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Coca-Cola, one of the world’s most iconic brands, today celebrates its 125th Anniversary in Ireland and across the globe. On this day, 125 years ago, the first Coca-Cola was sold in Atlanta, Georgia. To mark this milestone in Ireland Coca-Cola has rolled out a nationwide campaign that revolves around ‘Founders Day’ on Sunday, May 8th.

The campaign includes new TV advertising featuring the song ‘I’d like to teach the world to sing’, an online and digital campaign featuring a viral retro poster maker which allows fans to upload a picture of themselves to create their very own classic Coca-Cola advertisement, sampling activities across Ireland and the introduction of a limited edition Coca-Cola Heritage Bottle.

In a further move and as a personal thank you to its loyal customers on the island of Ireland Coca-Cola has launched the ‘Coca-Cola 125 Years Thank You Fund’ a Fund that will grant €125,000/£110,619 to non-profit community, voluntary and charitable organisations across the island of Ireland.

The ‘Coca-Cola 125 Years Thank You Fund’ has been developed and will be operated in partnership with the Northern Ireland Council for Voluntary Action (NICVA) and The Wheel in Dublin. It has been designed to support projects and initiatives that are having a positive impact on the quality of life of communities on the island of Ireland. A total of 15 grants will be made – ten of €10,000/£8,849 and five of €5,000/£4,424.

Giving Something Back to the Community

Speaking today Marcel Martin, General Manager for Coca-Cola HBC on the island of Ireland, said: “Our 125th anniversary is a great day for Coca-Cola and we are celebrating this milestone on the island of Ireland with a range of celebratory activities including the launch of the ‘Coca-Cola 125 Years Thank You Fund’. Coca-Cola would not be where it is today without the loyal support of our consumers over many years, and we feel that giving a little something back to their communities is an appropriate way to thank them.”

Commenting on the Coca-Cola 125 Years Thank You Fund Seamus McAleavy, CEO of NICVA said: “It is wonderful to see an iconic brand like Coca-Cola choose to celebrate its anniversary through the establishment of a community fund. The approach that Coca-Cola is taking means that its anniversary celebrations will have a long-term sustainable impact on communities in Northern Ireland and throughout the country. We are delighted to be associated with this initiative.”

The Application Process To apply to the ‘Coca-Cola 125 Years Thank-You Fund’ all you have to do is log onto www.coca-cola.ie to complete an online application form. Applications can be submitted online only from today, 8th of May 2011, up until midnight on the 30th of June 2011. After the closing date, Coca-Cola in partnership with the Northern Ireland Council for Voluntary Action NICVA (www.nicva.org) and the Wheel, Dublin will create a shortlist of 45 which will be published on the website on the 1st September.

The shortlist will then be open to the public to vote. The public vote will be live from the 1st of September – 30th of September 2011. The public vote will account for 50% of the total vote with the judging panel awarding the remaining 50% of votes available. The 15 winners of the grants will be announced during October 2011.

The €125,000/ £110,619 will be granted to non-profit community, voluntary and charitable organisations throughout the island of Ireland to help support initiatives focused on the following areas; Social and Education Programmes aimed at Youth, Healthy and Active Lifestyles and Environmental Leadership.

A Time for Celebration

In addition to the launch of the Fund a number of other celebratory activities will take place in Ireland over the coming weeks to mark Coca-Cola’s 125th anniversary. These include:

• A new TV advertising campaign has been launched which features the song ‘I’d like to teach the world to sing’, which was first imagined in Shannon airport on a forced stopover as a Coca-Cola creative director saw the frustrations of the grounded passengers dissipate as they shared stories over Coca-Cola’s in the airport lounge.
• A huge outdoor and TV campaign which 60% of adults will see at least four times a day. These will feature classic images from vintage Coca-Cola advertisements.
• An online and digital campaign featuring a viral retro poster maker which allows fans to upload a picture of themselves to create their very own classic Coca-Cola advertisement.
• To say thank you, 30,000 samples of Coca-Cola are being given out in Belfast, Derry, Galway, Limerick, Cork and Dublin.
• A special item to mark the 125th year of Coca-Cola, the ‘Coca-Cola Heritage Bottle’ will be launched next week and will be a must-have for many Coca-Cola memorabilia collectors.

Marcel Martin, General Manager for Coca-Cola HBC on the island of Ireland added: "We are calling on eligible organisations to apply online through our website, coca-cola.ie and to outline to us the kinds of projects that they would like to roll out with this funding. Later this summer there will be an opportunity for the public to vote for their favourite project so I would encourage everyone to keep an eye on the website in the weeks ahead. The Coca-Cola 125 Years Thank You Fund is our way of giving something back to the communities across the island of Ireland."

Coca-Cola HBC Ireland General Manager, Marcel Martin joins Jenny Curran to celebrate the launch of the Coca-Cola 125 Years Thank You Fund

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For more information or to apply, please click here or contact:
Public Affairs and Communications Manager
Coca-Cola HBC Ireland
Phone number: + 353 1 880 7100