Coca-cola Two Liters Get a New Design

Coke has successfully created buzz about their product in the heart of the summer season which is the best selling time of their year.  The logo beside the name Coca-cola on the new bottles is a picture of a grilling spatula with the shape of their bottle at the center.  It’s putting the message out there in a very dynamic way:  ”Drink Coke while grilling this summer”.  Is this new design merely a marketing strategy or is there some other reason for the change?

Image via Wikipedia     A variety of shapes and sizes of Coke bottles, including the former 2 liter.

A press release from Coca-Cola on June 13, 2008 states that the New 2 Liter bottle was considered “easier to hold and easier to pour” and preferred largely over the former wall design in consumer tests.  Coke’s contour shaped bottles are one of the few packages to receive a patent from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.  The contour packaging is considered an important trademark of the Coca-Cola brand.  There are certainly marketing strategies at work here, but this news from Coke leans toward a variety of reasons for the change.  

There are rumors within the public that the new bottles are smaller or offer less product than the former bottles, but the labeling on the front of both bottles states the same 67.6 Fl Oz being offered.  Both the old and new bottles offer 8 servings at 100 calories per serving.  They cannot legally claim to offer more product than they actually do, so that rumor is definitely false, however the new shape does create an optical illusion of being smaller.  The bottom and middle of the bottle are larger than the top and stem.

The new bottles were introduced in Birmingham and Chattanooga first back in 2008.  Those cities were chosen because of their loyalty to the Coke brand and their bottler, Coca-Cola United.  Both cities received special Coke shaped recycling bins for key buildings in their respective cities to celebrate the new bottles.  The rest of the nation came later.

Coca-cola is the largest beverage company in the world.  Pepsi and 7-Up products are both well known competitors.  Will they follow Coke’s lead and redesign their 2 Liter bottles, as well?  Obviously, they cannot steal Coke’s patent protected packaging design, but will they create something new of their own?  In business, it’s all about staying competitive.  We may well see quirky new designs flowing the entire length of the beverage aisle at the local grocery, adding a new layer to the famed Soda Wars.  What do you think:  Is the American public on board or not?