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The Coca-Cola polar bears are
The Coca-Cola Company first used a
polar bear
The polar bear (''Ursus maritimus'') is a large bear native to the Arctic and nearby areas. It is closely related to the brown bear, and the two species can Hybrid (biology), interbreed. The polar bear is the largest extant species of bear ...
characters used as mascots for the Coca-Cola Company
The Coca-Cola Company is an American multinational corporation founded in 1892. It manufactures, sells and markets soft drinks including Coca-Cola, other non-alcoholic beverage concentrates and syrups, and alcoholic beverages. Its stock is lis ...
. The animated
Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby image, still images are manipulated to create Motion picture, moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on cel, transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and e ...
characters have been a popular element in Coca-Cola advertising since 1993, and the company sells merchandise, such as tumblers and plush versions of the bears.
History
The Coca-Cola Company first used a polar bear
The polar bear (''Ursus maritimus'') is a large bear native to the Arctic and nearby areas. It is closely related to the brown bear, and the two species can Hybrid (biology), interbreed. The polar bear is the largest extant species of bear ...
in a 1922 French advertisement depicting a bear squirting Coca-Cola into the mouth of a thirsty anthropomorphized sun. However, the use of the characters was sporadic until 1993. That year, the Coca-Cola polar bears appeared in an animated film called ''Northern Lights'' (which was part of the "Always Coca-Cola" promotion that debuted during the commercial breaks of Game 3 of the 1993 NBA Finals
The 1993 NBA Finals was the championship series of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 1992–93 season, and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. It featured the two-time defending NBA champion and Eastern Conference champion Chi ...
) where they gathered to drink Coca-Cola and watch the Aurora Borealis
An aurora ( aurorae or auroras),
also commonly known as the northern lights (aurora borealis) or southern lights (aurora australis), is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly observed in high-latitude regions (around the Arc ...
, which was successful with consumers. The use of polar bears in the 1993 ad campaign was, according to creator Ken Stewart, inspired by his labrador retriever dog which resembled a polar bear. The polar bear has since become "one of the most popular symbols of Coca-Cola." Following the success of ''Northern Lights'', the Coca-Cola Company has produced many more commercials and films with anthropomorphic polar bears, as well as products such as tumblers and plush bears.
Winning an injunction
In 1995, the Coca-Cola Company won an injunction against the Polar Corporation, a family-run soft-drink company, for running an advertisement in which a polar bear threw away a can of Coca-Cola. The court ruled that the Polar Corporation could continue to use the polar bear character, but that it could not show it throwing away Coca-Cola.Super Bowl campaign
In 2012, the Coca-Cola Company created a live advertising campaign that had polar bears react to theSuper Bowl
The Super Bowl is the annual History of the NFL championship, league championship game of the National Football League (NFL) of the United States. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966 NFL season, 1966 (with the excep ...
, which was described as "a brilliant marketing move".
Controversy
In 2011, the Coca-Cola Company pledged to donate US$2 million to theWorld Wildlife Fund
The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) is a Swiss-based international non-governmental organization founded in 1961 that works in the field of wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment. It was formerly named the ...
to protect polar bears, but has been criticised for giving such a relatively small amount of money compared to their advertising budget and profits.
In 2011, the company changed its drink cans from red to white with images of polar bears for the Holiday season, but consumers protested the change. The Coca-Cola Company reverted the change after one month.
See also
*Cola wars
The Cola wars are the long-time rivalry between soft drink producers The Coca-Cola Company and PepsiCo, who have engaged in mutually-targeted marketing campaigns for the direct competition between each company's product lines, especially their ...
* '' The Polar Bears''
* '' The Real Bears''
References
{{Coca-Cola Fictional polar bears Bear mascots Corporate mascots Anthropomorphic bears Promotional campaigns by Coca-Cola Drink advertising characters Mascots introduced in 1993 American mascots Christmas characters