November 24, 2025

Coca-Cola

4 hours 1 minute

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:

Legora: https://bit.ly/acquiredlegora
Vanta: https://bit.ly/acquiredvanta
ServiceNow: https://bit.ly/acquiredservicenow26
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Links:

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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 Outs:

SkiErg
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Claude
Nike Vomero Plus
Hermanos Gutiérrez

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(00:00) - Start

(00:41) - Intro

(05:52) - Patent Medicines & the Birth of an Industry

(12:13) - Dr. John Pemberton & the "Miracle Drug" Cocaine

(16:40) - Creating the Secret Formula (1886)

(22:14) - Frank Robinson's Genius & the First Coupon

(33:01) - Asa Candler & Building a National Brand (1890s)

(42:11) - The $1 Bottling Deal: A Fortuitous Mistake

(54:43) - Protecting the "Real Thing": Lawsuits & the Contour Bottle

(01:07:34) - Robert Woodruff: The Boss Takes Over (1923)

(01:16:16) - Creating Lifestyle Advertising & Santa Claus

(01:28:08) - Standardization, Gas Stations & Early Global Growth

(01:36:49) - Pepsi: The First Real Competitor Emerges

(01:44:51) - World War II: The Greatest Sampling Program in History

(01:55:23) - The Cola Wars Begin & the McDonald's Partnership (1950s)

(02:22:08) - The Pepsi Challenge (1975)

(02:40:08) - New Coke: The Worst Marketing Blunder Ever (1985)

(03:07:11) - Buffett's Investment & the "Total Beverage Company"

(03:36:01) - Analysis: Why Did Coca-Cola Work?

(03:41:29) - 7 Powers

(03:48:20) - Quintessence

(03:56:26) - Carve-Outs + Outro

‍Note: Acquired hosts and guests may hold assets discussed in this episode. This podcast is not investment advice, and is intended for informational and entertainment purposes only. You should do your own research and make your own independent decisions when considering any financial transactions.

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