Atlanta Recap! 

TaB is 60!

A group of dedicated TaB drinkers attended our TaB 60^th Birthday Celebration event from seven different states (Georgia, Nebraska, Colorado, Massachusetts, California, Louisiana, Washington).  Some members flew to Atlanta, and some drove—including one who drove over 2,300 miles.  The furthest distance traveled was by the member who flew over 2,600 miles from Seattle.  How’s that for dedication to TaB?

If you weren’t aware–the SaveTaBSoda Committee has been meeting virtually on a regular basis since the end of 2020, so this was our very first time meeting in person.  It was such a great experience seeing one another “in real life,” and we enjoyed the chance to celebrate our favorite beverage, TaB! 

Thursday Night (10/19):  Welcome to Atlanta!

We met at one of the committee member’s homes on Thursday night for a welcome cocktail party.  The theme involved TaB, of course, and guests received welcome gift goodie bags with stickers, TaB candles, holiday ornaments, sugar cookies (with TaB design on top), there were some armadillo shortbread cookies as well, and various stickers and other memorabilia.  Enjoying a wide assortment of delicious appetizers and beverages—we had an opportunity to swap stories about our favorite soda.  While TaB wasn’t officially on the menu, one member brought an entire 12-pack of TaB to share with the group!  How generous is that?!?   There was enough TaB for everyone to have a drink.

At the party, we had a chance to view all of the birthday cards, letters, stories, and photographs sent in to the committee over the past several months—and we all agreed—Coca-Cola is going to really appreciate the outpouring of support for TaB….folks went above and beyond with what they sent in.  A lot of heartfelt messages and stories about TaB graced our post office box and are now with Coca-Cola.

Friday Morning/Early Afternoon (10/20):  TaB 60^th Celebration

After a fantastic welcome party on Thursday night, we woke up early Friday morning to meet up for our private tour of World of Coca-Cola.  If you’re not familiar with the venue—it’s a museum that tells the history of Coca-Cola and concludes with a stop in the “tasting room.”   During our history tour, we actually learned of TaB’s official birthday.  It was born on Valentine’s Day (2/14) 1963 (so our birthday celebration was a little belated—but that’s OK).

From the time the TaB group arrived at the World of Coca-Cola until we exited the gift shop, we felt SO WELCOMED by all of the staff at World of Coca-Cola.   We felt like VIPs from start to finish. 

-SaveTaBSoda Committee

When we arrived at World of Coca-Cola, we were all wearing various TaB-themed apparel (one person even wore a TaB can costume).  Of course we worked throughout our visit to win over other guests in the venue as well to convert them into TaB fans.  We handed out plenty of actual “TaB fans” (cardboard heart-shaped fans with a picture of TaB that said “I’m a TaB fan” and even a QR code to sign our petition).  Many of the other guests and staff at World of Coca-Cola were pleased to see us (a lot of “I remember TaB…” impromptu conversations happened) and happily accepted our “TaB fans” as gifts.  In fact, the security guard who let us in the gate, holding one of our TaB fans, greeted us with “Welcome to World of Coca-Cola—there’s plenty of TaB here for you to enjoy today.”

The Tasting Room

At the end of our tour, which lasted approximately an hour, we headed into the tasting room.  The tasting room offers visitors the experience of trying many unique/obscure Coca-Cola products available around the world.  Of course, for TaB drinkers the focus was on tasting our favorite soda—TaB.   There are six fountains in the room carrying TaB on tap—and we had plenty of time to enjoy our fill.  There’s no limit to how much TaB you can drink—other than how long you want to stay in a room full of soda fountains with nowhere to sit down.   A quick $5 purchase allowed us to buy a to-go cup—which most of us took advantage of.  The TaB was incredibly effervescent, fresh, and flowing freely.  TaB fans weren’t the only ones drinking it—many other guests were quite curious about TaB.

After a stop in the gift shop (where many of us purchased TaB T-shirts), our group headed over to the Bottle Cap Café to enjoy lunch and had some TaB-pink cupcakes.  We sang Happy Birthday to TaB and then headed back to the World of Coca-Cola for a newspaper interview.   

