America’s first drive-in movie theater opened in New Jersey in 1931, and concession stands quickly became an important part of the growing industry as families and couples embraced the outdoor movie-going experience and turned the evening into a fun night out.
Coca-Cola, already a fixture at car-hop restaurants, played a key role in drive-in movie concessions, especially during the 1950s and 1960s, according to Ted Ryan, Coke’s director of heritage communications. The company tailored many of its advertising signs, slogans and dispensing machines specifically to drive-ins, he said, and a 1962 fountain sales catalog, distributed to Coca-Cola’s field sales representatives, singled out the drive-in movie industry, along with dining out and baseball games, as an important factor in the changing social and refreshment habits of people.
By 1963, high-volume eating places like drive-in theaters and restaurants were Coke’s No. 1 outlet for fountain sales, Ryan said. Around the same time, the company debuted a pressurized dispensing machine (known as the Satellite) with multiple nozzles, tailored to serve a maximum number of customers in a short period of time.
It may seem a little dated now, but in 1962, this was really cool — it was state-of-the-art technology
PREMIER DRIVE IN THEATRES IS KEEPING UP TO THE TRADITION WITH SERVING COKE AT ALL ITS LOCATIONS