Sprite Cigars

Coca-Cola introduced the Sprite Soft Drink in 1961. It was Coke's response to the popularity of 7-up. The name "Sprite" was inspired by illustrator Haddon Sundblom's "Sprite Boy" character, which had been the Coca-Cola mascot in ad campaigns of the 1940's and 1950's.

In the 1980's, many years after Sprite's 1961 introduction, Coke pressured its bottlers which distributed 7-up to replace the competitor with the Coca-Cola product. This was done in large part due to the greater strength of the Coca-Cola network of bottlers, Sprite finally held the market leader position in the lemon-lime category in 1978.

With Sprite's history explained, that brings us to the Sprite branded Coca-Cola cigar. If Coca-Cola abandoned the Coke cigar promotion in the 1930's due to image concerns, then why then did they create the Sprite cigar 30 years later? 

In trying to research the details of the Sprite cigars, the anti-tobacco climate of Coca-Cola makes it very difficult to get any information regarding their internal house-brand cigars. So far we have been told these cigars were ordered for smoking at the annual Coca-Cola Corporate Banquet when the product was introduced ( 1961 ). These cigars ( unlike the Coca-Cola branded cigars produced for promotion and resale ) were a one time only creation for the banquet.

Below are detailed photographs of the cigars in their original box including details of their manufacture in Tampa Florida.

This complete box of Sprite cigars were discovered at the Coca-Cola building on North St, in Atlanta Georgia in the mid 1970's during renovations. The inside lid and front of the box says distributed by the Coca-Cola Company in Wilmington, Del. The side of the box calls the cigars "Coronitas". This refers to the general size and length of the cigars, nothing to do with their actual name. The bottom of the box has the seal of the City of Tampa, Florida, home to cigar making beginning in 1879 by cigar maker Vincente Martinez Ybor, for whom they named "Cigar City. We lived near there and visited the plant many times years ago. It is now a tourist attraction with restaurants and shops.