Write your own caption - a soldier's Christmas

I’ve talked about Coke’s role with the troops during World War II, and our ties to Christmas with the Coca-Cola Santa Claus.

Our Santa was created by artist Haddon Sundblom. But Sundblom took a different approach to Santa with this 1947 painting showing soldiers getting ready for Christmas. (Of course, the soldier is dressing as Santa only because the real St. Nick was busy at the time! This is a family site!)

The game: For this Friday Fun contest, write a clever, funny or – to honor the season – touching caption for this Coca-Cola image. Submit it to me through the “comments” section below.

Please send me your captions by Tuesday, Dec. 23, at 8 a.m. (EST). (The deadline is shortened due to the holiday next week.)

The prize: I’ll announce the winner that same day – Dec. 23. The person who sends me my favorite caption will win a Coca-Cola prize from my “goodie closet.”

I’ve always loved this painting, and I can’t wait to read your captions!

Minute Maid Tingle Bells punch recipe

As you get ready for holiday get-togethers, I thought you’d like this punch recipe, made with Sprite and Minute Maid lemonade. (Don’t you love that we get two of our drinks in this punch?)

The recipe is from a 1967 magazine ad, and I think it still stands up!

Tingle Bells Punch

2 quarts cranberry juice
1 can (6-oz) frozen Minute Maid lemonade concentrate, thawed
½ cup maraschino cherry juice
60 ounces of Sprite, well chilled

Combine all ingredients. Serve over ice in punch bowl. Garnish with lemon slice, orange wedge and maraschino cherry alternated on cocktail picks.

Makes about 40 4-ounce servings.

This recipe deserves a try if only for its great name! Happy holidays!

See our other recipes.

We have a winner - Polar Bear Parade

Last week’s Friday Fun contest featured this 1952 photo from a Spring festival in Peru.

I loved the polar bear parade float, and thought it would be a good way to help celebrate our Coca-Cola Polar Bear’s 15th birthday.

We got some very “punny” entries – many based on things being un“bear”able.

• The real "Polar Express."
• The only bear you will ever ride
• This is not an old wives' tale. It proves a polar bear will go anywhere, anytime for an ice cold Coca-Cola.
• The gas mileage on this thing is unbearable
• I can't bear to be in a parade without a Coke.
• It got too unbearably cold back home, so I'm hitting the road and I'm coming to a town near you!
• IF IT SNOWS NO ONE WILL BE ABLE TOO SEE ME. WILL THEY?
• Now This Is Bear-Back Riding!
• Even polar bears like Coke floats.
• Taking a spin into the next generation with Coke! Coming to a generation near you!
• Ride a hypnotized animal - free!
• I'm glad that stupid target is behind me and not in front of me!
• Parade viewers could only watch in horror as the huge saw blade started cutting through the polar bear and the girl sitting atop the bear was about to be turned into a half sister.
• If I look straight ahead, show no emotion, and stand perfectly still, the kids will never know I'm not bilingual.

The winner is: “The gas mileage on this thing is unbearable” sent in by PMTushin. Congratulations! You’ve won a Coca-Cola prize from my “goodie closet.”

Thanks to everyone who sent in a caption. I hope you come back tomorrow for our next game!

50 years of Coke's fishtail design

In the world of Coca-Cola collecting, it’s not unusual to hear people talk about a “fishtail.”

That refers to the Coke logo shown at the top of this calendar – red with indentions on both sides. (The “fishtail” term comes from the fact that each side looks like the tail of a fish.)

Technically it’s called the “Arciform” logo, but fishtail is more common.

The Arciform logo was unveiled in 1958 and used until 1965. You can see it on metal signs, in magazine ads, on coolers, on paper cups and more from that time.

We have one of these calendars (from 1962) in the Collectors Corner of the World of Coca-Cola in Atlanta, designed to look like the dream living room of a Coke collector.

A calendar like this one would sell for around $450.

Happy 50th birthday to the fishtail and, as always, happy collecting!

Who modeled for the Coca-Cola Santa?

Our Coca-Cola Santa Claus first appeared in advertising in 1931, and he continues to be a presence in our ads today. This Santa really helped shape the modern-day image of St. Nick. Before this, Santa appeared in a variety of images -- even as a scary elf.

Coca-Cola asked artist Haddon Sundblom to illustrate Santa Claus for our advertising, specifically to encourage people to drink Coca-Cola even in the cold weather months. (That may seem odd today, but -- at the time -- many people thought of Coke as a drink only for the hot summer.)

But who was the model for our jolly, very human image of Santa?

In the beginning, Sundblom painted Santa Claus using a live model -- his friend, Lou Prentiss, a retired salesman. When Prentiss passed away, Sundblom used himself as a model, painting by looking into a mirror. After the 1930s, he used photographs instead of his own image.

One year, Santa’s large belt was shown backwards in Coke ads. (Rumor has it, it was because Sundblom was painting while looking in a mirror, and painted the belt in reverse.) People loved the Coca-Cola Santa, and sent us letters about the belt. Another time, Santa appeared without a wedding ring, leading our fans to ask what happened to Mrs. Claus!

But Santa wasn’t the only image requiring a model.

The children who sometimes appeared with Santa Claus were based on Sundblom’s neighbors in Arizona. Although the two children living next door were both girls, the artist simply changed one to a boy in his paintings!

