"Coke adds life." Do you still remember that slogan of Coke in the late 70's? It seems that every year or so, they come up with a new slogan for their marketing campaigns. Now in 2012, it's "Open Happiness". No matter how the soft drink giant spins their advertising efforts to drum up more business or pump in more cash to their coffers, I commend Coca Cola for being a sponsor of the Olympic games. Did you know that Coca-Cola was the first commercial sponsor of the Olympics? Coca-cola sponsored the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics, and has been an Olympics sponsor ever since.
Now, what does this got to do with me? Well, as a collector, Coca-Cola is a continuous source of collectibles. From Coca-Cola posters in the 1940's, to the unique miniature bottles in the 1960's, it looks like there is always something related to or produced by Coke that can be collected. In my case, I find those items connected to their sports sponsorship a bit more special. Why? First, because it's about sports. To think that Coca-Cola is supporting the Olympics is already a good reason to support that company. In a way, you are indirectly supporting the Olympics. Second, the souvenir items they produced to commemorate and celebrate the sports event are useful and not just decorative. And third, which is quite important is that they are relatively affordable and widely available.
I started collecting Coke souvenir items in 2010 when Coke sponsored the FIFA World Cup in South Africa. They released "contour glasses" similar to the 2008 Beijing Olympics contour glasses. The contour glasses in 2010 was available through McDonald's. Whenever you buy a Value Meal, you get the chance to purchase the contour glass for 25 Pesos (about 60 US cents). It was indeed, very popular. There are 6 colors to choose from. Each color represented a soccer "move" I suppose. The contour glass is shaped like the Coke bottle (at least two thirds of the Coke bottle from the base). The Coca-Cola logo is on one side and on the other side is the depiction of the soccer move with the words "2010 FIFA WORLD CUP" and "SOUTH AFRICA" below it. I was able to collect all of the 6 colors. The 2010 contour glasses were manufactured in China.
In 2011, Coca-Cola released their "can glasses". The glasses are in the shape of a soft drink can. There were no sports sponsorship for these glasses. Nevertheless, when they came out, I sill bought them and kept them. The can glasses were available in 6 colors. They were available through McDonald's as well. This time, the can glasses were manufactured in Turkey.
It was interesting that in the same year (2011), a competing fast food chain here in the Philippines, Jollibee, released the "Coca-Cola aluminum personal water jug". I find these jugs amazing! I don't know but I really liked items made of aluminum. LOL. The jugs are in the shape of Coke bottles. It came in 3 colors - red, black, and silver, representing Coke regular, Coke zero, and Coke light, respectively. They were available through on-line ordering. If you placed an order for delivery through Jollibee's Internet portal and your bill reached 300 Pesos (about 8 US Dollars), you can get one Coke jug for 50 Pesos (about 1.20 US Dollars). I have all three.
Now, contour glasses are again available through McDonald's. The price did not change. Each contour glass is still worth 25 Pesos (about 60 US cents). You still have to purchase a McDonald's Value Meal before you can avail of the contour glasses. 6 colors are available. I have collected 5 so far. I must say that I like the new design so much better than the former ones. It now has the Olympic rings (I suppose). Well, maybe they are just representation of bubbles. LOL. The Coca-Cola logo is vertically inscribed on one side (with the words "proud partner"), and the sports event on the other side (with the words "London 2012"). I suppose that the reason why I liked this design better is because it looks more like a real glass. The former designs resemble so much the Coke bottle that at the back of my mind, it's like drinking from an "unfinished" or "broken" Coke bottle. Well, probably this is just me. But one thing is for sure. I definitely enjoy drinking Coke with my Coke contour glasses. Ahhhhhhhh…
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