In July, it will be 70 years since Finns got a taste of Coca-Cola and tentacles at the Helsinki Summer Olympics for the first time.
Coca-Cola donated 720,000 bottles of soft drinks to the Brotherhood of War Invalids for sale during the Olympics. One bottle cost 20 marks. Coca-Cola Finland
The Finns know very well what happened in 1952. Armi Kuusela was crowned Miss Universe, Finland received the last war reparations for the Soviet Union, and the Summer Olympics were held in Helsinki.
For the first time, two drinks were served at the Olympics, which made a lasting impression on Finns: the soft drink Coca-Cola and the combination of grapefruit and gin.
July 2 marks the 70th anniversary of Coca-Cola’s arrival in Finland. Officially, however, the Olympics began on July 19, when Paavo Nurmi lit an Olympic flame. Lonkero, on the other hand, was invented for the Olympics as a thirst for drink for tourists to facilitate the work of Helsinki restaurants.
Drinking the birth story of both involves many small nipple details. Thanks to its rich history, drinks are remembered for many other things today.
From the Normandy landing to the Helsinki summer
Coca-Cola was imported to Finland from Amsterdam when 720,000 bottles were transported to the Helsinki Olympics. The production of the drink did not start in Finland until five years later.
The Coca-Cola logo has changed over the years, but so have the bottles. The dark soft drink came to Finland in bottles resembling the current 250 ml glass bottles made of green glass. In the 50s, bottles were transported in yellow wooden baskets. The delivery cars were also yellow. There was only one flavor option.
It sank into the race audience. Already on the first day of the race, 70,000 bottles of Coca-Cola were sold.
Coca-Cola bottles looked a little different in the 50s. Coca-Cola Finland
The Coca-Cola Company had been at the Olympics since the 1928 Amsterdam Games. The European Coca-Cola company at the time was looking for an organization for the Helsinki Games to donate race drinks to.
There were about 95,000 men injured in the war in Finland, many of whom were only in their twenties. A Brotherhood of War Invalids had been formed for them, with whom Coca-Cola began a project known as Operation Muskeli.
The fraternity received almost FIM 8 million from the sale of Coca-Cola.
Few people know that Coca-Cola bottles are considered to be a facilitator of the Finnish bottle return system. Transport equipment, refrigeration equipment, yellow baskets, but also bottles had been agreed to be returned to the owner companies after the Games. Thus, all greenish bottles were collected empty and sent back.
The steamship M / S Marvic, which transported drinks to Finland, was not just any cargo ship. The Marvic had been used during the Second World War in the Normandy landings, and after the war the ship was refurbished for a new purpose.
Coca-Cola has had several spectacular marketing campaigns over the decades. Cola has been criticized, for example, for marketing to children, and in 2013 the company promised to stop marketing the drink to children under 12 years of age. The diligent sticking of a cola drink and other carbonated lemonades makes frost especially on the teeth.
Athletes at a kiosk for war invalids. Coca-Cola served as a thirst quencher for both spectators and athletes. Coca-Cola Finland
An Italian athlete buying a soft drink. Coca-Cola Finland
The Summer Olympics were originally scheduled to take place in Helsinki in 1940, but were canceled due to the Winter War. Hartwall
Point of sale at the stadium. Coca-Cola Finland
Significant symbolism on the tentacles of the tentacle
There are equally exciting details about the birth story of Long Drink. Did you know, for example, that there were two tentacles at first?
Brandy Long Drink was another of the original tentacle flavors developed for Olympic guests. However, the gin-based drink was immediately more popular.
The unique payment for the tentacle came from Finnish handmade gin, sour grapefruit and water. The end result was a premixed drink now known as the Original Long Drink.
Hartwall’s tentacles are known for their iconic label with vertical stripes. The stripes symbolize the white lines on the running track of the Helsinki Olympic Stadium. They are reminiscent of the birth of a tentacle, also known as a national drink.
The poster shows both the stripes on the stadium’s running track and the current look of the tentacle can. Hartwall
The tentacle could be called a national drink for many reasons. In 1998, the chairman of the Finnish Tentacle Association was founded, with two great tentacle friends behind him. Jukka Tikanmäki as well as the secretary Juha Jämsä.
– The Finnish tentacle did not have any interest groups or activities around it. Together with Jukka, we felt it was important to set up an association that would maintain the spirit of a great drink. We are also still the only one in our species, which means that at least no such thing has been born yet, Jämsä says.
The association has also organized tentacle festivals.
Today, the gray drink is dedicated to its own day, and the range of flavors in the tentacle has expanded considerably since 70 years ago.