Though it's been interesting to read about the history of the foods and drinks in this book, this entry is a good reminder that no matter how fascinating they may be, and no matter how tasty they are, or how embraced they are by a local culture, marketing is where the battle for widespread popularity is won. Staples like venison and bananas generate their own word of mouth, but when it comes to actual products, we wouldn't be talking about McDonald's or Jell-o today if they didn't have the teams of people who originally dreamed up the most effective ways to sell them.
Coca-Cola is perhaps the platonic idea of such a product; it wasn't the first soft drink invented, and certainly hasn't been the last. It doesn't taste markedly different than other colas, doesn't look different, and its ingredients don't cause a unique effect. And yet, it's the most famous and widely-available soda in the world.
Like many soft drinks, it began its life as a type of cure-all snake oil. The flavored syrup was invented in 1886 by Dr. John S. Pemberton, who was researching its use as a treatment for opiate addiction. At other points in its past, Coca-Cola was also claimed to cure headaches and impotence, in addition to the usual boasts about providing energy to the exhausted.
People liked the taste of the syrup when it was mixed with carbonated water, and the product was named after its main flavorings: coca leaves and cola nuts. Coca leaves being the source of cocaine is often laughed about, because who wouldn't become enamored with a drink that gets you literally high? That component was removed by 1903, though. What really sent Coke on its meteoric rise were the people that knew what to do with it.
Ownership passed from a local who expanded the use of Coca-Cola into soda fountains to businessmen who innovated a bottling process that would also expand worldwide. It was sent to soldiers on the front of both World Wars as rations. It was talked up as cheap luxury during the Depression. It was touted as a welcome alternative to booze during Prohibition.
No matter what was going on in the world, Coca-Cola was offered as a solution. It's little wonder that it has become the behemoth that it is today. Thanks to relatively recent developments in sugar substitutes, when I drink Coke, I generally opt for Diet Coke or Coke Zero, finding the original a bit too sweet for my tastes. I often like to add a splash of lime juice for some added zing. I certainly wouldn't call myself brand loyal, but the marketers across American history have certainly done their job well; it'll always be the first product to spring to mind when the topic of soda is brought up.
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