1960s–70s branding: 'The Real Thing' and Hilltop

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:

Many thanks to our fantastic Fall ‘25 Season partners:

• J.P. Morgan Payments
• WorkOS
• Shopify
• Sentry — Link to ACQ Cassette Players, use code “audiophile”

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 Outs:

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

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‍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.