Billboards and Sunday coupon inserts in the Roanoke, Va area are promoting 1.25 liter bottles of Coke for .99c

A cute, but ridiculous, reason:

New 1.25 Liter Coca-Cola Package Rolls Out as Part of Brand?s 125th Anniversary Celebration : BevNET.com

ATLANTA–(BUSINESS WIRE)–As part of Coca-Cola’s continuous drive to provide fans with more ways to enjoy the brand they love, a new 1.25 liter package, featuring Coca-Cola’s signature contour shape, will begin rolling out this month.

Just in time for the celebration of the 125th anniversary of Coca-Cola, the new package is hitting store shelves across the southeast, with additional rollouts planned across the U.S. this summer. The perfect take-home size for smaller households, the 1.25-liter bottle, which will be available for less than $1.00, extends the growing stable of Coca-Cola packages designed to provide people with more ways to enjoy the beverages they love.

“The new Coca-Cola 1.25 liter package gives families a new way to take home their favorite brand and share some happiness, for less than $1.00 every time,” said Katie Bayne, President and General Manager, Sparkling Beverages, Coca-Cola North America. “Households come in all shapes and sizes today, so we’re continuing to expand our packaging roster to offer something for everyone at a price that’s right for them. When people reach for our products we want them to have choices.”

Coca-Cola drinkers value variety and want just the right sizes to fit their needs. In recent years, new packaging introductions, including the 90-calorie mini can and the 16-ounce single serve bottle, have expanded the choices that consumers have both in the store and in the home when choosing their favorite beverages.

The launch of the 1.25 liter bottle provides people with yet another option when it comes to take-home beverages for sharing, and complements the current 2-liter package. For larger families and special gatherings, the 2-liter bottle is still a perfect choice. But for many smaller households, the new 1.25-liter package will be the perfect size.

In addition to Coca-Cola, a variety of other brands, including Diet Coke, Coke Zero, Sprite and Fanta, will also be available in the new 1.25 liter bottle.

The Coca-Cola Company

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) is the world’s largest beverage company, refreshing consumers with more than 500 sparkling and still brands. Led by Coca-Cola, the world’s most valuable brand, the Company’s portfolio features 15 billion dollar brands including Diet Coke, Fanta, Sprite, Coca-Cola Zero, vitaminwater, Powerade, Minute Maid, Simply and Georgia. Globally, we are the No. 1 provider of sparkling beverages, juices and juice drinks and ready-to-drink teas and coffees. Through the world’s largest beverage distribution system, consumers in more than 200 countries enjoy the Company’s beverages at a rate of 1.7 billion servings a day. With an enduring commitment to building sustainable communities, our Company is focused on initiatives that reduce our environmental footprint, support active, healthy living, create a safe, inclusive work environment for our associates, and enhance the economic development of the communities where we operate. For more information about our Company, please visit our website at Coca-Cola: The Coca-Cola Company.

Without being too wordy and getting into the semantics of it all, basically it boils down to this - the price. 99? at all times.

Eventually they'll be out in the whole US, but on a staggered timetable. We were supposed to have them last week, but they pushed the rollout back, now I think it's August.

It's kind of selling less for more. For years 2 liters were .99c on sale for extended periods of time. They'd go off sale for a few weeks then go back on for .99c. Now you get almost a half liter less for the same price that 2 liters were.

I like the idea though. Most every week I have dinner at my parents on Friday. There is usually a two liter bottle of Pepsi or Coke that was probably purchased for $1.25 or $1.49. After dinner at least .75 liters is left which usually goes down the drain. .99c for about the exact amount of soda that was consumed seems decent compared to @.40c being poured down the drain.

We have the 1 liter, 1.5, and 2 liter's here. The 1 liters and 1.5's don't sell anywhere near as much as the 2's. All of them are a pain to deal with.

If this is sold chilled for 99 cents then it will be a good deal, otherwise I'll pass.

I've yet to see either Pepsi's 1.5 liter or Coke's 1.25 liter sold chilled.

I'm guessing some independents will sell it chilled but if chain stores are told not to sell it chilled they probably won't - haven't seen 1.25 L Coke here in CA yet though. I did see 1.5 L Pepsi for 99 cents at my local Food 4 Less (not chilled) along with the 2 L going for $1.59 I think. Food 4 Less is only store I've seen 1.5 L Pepsi though. Food 4 Less also had glass bottle Mexican Coke, Sprite, and Fanta Orange in the Coke Cooler near the front registers for 88 cents (plus tax and CRV) along with 20 Coke products for $1.39 - $1.49 I think. Hmm 88 cents for a real sugar, 12 oz glass bottle soda, or $1.39 for a HFCS, plastic 20 oz bottle. That's any easy one, can you guess which one I bought several bottles of

1.25 liter cokes spotted at two different Farm Fresh(es) in my area..retailing at 99cents. We rolled out 1.5 liters months ago and are doing great with them retailed everyday at 99cents..so coke in a sense is kind of jerking the consumer..

The 1.25 liter and 1.5 liter Coke bottles are pointless and a waste of shelf space in my opinion.