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In pop culture, one brand has stood the test of time. Coca-Cola. The brand has weaved its way into the fabric of our shared cinematic experiences in many instances.
From science-fiction classics to satirical comedies, the ubiquitous red and white logo has silently made its mark.
This is a list of times Coca-Cola has been in the movies:
In 1982, Steven Spielberg’s blockbuster E.T. revolutionized product placement in Hollywood.
Its most famous instance was when Mars Inc. declined to have M&M’s featured in the film. Hershey’s seized the opportunity. They famously placed their new Reese’s Pieces candy in many scenes. It became famously associated with the alien character.
While Hershey’s enjoyed the prominent spotlight, Coca-Cola also expertly executed product placements of its famous beverage.
Coca-Cola was naturally integrated throughout the film. With various scenes of its famous bottle in the background or with characters nonchalantly taking random sips of the can.
In 1985, an independent Australian film titled “The Coca-Cola Kid,” created an unusual spectacle in cinema history.
It featured the Coca-Cola brand without any sponsorship or endorsement from the company.
It was a satirical film. Following an ambitious Coca-Cola executive’s mission to boost market share in Australia.
Stanley Kubrick’s 1964 masterpiece “Dr. Strangelove” emerged at the height of Cold War nuclear anxiety. It was a dark comedy that critiqued both military madness and American consumer culture.
There was a notable scene where an officer shoots open a Coca-Cola vending machine for an emergency phone change.
In the scene, the officer is warned he’ll “have to answer to the Coca-Cola company” even as the nuclear apocalypse looms.
It was meant to be a satirical message about corporate power’s absurd reach into military affairs.
In 1980, South African director Jamie Uys released “The Gods Must Be Crazy.”
It was a satirical comedy that follows the chaos unleashed when a Coca-Cola bottle is dropped from an airplane into a remote San tribe’s community in the Kalahari Desert.
The glass bottle is both a plot device and a metaphor for the disruptive impact of modern consumer culture on traditional societies.
The seemingly miraculous object initially fascinates the tribe but eventually leads to some major conflicts among the tribesmen.
The film was an international success.
The Cola Wars of the 1980s found an unexpected battleground in the hit movie, “Back to the Future” (1985).
The sci-fi classic has both Coca-Cola and Pepsi making notable appearances within the film’s time-traveling narrative.
There is a clever integration of the two cola giants at its peak in the memorable “Pepsi Free” scene, where a 1950s soda jerk’s confusion over Marty McFly’s modern beverage request created a humorous cultural collision.
In the 2013 film “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty,” director Ben Stiller transformed a 1970s Coca-Cola commercial into a central plot device.
It involved weaving the iconic “I’d like to buy the world a Coke” advertisement into the narrative structure. Elevating it beyond mere product placement to become an essential story element that guides the protagonist’s journey.
Stanley Kubrick’s 1962 adaptation of Vladimir Nabokov’s controversial novel “Lolita” created a scandalous situation for The Coca-Cola Company.
The scene in question featured a Coca-Cola in one of its most provocative on-screen appearances of all time.
It showed the young protagonist suggestively sipping Coca-Cola through a straw. It made an innocent soft drink into a powerful symbol of lost innocence within the film’s troubling narrative.
In Matthew Vaughn’s 2014 action-comedy “Kingsman: The Secret Service,” there was a memorable scene featuring tech billionaire villain Valentine (Samuel L. Jackson) subverting fine dining expectations by serving McDonald’s and Coca-Cola to spy Harry Hart in an opulent dining room.
The juxtaposition of fast food and luxury settings served as both comedic relief and social commentary throughout the filmverse.
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The James Bond film franchise, known for its sophisticated portrayal of luxury brands and iconic vodka martinis. In 2012’s “Skyfall”, the titular character conspicuously deviated from tradition by drinking Heineken.
This product placement caused significant backlash from Bond purists, who felt it betrayed the character’s established persona.
However, Coca-Cola maintained its subtle yet persistent presence in the film. As it has in the majority of other Bond films.
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