History of the Coca‑Cola logo
Discover the story behind Coca‑Cola’s famous trademark
Our distinctive logo is recognised the world over on Coca‑Cola adverts, bottles and cans - but it has also undergone a few changes over the last century and a quarter. The timeline below captures some of the key moments in our logo’s history.
1886 – What’s in a name?
When John S. Pemberton created the formula for his new drink in 1886, his partner and bookkeeper, Frank M. Robinson, suggested the name Coca‑Cola, thinking that ‘the two Cs w
ould look well in advertising’. He wanted to create a unique logo to go with it, and experimented writing the company’s name in elaborate Spencerian script, a form of penmanship characteristic of the time.
1887-1890s – Inserting the ‘Trademark’
These two important little words were added to the tail of the first ‘C’.
1890-1891 – Extra swirls
For just one year, our logo changed its appearance quite dramatically with this extra swirly script. Afterwards, the logo returned to its previous font.
1941-1960s – Tail tweaked
In this version, the words ‘Trademark Registered’ moved out of the tail of the ‘C’ and were noted as ‘Reg. US Pat Off’ below the Coca‑Cola name.
1958-1960s – A fishy shape
This period saw the introduction of the Arciform or ‘fishtail’ logo.
1969 – That famous white wave
The Arden Square logo was unveiled to the world. In this red box, the familiar Coca‑Cola script was underlined with the iconic white ‘wave’ known as the ‘Dynamic Ribbon Device’, which is still used to this day. Find out more about the meaning behind this famous white twist here.
2003 – Keeping it real
With the introduction of the ‘Coca‑Cola... Real’ campaign, the logo’s ‘white wave’ was enhanced with a shock of yellow and some floating bubbles.
2007 – A classic design
A simple, yet bold, design with a single white ribbon.
2011 – 125 years of happiness
Coca‑Cola's 125th birthday logo sees bubbles bursting from our famous Contour Bottle – a celebration of our past, present and future.