National Have a Coke Day
When I discovered that May 8th is National Have a Coke Day, it was the perfect topic for my blog this month! Coca-Cola is such an iconic brand that brings back so many great memories of my childhood. As I’ve run across them the last couple of years, I’ve been adding Coca-Cola themed puzzles to my collection, so a day dedicated to all things Coke was a perfect excuse to pick up a few more to put together and share with you!
May 8, 1886 was the day Dr. John Stith Pemberton sold the very first glass of Coca-Cola at Jacob’s Pharmacy in Atlanta, Georgia. He’d concocted Coke as a ‘medical elixir’, that sold an average of nine glasses a day in 1886, but it soon evolved into a fizzy, non-medicinal fountain drink that would become a global phenomenon.
My current puzzle in progress is Springbok’s Coca-Cola Gameboard. I’m a big fan of old Coke advertising and this 1000pc design brings back so many great memories for me. It’s very appropriate that my Grandma’s birthday is the same week as National Have a Coke Day, because she was a huge fan. We may have had the only house in town where the local distributor delivered it in cases! I remember the delivery guy rolling a dolly stacked with those classic wooden cases of Coke into the house on a regular basis. A few spots on the ‘game board’ are really special to me. My redheaded Grandma often had a bottle of Coke in her hand, and my Army officer Grandpa never left for National Guard duty without taking his red metal Coca-Cola cooler with him.
One of the most famous shapes in the world is the iconic Coca-Cola bottle. For the first 13 years, Coke was sold only in soda fountains, but in 1899, two Tennessee lawyers traveled to Atlanta to negotiate the rights to bottle it and capitalize on Coke’s popularity. Within the next two decades, there were more than 1200 Coca-Cola bottlers and lots of competitors trying to deceive the public into buying their drinks. The bottlers realized they needed “a bottle so distinct that you would recognize it by feel in the dark” and in 1916, they chose their design. MasterPieces 300pc Bottles puzzle shows the evolution of the world’s most recognizable container, and shows that not every Coca-Cola puzzle is red and white!
If you enjoy puzzles with nostalgic themes, you’ll find plenty of Coke puzzles with scenes of yesteryear. Springbok’s 500pc Good Neighbor Stores features lots of fun details from the old pay phone and pinball machine to plenty of classic Coke advertising signs.
Coca-Cola has produced lots of famous ads over the years, but many people don’t realize the influence Coke had over another iconic figure—Santa Claus. Coke featured Santa in its advertising in the 1920s, and prior to the 1930s, Santa had been depicted as everything from a tall, gaunt man to a scary-looking elf. In 1931, Coke’s ad agency hired artist Haddon Sundblom to design a realistic Santa who was warm, friendly and plump. Sundblom’s Santa debuted that year in The Saturday Evening Post. He created his final version in 1964, but Coke continued to use images based on his original works for decades. MasterPieces Coca Cola Christmas is a fun 500pc collage of those images that became symbolic of the classic Santa—enjoying a Coke instead of milk and cookies, of course!
I discovered that Coke had actually used a polar bear in a French advertisement way back in 1922, but the Coca-Cola Polar Bears actually made their debut in an animated commercial in 1993. They were created by artist Ken Stewart who said he was inspired by his Labrador retriever who resembled a polar bear. They’ve been a popular mascot ever since. You can chill out with Springbok’s 1000pc Coca-Cola Ice Cold Christmas.
One thing I love about Coca-Cola puzzles is the variety. Whether you like nostalgia themes, collage puzzles, photomosaics, pop art (see what I did there?) shaped or 3D puzzles, you can find the perfect Coke puzzle from Puzzle Warehouse. I haven’t tried a photomosaic puzzle yet, but if you’re up for the challenge, MasterPieces Big Gulp is 1000 pieces. Let me know it you tackle this one!
This 3D Diet Coke Can from Springbok would make a great gift—especially for yourself to display on a desk or with other Coke memorabilia. It’s just 40 pieces, so fun for anyone!
MasterPieces 1000pc Coke Jukebox has been on my wish list for a while! With all the retro images, bright colors and shaped pieces, I’m really looking forward to it! I’ll post it to Instagram one of these days!
Pop the top on a can, twist open a bottle, or pour yourself a glass of your favorite version of Coke, sit down with a puzzle (a safe distance from your beverage) and enjoy National Have a Coke Day!
Cheers!
Dawn @5wolves
Great blog, thank you!
I've never been a coke fan, but I love the coke puzzles in your blog! I did enjoy touring the World of Coca-Cola in Atlanta and tasting coke served all around the world.
