White Coca-Cola can
date: label: date made
content: 2011
notes: label: Description
content: Coca-Cola introduced this limited edition white can in November 2011, as a symbol of partnership with the WWF and a $3 million pledge to their campaign to conserve polar bear habitat in the Arctic. The polar bear first appeared in a 1922 Coca-Cola advertisement, and became a major company icon from the 1993 "Always Coca-Cola" advertising campaign. This pledge was an extension of a partnership between Coca-Cola and WWF that began in 2007 and focused on freshwater and polar bear conservation.
label: Description
content: Coca-Cola regularly makes changes to the can packaging to match the holiday season, but this was the first time they had introduced a white can. Initially, the partners planned for more than 1.4 billion white Coke cans to be distributed until February 2012; only one month after distribution began, however, consumer complaints against the white color prompted Coca-Cola to switch back to the iconic red. Customers pointed out the similarity of the white can to the silver Diet Coke can, in response to which the company published a fact sheet clarifying the difference between “key visual elements” in their products. The new design also seemed to affect the taste of the beverage. Although the contents had not changed, phone calls to the company and comments on the internet claimed that the taste had worsened. Public attachments to the standard Coke packaging reflect the company’s rigorous brand-imaging campaign since the 1920s, which had nurtured a “classic” icon that was inseparable from the taste and quality of the product.
label: Description
content: The Coca-Cola Company was founded in 1886 by an American pharmacist, and began its international distribution in the 1920s. Since then, Coca-Cola has expanded its operations to more than 200 countries worldwide. Their marketing strategies and packaging innovations have helped to establish the popularity of cola drinks in the soft drink industry.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
setName: label: See more items in
content: Work and Industry: Agriculture
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 2012.0115.01
label: accession number
content: 2012.0115
label: catalog number
content: 2012.0115.01
objectType: label: Object Name
content: can
physicalDescription: label: Measurements
content: overall: 4 7/8 in x 2 5/8 in; 12.3825 cm x 6.6675 cm