Wait…a newspaper interview?  Let’s rewind a bit to explain…

The committee had been working for weeks to reach officials at Coca-Cola to advise them about our visit and to organize a time to walk over to headquarters and drop off the collection of cards.  We finally reached them on Friday (the day of our World of Coca-Cola tour).

It turned out that many of the Coca-Cola North America Executives were at an offsite meeting, but they said they were still interested in collecting and reviewing the cards sent in by the TaB lovers—and wanted to arrange a way to obtain them.  We opted for meeting a representative from Coca-Cola (one who was working in Atlanta) outside of the World of Coca-Cola.  A representative from Coca-Cola North America Public Relations stopped by and collected the large bag carrying all of the TaB lovers’ cards, stories, photos, etc.   He assured us that he would share them with the executives responsible for the TaB brand.  (We kept our own copies as well). 

In addition to sharing the cards with Coca-Cola, we sent the executive who was offsite and couldn’t meet us in person a photograph of our group outside the World of Coca-Cola gift shop in our full TaB apparel, and he said “Wow! That’s amazing and I hope you’re enjoying the visit and gathering.  I’ll share this more broadly internally as well.”

One thing we want to make very clear—we believe it’s great that Coca-Cola took the time to talk to us and send someone over to meet us.  We felt like they cared about what we (and all of you) have to say about TaB.   

Media Coverage

It’s important to note that during our visit to Atlanta, there were some events occurring all around the city that were much more newsworthy than a visit from TaB fans.  However, that being said, we were still able to get an interview with a reporter from the local Atlanta newspaper.  

The dozen or so TaB friends who were present at World of Coca-Cola spent about 30 minutes with the reporter and had the opportunity to weigh in on a story that we hope will show up in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution newspaper in the near future.  Once we learn more (or when a story is published) we will share more details.   Additionally, we are still in conversations with several other journalists, in hopes that we can get additional media coverage surrounding the TaB 60^th event.

Friday Evening/Farewell:

After a busy morning and afternoon, we had a farewell dinner at a local restaurant (Ted’s Montana Grill) and began to talk about our next steps and our next in-person gathering.   As we reflected on the day, we all felt we had made significant progress toward the #SaveTaBSoda effort, with more work to do.   

Summary of our WINS:

1. We had a physical presence of consumers who were visible to Coca-Cola—many who traveled across the country for the brand they love.  (Consumers put their money where their mouth is—they’re serious about getting the product back).
2. Those from our group who attended acted as ambassadors for the broader TaB-drinking community and were able to deliver the TaB lovers’ messages directly to Coca-Cola.  There are a lot of us who truly care about the product.
3. An actual representative from Coca-Cola took the time to meet up with us to collect the TaB cards and assured us they will share our comments with the executive leadership of Coca-Cola North America.
4. Several Coca-Cola employees were in touch with us during the course of the day.  Coca-Cola took the time to ensure the TaB drinkers had a successful visit.
5. Even during a busy news day—TaB drinkers got a media interview—and we are hopeful for a story.
6. Our Group remains positive about getting TaB back—we will continue to work to convince Coca-Cola and Bottlers that TaB deserves another shot.

What’s next?  

The SaveTaBSoda Committee had a wonderful time in Atlanta and feels very positive about how the event went—but obviously, TaB is not back yet.

We are already starting to plan out the “next big thing” we’ll work on.  We’d love it if more TaB drinkers were actively involved in the planning (and helping us brainstorm events).  If you have any interest in joining our committee—please contact us!   And if you can’t help in the committee—consider other ways you can help—share our petition, or send us a donation*.   Stay tuned for more soon!  #SaveTaBSoda

*Note:  Donations we receive go toward the campaigns we’ve done such as putting up billboards, postage for sending letters and packages to Coca-Cola and bottlers and issuing press releases, as well as maintaining our website (and other TBD future activities).  We want to note that the entire Atlanta trip (travel and activities) was paid for by each individual attendee–and no donations were used for any of the activities.  SaveTaBSoda is a nonprofit and we use funds we obtain for the sole purpose of getting attention for TaB.