Mining the Past

Prepared Foods, Feb, 2002

Coca-Cola Company has placed its extensive marketing records in an online archive, making more than 24,000 items--some dating back to 1886--accessible to its employees and agencies. The archive features video, print images and text documents, as well as information relating to the items.

Items range from calendars created by Norman Rockwell to corporate memoranda to the famous commercial which saw a chorus strive to "teach the world to sing." The digital archive has a capacity for millions of images and is accessible to approved users on their desktop through a link from Coca-Cola's intranet site.

The project reflects the efforts of many companies to mine their own advertising pasts in new campaigns. Life cereal and Mr. Peanut snacks are just two examples of advertising efforts that have revived campaigns, characters or commercials from the past. Some experts believe this return to familiar icons will only grow in reaction in the wake of the events of September 11, with consumers looking for what they feel are the comforts of how life used to be.