Tony Lopes

Frank Robertson first penned the Coca Cola trademarked logo seen above. He was Coca Cola inventor John Pemberton’s book keeper – and he had excellent penmanship. The logo above is shown in Red Spencerian script.

Red is the colour that instantly identifies Coca Cola as a brand, and the company has seldom strayed from this firmly held brand guideline. This consistency is part of the reason why Coca Cola is such a significant global brand.

Coca Cola was also attributed with changing the colour of Santa Clause himself from green to red – although this falls into the realm of urban legend.

What is the official Coca Cola red? Here’s an official notification about how the logo should be presented:

Description of Mark: The mark consists of the words “COCA-COLA” against a background of bubbles and curved horizontal ribbons in various colors. Color is claimed as a feature of the mark. The curved horizontal ribbons behind the words “COCA-COLA” are in dark red (Pantone Matching System 484) alternating with Coke Red. The curved horizontal ribbons below the words “COCA-COLA” are in dark red (Pantone Matching System 484), silver with white dots and a white swath (the silver is Pantone Matching System 8001), Coke Red, white, and yellow (Pantone Matching System 116). The words “COCA-COLA” are in white with edging in black and silver (the silver is Pantone Matching System 8001).

Source: http://tarr.uspto.gov/servlet/tarr?regser=serial&entry=78149708

To add to the debate, this post indicates that in fact there is no official “coke red”.

Any ideas?