One of the most famous shapes in the world is the iconic contour fluted lines of the Coca-Cola bottle. Renowned as a design classic, the bottle has been celebrated in art, music and advertising. How did the bottle become so iconic?

When the Coca-Cola company celebrated 100 years of the Coca-Cola contour bottle they wanted to show the world how the bottle was made through an animated story.

The tale is about the bottle’s iconic curves and red ribbon is told between two brothers and the imagination of the younger brother takes us through a fantastic visual global journey as the bottle is crafted out of an ice block into its final design. The story takes us to different corners of the world and every chapter has its specific graphic universe which captures the younger brother's imagination.

The visual flow of the story and the actual Coca-Cola product were the biggest challenges for our team at Milford. A solution to the visual flow was the use of the red kite. In this case a literal and metaphorical red thread throughout the film. It was the carrier of the story in that the long tail of it could be used in a way to lead the eye through the story. It became a good visual tool to help tie everything together. To get the right look of the Coca-Cola beverage we started developing the look and style of the simulation early on in the project. It was a mix of fluid and particle simulation with nifty shader and compositing networks to get the right look.

We believe this tale became a joy for the mind. Enjoy the ride!