Design studio RYAN HARC has proposed that aluminum Coca-Cola cans should go paint-less to cut down on energy and material usage.

Coca-Cola will send a team of three bloggers-cum-”Happiness Ambassadors” around the world in 2010, with the mission of finding out what makes people happy.  Can they find a role for Coke to complement that pursuit of happiness?
Coca-Cola announced that it is launching a new social media push that will send three bloggers to more than 200 countries in a year, with the goal of uncovering what makes people happy. The social media piece will be part of Coke’s broader “Open Happiness” campaign.
Ambitiously, the around-the-world journey involves stays of just a day or two in each of 206 countries.  The three [...]

Coca-Cola is initiating a new recycling program in the UK as a way to help deal with the company’s carbon footprint and at the same time do some public good

Last Wednesday I attended Ad Week’s Climate Change Symposium. Here, the world of NYC advertising shared with the audience that it has found its niche within the climate change agenda, which is to engage ‘consumers’ and ‘internal stakeholders’ in a movement that in turn will activate policy and drive global agreements.

We have covered the new touchscreen Coke vending machine previously, but yesterday at the Gizmodo Gallery we had our first chance to test it live.

To reach Hong Kong’s hip urban demographic Coke Zero is teaming up with Japanese streetwear brand Neighborhood Denim.

For some US brands like Heinz, Ford or Mars in Britain, the lengthy time they have spent here has bent the public’s perception of them and many people feel that they are national brands in some ways. Coca Cola never seemed to reach that level of mass perception – possibly because they played far more off their American heritage in advertising than others – and maybe that’s why this local (or is it nationalistic?) tag on this can of Coca-Coca celebrating that it was made in the Great Britain stood out for us when we spotted it on a our [...]

Coca-Cola’s has released five new ‘limited edition’ summer-inspired designs. They’re a subtle re-work of the classic Coke can that adds graphic interest without going overboard.
[Via The Die Line]

The beverage aisle just keeps on getting more complicated. In the last two years companies have put their new product development on hyper drive and the beverage segment has fractured more and more. In the last few months, though, consumers are finding it even more difficult to find their favorite refreshments— this time due to rebranding. Companies are implementing new ways to keep their brands enticing during this recession, and many are turning to new packaging.
Here we look at some of our favorite drinks, what they’ve become, and the reaction to the changes.
Pepsi Co. has lead the way with its [...]

It’s surprising that touch screen vending machines haven’t showed up sooner, but they’re now on their way to a mall near you. Recently debuted at CES, the Sapient designed Samsung uVending machines feature a huge, fully featured touchscreen which uses animations and interactive menus to assist and enrich your soda ordering experience. They are also outfitted with WiFi to alert owners to dwindling supplies, or update digital content. You also may want to think twice about giving the machine a shake to pry loose a hesitant soda, motion sensors are embedded that dole out on-screen warnings – and there’s reportedly [...]

A new $4 million campaign from Coke called ‘Live It’ will hand out pedometers and prizes to participating schools. Coke has also recruited Lance Armstrong to encourage children to live an active lifestyle. Students will watch a Lance Armstrong video and hear an announcement from Armstrong over the school’s PA.
The program goal is 8,500 public middle schools – two million students – to participate in the weeklong program during the coming school year. Other featured athletes will include Nascar drivers Bobby Labonte and Kyle Petty, and WNBA stars Diana Taurasi and Tamika Catchings.
New York Times Report