Coca-Cola fans are seeing stars

Special edition sleeve labels produced by Decorative Sleeves will give Coca-Cola glass bottles from Rexam Glass Barnsley a topical new image during the 2002 World Cup. Twelve players from the England World Cup squad are pictured on the range of sleeves including international soccer stars David Beckham, Rio Ferdinand, Michael Owen and David Seaman.

Special edition sleeve labels produced by Decorative Sleeves will give Coca-Cola glass bottles from Rexam Glass Barnsley a topical new image during the 2002 World Cup. Twelve players from the England World Cup squad are pictured on the range of sleeves including international soccer stars David Beckham, Rio Ferdinand, Michael Owen and David Seaman. The sleeve designs also feature the Coca-Cola brand identity and the cross of St George from the English flag. The sleeves will appear on the classic 330ml glass Coca-Cola bottle and are certain to prove a collector’s item. The sleeve labels are gravure printed by Decorative Sleeves in six colours and all four designs have been included on a single cylinder. This ensures that the full selection of special edition bottles will be available on-shelf and in multi-packs to enable fans to collect the full squad. To accomplish the high degrees of finished presentation required for the Coca-Cola brand Decorative Sleeves used the very latest print technology. The company was able to reproduce the images of the England players in photographic quality for maximum impact. In addition the artwork of the flag of St George was given particular attention. As it appears on the sloping neck of the bottle, where the greatest degree of shrinkage takes place, the artwork has been predistorted using advanced computer graphics to ensure that an accurate representation of the flag is created after the sleeve shrinks tight to the bottle. Decorative Sleeves and Rexam Glass worked in close collaboration to determine the most appropriate material and method of application for the project. Together they chose a material with low vertical shrink characteristics, for consistent positioning of the top of the sleeve, just below the crown cork. The final shrink result was accomplished by using Rexam Glass’ brand new steam shrink technology to provide a snug fit of the sleeve around the distinctive contours of the Coca-Cola bottle which is in itself a glass design icon. The special edition sleeve labels will be available throughout the summer period reinforcing Coca-Cola’s role as a lead sponsor of this international sporting event. “Coca-Cola” and “Coke” and the design of the Coca-Cola contour bottle are registered trademarks of the Coca-Cola Company.