Coca-Cola

About this episode

Coca-Cola is… sugar water. And somehow it’s also America, Christmas, summertime, friendship and happiness. Today we tell the story of how The Coca-Cola Company amazingly transmogrified a beverage into emotion in all of our collective psyches, and ALSO built one of the most incredible scale economy businesses of all-time. And oh yeah, there’s also cocaine, WW2, Mad Men, Warren Buffett, James Dean, Bill Cosby, Michael Jackson, Michael Ovitz, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, McDonald’s and Monsanto. So cozy up to the fire with your favorite images of Santa Claus and Polar Bears and enjoy an ice-cold episode of Acquired — always delicious, always refreshing. Sponsors: • Vanta: https://bit.ly/acquiredvanta • ServiceNow: https://bit.ly/acquiredservicenow26 • Legora: https://bit.ly/acquiredlegora • Statsig: https://bit.ly/acquiredstatsig26 Links: • Sign up for email updates and vote on future episodes! • The Hilltop ad / Mad Men finale • Pepsi Challenge commercials • Pepsi’s Michael Jackson commercials • Coke’s Bill Cosby commercials • Two liter bottles inflating • Worldly Partners’ Multi-Decade Coca-Cola Study • For God, Country, and Coca-Cola • Secret Formula • All episode sources Carve Out