Coke Card 168

Brilliant Signs Dot Skylines of the World

They're called "spectaculars" — big, bold Coca-Cola® signs that proclaim refreshment to millions of passing consumers.

From New York to Tokyo, the spectaculars reflect the century-old Coca-Cola tradition
of signature outdoor signage.

The first big Coke sign appeared on the side of a building in Cartersville, Georgia in 1894. (It's still there today.) Soon after, similar wall paintings began to appear in other locales.
Then, with the invention of neon lighting in 1923, outdoor advertising for Coca-Cola was transformed into something truly, well, spectacular.

Today's dramatic lighted signs may blink, revolve or swirl. Some pour a luminous ribbon of Coca-Cola from a giant bottle into a colossal fountain glass. All spectaculars use trademark
emblems of Coke, typically accompanied by a refreshment message in the local language. Varied in design, size and shape, each spectacular is a well-known landmark in its own locale.

Neon Extravaganzas

When Frank Robinson, the Company's first bookkeeper, crafted the Spencerian script logo of Coca-Cola over a century ago, he could hardly have imagined that one day his penmanship would grace some of the world's most heavily traveled crossroads.

• On July 1, 2004, the Company introduced a new sign in New York's Times Square. The six-story digital display features 32 high-definition video screens, and is the first-of-its-kind ad sculpture. The sign will feature digital imagery promoting the Company's brands, as well as broadcasts of live events. The last Times Square sign, a dazzling, $3 million display featuring the world's largest Coca-Cola bottle, was on display for 13 years.

• In September 2003, Coca-Cola Great Britain unveiled a 105-foot-wide sign in London's Piccadilly Circus. The three-ton display is Britain's largest permanent LED sign, with 774,144 pixels and 2.3 million elements. Special sensors allow it to adjust to the weather conditions, giving it a rippling effect on windy days and showing big rain drops on rainy days. It can also interact with people on the ground by recognizing color and movement in the crowd.

• In May 2003, a Coca-Cola neon spectacular was added to the skyline of downtown Atlanta, GA. The retro sign replaced a series of Coke signs in Atlanta for nearly 50 years. The Atlanta sign features the Coca-Cola script, the time and temperature, and more than a mile of red neon. More than 25,000 feet of wiring keep the sign running -- that's longer than 80 football fields.