shopaholics will find it very hard to control themselves in such surroundings. With Mr. Pemberton's invention of Coke syrup in 1886, Coke has crossed a long way. With pioneer advertising and genuine soda formula, it has become one of the most popular soft drinks brand in the world.Although my journey to the Coke Museum came to an end, it created an impression on my mind that will last till the end of my life. Dear readers, my journey with you in the World of Coke ends here. Hope you enjoyed it.

(Student of Dept. of Accounting & Information Systems, University of Dhaka)