Myths and Rumours

'Coca-Cola' was originally green in color. This rumour has appeared on the Internet and within email forwards.

This is indeed just a rumour. Although the famous contour bottle is green, 'Coca-Cola' has always been brown in colour, since its start in 1886.

Soft drinks can be used by farmers as pesticides for their crops

Soft drinks do not act in a similar way to pesticides when applied to the ground or crops. There is no scientific basis for this and the use of soft drinks for this purpose would be totally ineffective. Our products are world class and safe. The treated water used to make our beverages meets the highest international standards.

Soft drinks can dissolve teeth

One question that is frequently asked about soft drinks is whether they cause teeth to erode or dissolve. The often cited case of a tooth in a glass of 'Coca-Cola' dissolving in no way creates a real life situation.

The teeth in your mouth are constantly bathed by saliva, which is vital to the wellbeing of our teeth. This helps neutralize both the acid in soft drinks and the acid which is produced when plaque bacteria digest sugar and other carbohydrates. When you drink a 'Coca-Cola', your teeth are exposed for only a short amount of time rather than sitting for days in a glass. Any acidic drink, including fruit juice, would produce similar results. Globally, tooth decay has declined significantly over the last 20 years, even as soft drink consumption has increased, thanks to improved dental hygiene. The widespread use of fluoride in drinking water, toothpastes and mouthwashes has greatly improved dental health, making teeth more resistant to acid attack from plaque bacteria.

'Coca-Cola' Spam emails

Unfortunately, the incredible power of the Internet is sometimes used to spread false information about our products. There are several baseless rumors circulating on the Internet claiming to part of or affiliated with a 'Coca-Cola'-sponsored promotion or marketing program. We've gathered some of those rumors here so that you can easily get the facts about these false claims.

The Coca-Cola Company has learned of several emails in circulation which falsely claim that the recipient of the email has been randomly selected for a cash prize from the Company. Subject lines for the emails have ranged from "The Coca-Cola Award Notification" to "The Coca-Cola Promo Winning Notification" to "The Coca-Cola Worldwide Christmas Promo" or other similar titles. Recent versions of the email hoax indicate a purported joint promotion with the British American Tobacco Company, an annual mid-year 'Coca-Cola' promotional draw (which includes the name of former 'Coca-Cola' executive vice president, Carl Ware), or a car giveaway in Hong Kong. The emails include formal language that makes them look "official," and are sometimes designed to look legitimate by including images or photographs, a "secret pin code" or reference/ticket number and contact information for a Coca-Cola representative.

The following are samples of email hoaxes that have been in circulation recently.

NOTE

This sample list does not include all 'Coca-Cola' email hoaxes in circulation. Other email hoaxes may exist and may not be included here

The Coca-Cola Company is in no way associated with these emails or programmes. We are not a sponsor and our name and trademarks are used here without permission. We are currently investigating the situation. This appears to be a form of fraud known as "phishing", wherein perpetrators attempt to develop relationships with victims in order to obtain personal and financial information. Common signs that a message may be a part of an email scam or phishing campaign include:

Spelling and grammatical errors in the email;
Improper use of company trademarks;
Sender's use of free, non-corporate email accounts (such as Yahoo!, AOL and Hotmail);
Requests for personal information and the promise of quick financial gain.

Overall, if it looks too good to be true, it probably is. Do not reply to these emails with any information.

If you have already responded to this type of email, we recommend that you immediately discontinue all communications with the source of the email and contact your local authorities for advice on how to proceed to protect your personal information and privacy.