It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

Call me crazy, but my Christmas tree is up, all the shopping is done, the presents are wrapped, and I am ready for Christmas! After all, it is only 25 days away...

This is the time of year when we see Santa Claus in many of Coca-Cola's advertisements, including on their products. The Coca-Cola Santa Claus that the world would grow to love was created by Haddon Sundblom. According to Coca-Cola, "For inspiration, Haddon Sundblom turned to Clement Clark Moore's 1822 poem "A Visit from St. Nicholas" (commonly called 'Twas the Night Before Christmas). Moore's description of St. Nick led to an image of Santa that was warm, friendly, pleasantly plump and human. For the next 33 years, Sundblom painted portraits of Santa that helped to create the modern image of Santa -- an interpretation that today lives on in the minds of people of all ages, all over the world."

The picture above was the debut of the Coca-Cola Santa in 1931 in the Saturday Evening Post. The slogan "the pause that refreshes" quickly became a traditional trademark in Coca-Cola's advertisements.

This advertisement was created in 1936 and shows Santa Claus playing with the toys he had just delivered (while, of course, enjoying a Coke).

This advertisement has to be my favorite among the Santa Claus series. In 1964, the Coca-Cola Santa plays with a brother and sister and their new gift -- a dog. The dog was based on a gray poodle that belonged to the florist in Sunblom's neighborhood; he changed the color to black to make the animal stand out.

Amidst this busy holiday season, be sure you take advantage of "the pause that refreshes."

You won't find Coke at Costco

I saw this interesting headline on MSN today, and I had to post about it.

Due to pricing disputes, Costco is refusing to sell Coca-Cola products for the time being. There are no details available, but I'm wondering if other large corporations are tempted to quit selling Coca-Cola products as well.

I remember a local Wal-Mart that quit selling Pepsi products for a while, but they eventually resumed. This would also be a good time to bring up that Murray State's Campus was (and might still be, I'm no longer on-campus) a Coke-free campus. This was due to Pepsi offering a great deal to MSU if they agreed to no longer sell Coke products. I certainly remember the uproar this brought on-campus when all of the Coca-Cola vending machines disappeared! Does anyone else remember this?

You can find the article regarding Costco and Coca-Cola here.

Closing Stock Prices

I realized that I haven't posted anything regarding Coke's stock prices. I created a graph to depict what has been happening since August, but I am unable to pull the Excel graph into my blog. What a shame!!

Coca-Cola saw their highest closing stock price (dating back to when we started class, August 19, 2009) on August 21, 2008 at $55.58. The lowest closing stock price within this date range occurred on November 12, 2009 at $44.04. My wonderful graph that I can't show you clearly indicates a gradual decline over the last 3 months. I did some research to see why the stock prices have been declining and I learned that it is due to the economy's current state. The most profitable companies have seen a decline this year, so this doesn't come as a surprise. This hasn't only been a domestic issue, but it has been worldwide. Russia and Eastern Europe has been in a double digit decline over the last couple of quarters. Consumer recovery is expected, but it is going to be slow. For more information, check out CNBC's article.

Coca-Cola's Strategy

We are building on our fundamental strengths in marketing and innovation, driving increased efficiency and effectiveness in interactions with our system and generating new energy through core brands that focus on health and wellness.

This is what Coca-Cola's strategy is according to their website. They have their goals set on creating new ways to share beverages, anticipating community's needs, and marketing their product line. These long-term goals are set in order to achieve long-term growth and allow careers to flourish. Coca-Cola is innovating and marketing in such a way where they are the world's most recognized family of brands and will likely continue to be for generations to come.

One of their goals has always been to be environmentally friendly. Since I like to include pictures in these posts, I thought I'd share this one with you. I think more delivery trucks need to become more environmentally friendly. I'm happy to see this...

Tax on Soda?

Muhtar Kent, CEO of Coca-Cola

We have all heard of cigarettes being taxed, but have you ever thought that sodas could be taxed? It is an idea that Congress and President Barack Obama are considering. Obviously, Coca-Cola is against this proposal. The CEO of Coca-Cola wrote "Coke Didn't Make America Fat" regarding this topic.

The CEO states that since the 1970s, the average caloric intake due to sodas has decreased by 25% thanks to products like Diet Coke and Coke Zero. There are two states (Arkansas and West Virginia) who already have tax on sodas, and they have the highest rates of obesity in the nation. This tax doesn't seem to be very effective there... so why would it be effective everywhere else?

The World of Coca-Cola

I have always wanted to visit The World of Coca-Cola located in Atlanta, Georgia. Although I have not been able to go yet, I wanted to do a little research about this very unique place.

The "new" World of Coca-Cola opened in May of 2007. There are more than 1,200 artifacts from around the world that have never been seen before. They have a 4-D movie theater and gallery that is dedicated to Coke and pop culture. A bottling line fills bottles of Coke before visitors eyes. Last but not least, there is a chance to sample more than 60 different products from around the world.

It is located at Pemberton Place (along with the Georgia Aquarium and The Center for Civil and Human Rights) across from the Centennial Olympic Park. Pemberton Place was named after John Pemberton, the pharmacist who invented Coca-Cola in 1886.

It takes an average of 90 minutes to go through the entire World of Coca-Cola. It is open 7 days a week and it only closes on Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. General admission tickets are $15 for adults, $13 for seniors, $10 for children, and free for toddlers 2 and under.