The Coca-Cola Colonels of World War II

[boingboing]

Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2024/06/21/the-coca-cola-colonels-of-world-war-ii.html

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[gracchus]

@boingboing

The cost of this price freeze and the construction of the portable facilities was substantial but was undoubtedly made up for by the goodwill these efforts engendered abroad and at home.

That kind of long-term thinking died with the advent of the MBA. Today such an initiative would be immediately turfed because it supposedly doesn’t add to shareholder value this quarter.

[Mel_J]

Post contributed by Gail Sherman

[killick]

Kentucky has a program that creates Kentucky Colonels. The bar is apparently quite low-- you need another Kentucky Colonel to nominate you-- you apply and pledge to say nice things about Kentucky, and then they mail you a certificate naming you a Kentucky Colonel. Mike O’Meara and Robb Spewak of the Mike O’Meara Show (now a daily podcast) became Kentucky Colonels just for shits and giggles.

[FGD135]

[dwall0]

Other states also appoint honorary Colonels. Elvis’s manager, Colonel Tom Parker got his from Louisiana.

[Purplecat]

@boingboing

At the onset of the United States’ participation in the war, the company’s president pledged not to raise the 5¢ price of a bottle of Coke.

This was the continuation of a policy that saw the price of a bottle of coke staying at 5c for 7 decades.

Why Coke Cost A Nickel For 70 Years

[anothernewbbaccount]

In 1943, General Eisenhower, then Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force, sent an urgent cable to the Coca-Cola Company, requesting supplies for ten temporary bottling plants and 3 million bottles of Coke.

I came across this recently, reading this, which I would recommend.

A History of the World in 6 Glasses – Atlantic Books

[GagHalfrunt]

@gracchus

@boingboing

The cost of this price freeze and the construction of the portable facilities was substantial but was undoubtedly made up for by the goodwill these efforts engendered abroad and at home.

That kind of long-term thinking died with the advent of the MBA. Today such an initiative would be immediately turfed because it supposedly doesn’t add to shareholder value this quarter.

The bottling plants themselves, and no doubt the experience gained from building and running them, paid off massively for Coca-Cola after the war.

The Coca-Cola Company’s efforts to establish bottling plants and distribution networks across Europe and Asia during the war had far-reaching consequences.

When the conflict finally ended, these facilities continued to operate, serving as the foundation for Coca-Cola’s post-war expansion.

Thanks to the groundwork laid during World War II, the company quickly became a global powerhouse, with its fizzy beverage making its way into millions of homes and hearts across the world.

Coca-Cola in WW2