And the 1964 Santa Claus image I’ve shown here -- the last original artwork Sundblom created for Coca-Cola -- features a dog that also had a real-life model. The dog was actually a grey poodle belonging to the neighborhood florist. Sundblom changed the fur to black to make the dog stand out.

That’s what we would call “artistic license” today!

Coke's Holiday Caravan tours Germany

The other day I talked about the Coca-Cola Holiday Caravan commercials and truck tour, and I mentioned that the trucks have toured around the world.

This year Germany is hosting its 12th annual Caravan truck tour!

Back in 1998, nearly 50,000 people gathered in Berlin to welcome the Coca-Cola Caravan as it entered the city through the Brandenburg Gate. That’s quite an impressive crowd!

Ten years later, this year the Caravan will visit more than 50 German cities between November 28 and December 21. And for the first time, the tour kicked off with a “truck parade”’ inspired by the TV commercial.

The theme of this year’s tour is “wishes.” At every tour stop, people will be invited to pass on the Christmas feeling by sending personal wishes to family and friends. One of the trucks even has a “studio” allowing people to send e-cards!

Another one of the Coca-Cola Christmas trucks will take a separate route as a charity truck. This truck will make 11 stops to collect wishes from kids and adults – compiling what is probably the world’s biggest wish list.

Coke in Germany is even celebrating the holidays in the virtual world (at www.coke.de). Through a link-up with Google Maps, you can virtually decorate your loved ones’ houses and send the pictures as a Christmas e-card. (I think that’s so cool!)

I loved what Germany is doing to continue the Caravan tradition. I don’t speak or read German, but I was able to figure out the Caravan information on the Coke Germany website. I could even find the schedule!

If you visit the Truck Tour in Germany or anywhere else, let me know how it was!

Sprite Spicy Punch recipe

If you’re looking for a special drink to serve at your holiday party, try this one!

This Spicy Punch recipe is from a 1965 magazine ad for Sprite, and I think it sounds great! I also love this line from the ad: “Holiday nogs and grogs take on a whole new dimension when you spark them with the natural tartness of Sprite.”

Sprite Spicy Punch

Try this Spicy Punch recipe just for openers.

¼ teaspoon ground allspice
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup fresh lemon juice
144 ounces of Sprite
(food coloring, if desired)

Combine all ingredients except Sprite. Add food coloring, if desired. Chill. Add cold Sprite just before serving.

Makes 38 4-ounce servings.

If desired, add 1 part blended whiskey to 5 parts punch. Also good with brandy or rum.

Enjoy! And if you serve this, let me know how your guests liked it.

See our other recipes.

Write your own caption - Polar Bear Parade

I’ve mentioned that our Coca-Cola Polar Bear turns 15 this year.

For this week’s Friday Fun contest, I have a very different polar bear. This parade float is from a “Spring Festival” parade in Peru in 1952. A polar bear wouldn't be part of a spring festival in Atlanta, but the picture is fun! (And I don’t understand the Spirograph behind the bear!)

The game: Write a funny, clever or “punny” caption for this photo. Send it to me using the “comments” section below. The deadline for submissions is 5 p.m. (EST) on Wednesday, Dec. 17.

The prize: I’ll announce the winner (i.e., my favorite or the funniest) on Thursday, Dec. 18. The winner will receive a Coca-Cola prize from my “goodie closet.”

I can’t wait to see what you come up with!

See the winning caption.

Coca-Cola Santa dolls

This is the time of year when many Coke collectors bring out a great holiday piece: the Coca-Cola Santa doll.

A lot of people – even those who don’t consider themselves “collectors” – have these dolls. I’ve heard a lot of stories from people who have hung on to these Santa dolls specifically because they were a part of their annual holiday decorating traditions that has been extended to a new generation.

The original Santa Claus dolls, made by the Rushton Company, an Atlanta-based toy manufacturer, were first given out by Coca-Cola bottlers as promotional items in 1957. Additional “models” (with changes such as different colors of boots) were produced during the late 1950s and 1960s.

Though the dolls were first sold for just $3 each (in 1957), today Coca-Cola Santa dolls from the 1950s and 60s sell for around $125. There is an African-American Santa doll (such as the one I’ve pictured here, from 1971) that sells for around $100.

As with every kind of Coke collectible item, of course, condition impacts price. And you have to make sure you don’t have a recently made doll, such as the 75th Anniversary model from 2006.

If you can find a Coca-Cola Santa today for anything near the $3 original price, you have found a real bargain!

We have a winner - pun contest

Last week for the Friday Fun contest, I asked you to spot the food-related puns in this Coca-Cola image. The example I gave was “Angel Food Cake” – the slice of cake with the halo on it.

Well, this proved more of a challenge than I’d expected, but here are the puns I found:

1. Angel Food Cake
2. Apple Pie
3. Club Sandwich
4. Crown Roast
5. Diced carrots
6. Head Cheese
7. Hot Dog
8. Iced Tea
9. Key Lime Pie
10. Lox (Locks)
11. Mousse (Moose)
12. Wonton (One Ton) Soup
13. Peking Duck
14. Smoked Herring
15. Spring chicken
16. Sub Sandwich
17. TV Dinner

And the winner is: Ray, who identified 12 of the puns, including a few I had not found. (Those were: Bananas Foster, Chicken A La King and Toll House Cookies.)

Congratulations to Ray (who is a three-time repeat Friday Fun winner)!

I hope you’ll all check back tomorrow for our next Friday Fun contest. If finding these puns was too daunting, we’re returning to a caption contest tomorrow! I hope to hear from you then!