Coca-Cola's iconic bottle design turns 100

Did you know: Curved design was inspired by a cocoa bean.

Coca-Cola is marking the 100th anniversary this year of its instantly recognisable Contour bottle.

Coca-Cola's 1915 Contour bottle.

In 1915, Coca-Cola – whose then straight-sided bottle was easily replicable – launched a competition across the US inviting glass manufacturers to create "a bottle so distinct you would recognize it by feeling in the dark." It was the Roots Glass Company in Indiana that won with its curved design, inspired by a cocoa bean.The bottle was revealed a year later, launching in the green-tinged glass that's known as Georgia Green in honour of Coca-Cola's home state.

The term "Contour", says Coca-Coca, was actually coined by French publication Le Monde in 1925, while its trademark status came in 1951, a year after it became the first commercial product to appear on the cover of Time magazine.

That "Contour" bottle has gone through several iterations since – a King Size bottle in 1955, a Contour can in 1960, a plastic version in 1993 and an aluminum design in 2005 – but it's kept the essential elements of its easily identifiable shape, which has been immortalised by artists including Andy Warhol and Salvador Dali.Coca-Cola is marking the bottle's 100th anniversary – which is officially designated as Nov 16, 2015 – with an exhibition in Atlanta, “100 Years in a Bottle”, which opened on Feb 26.

A web portal lets visitors view vintage ads and take a virtual tour of items related to the bottle's history on display in Atlanta.

American photographer and filmmaker David LaChapelle has created a short film for the occasion. – AFP Relaxnews