This film was produced without the knowledge or consent of the international offices of the Coca-Cola Company. However, since both the company and its product were depicted so favorably in the film (as well as the film being free advertising), they took no legal action against the parties involved.
From working on this picture, actress Greta Scacchi and singer-songwriter Tim Finn formed a personal relationship, which went for around six years.
The love scene between Eric Roberts and Greta Scacchi was shot in one take. In The Real Thing: The Making of 'The Coca-Cola Kid ' (2009), Scacchi said she made sure that the sequence was done in one take and gave it her all, as she did not like working with Roberts, let alone doing a love scene with him, the latter of whom allegedly removed his crotch-patch for the feather-smothered erotic sequence.
The movie was based on two short stories by Australian writer Frank Moorhouse. They were "The Americans, baby" (1972) and "The electrical experience" (1974). The full titles of each are "The Americans, baby: A discontinuous narrative of stories and fragments" and "The electrical experience: A discontinuous narrative". Both short stories are described as being "discontinuous narrative" pieces.