Showing posts with label Pepsi. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pepsi. Show all posts

Sunday, December 29, 2019

The Sultan of Sweet: 1945 Pepsi-Cola Calendar by Otto Soglow

Seventy-five years ago, New Yorker cartoonist Otto Soglow (1900-1975) illustrated Pepsi-Cola's calendar for the year 1945. In that year, like 2020, New Year's Day fell on a Wednesday. Unlike 2020, 1945 was not a leap year. So you can use this calendar in 2020, but only until February 29. After that, all the 2020 calendars should be deeply discounted.
Otto Soglow
1945 Pepsi-Cola calendar

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Saturday, December 28, 2019

Mystery Fan: 1943 Pepsi-Cola Calendar by Whitney Darrow, Jr.

Who doesn't love a good mystery? New Yorker cartoonist Whitney Darrow, Jr. (1909-1999), illustrates Pepsi-Cola's promotional calendar for 1943 with a cola-loving Mystery Fan. The image was reused as late as 1945 in newspaper advertising. A little escapist reading during wartime never hurt.
Mystery Fan
Whitney Darrow, Jr.
1943 Pepsi-Cola calendar


Mystery Fan
Whitney Darrow, Jr.
1945 Pepsi-Cola newspaper ad


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Saturday, May 18, 2019

Robert Day for Pepsi-Cola

In the 1940s as America entered the postwar period, Pepsi-Cola's advertising included radio jingles, skywriting, and a vigorous print campaign using a number of popular cartoonists. There was an extended series of print ads by New Yorker cartoonist Robert Day which echoed Pepsi's radio and skywriting promotions while also reflecting many of the extensive social and political changes taking place in the world. These ads appeared in Time, The New Yorker, and no doubt other publications. But first off, here are two examples of the jingle, which is referenced in more than one print ad:

"Pepsi-Cola Hits the Spot"
Radio ads from 1939 and 1950 with the jingle


American troops liberating a European village are greeted with the unlikely news that the populace is familiar with the Pepsi-Cola jingle.
"They want to know if we've got any Pepsi-Cola. Seems they heard the Pepsi-Cola jingle on the underground radio."
Robert Day
Pepsi-Cola advertisement
1944

Postwar inflation was a real concern, but Pepsi could boast that its price was a stable five cents.
"No doubt about his ceiling prices being posted."
Robert Day
Pepsi-Cola advertisement
1944

Victory Gardens allowed citizens to grow extra produce locally. Robert Day's ad suggests vegetables could be bartered for ice cold Pepsi-Cola. 

"Since Joe put up his stand, the Victory Gardens are booming."
Robert Day
Pepsi-Cola advertisement
1944

Detail


When caddies are in short supply, golf clubs are expendable but Pepsi-Cola is not.
"They could only get 4 boys—so J.V. said the heck with his golf clubs."
Robert Day
Pepsi-Cola advertisement
1944


The 1944 Presidential election pitted incumbent Democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt against Republican Thomas E. Dewey, both New Yorkers. The words to Pepsi's jingle may be spotted on a convention sign. Was either convention this unconventional?
"...It was his postwar plank of plenty of Pepsi-Cola for everybody, that touched off the demonstration."
Robert Day
Pepsi-Cola advertisement
1944

A 1945 wartime ad, no doubt meant for national consumption, suggests a midnight curfew in New York City. But Sam Roberts, writing in 1995 for the Times, noted, "The national curfew was midnight, but Mayor La Guardia insisted that New Yorkers be allowed to drink, legally, until 1 A.M."
"Have we time for a couple of Pepsis before the curfew?"
Robert Day
Pepsi-Cola advertisement
1945

Image added May 19, 2019

Enough Pepsi could calm the populace, although one shipload might not be enough:
"If we only had two shiploads of Pepsi-Cola we could stop all this unrest."
Robert Day
Pepsi-Cola advertisement
1945
Image added May 19, 2019

 Pepsi worked hard to get its name displayed in the air and the print ads reflect this major aspect of the soft drink's promotion. The source for this ad says it appeared in Ebony, which would date it to the end of 1945 or later. More concerning, the ad contains racial caricatures, yet it was deliberately marketed to the black community. That seems seriously misguided at best.
"That means mission successful—ice the Pepsi-Cola."
Robert Day
Pepsi-Cola advertisement
Ebony, 1945 or later

Day's art allows us to envision the mass-caffeination of an entire factory.
"Now watch our production jump."
Robert Day
Pepsi-Cola advertisement
1945




The postwar housing shortage was serious, but perhaps it could have a cola-infused bright side. The bishop's crook lamppost leaves  no doubt that we are looking at New York City. (It's visible in the ceiling prices and curfew drawings above as well.) Pepsi was based in Long Island City.
"What do we care if we have to move in with four or five
other families[?] Look how convenient it is."
Robert Day
Pepsi-Cola advertisement
Time, June 3, 1946, page 37


"Many cities vied for the honor of hosting the UN Headquarters site, prior to the selection of New York City. The selection of the East River site came after over a year of protracted study and consideration of many sites in the United States."

"Come, come, gentlemen! At this rate we'll never find a U.N. site."
Robert Day
Pepsi-Cola advertisement
Time, November 18, 1946, page 39


The jingle "Pepsi-Cola Hits the Spot" features prominently in this Time magazine ad. Readers presumably would have been familiar with it.
"Henry says that's the only good news on the radio these days."
Robert Day
Pepsi-Cola advertisement
Time, January 20, 1947, page 39


Jingle diplomacy:
"Then it was my turn, and since my repertoire was completely exhausted, the only genuinely American song I could think of was 'Pepsi-Cola Hits the Spot!' which they applauded as loudly as the others, although they said such a wine was unknown in Kazakstan, and inquired from what grape it was made."
Robert Day
Pepsi-Cola advertisement
Text from W. L. White, Report on the Russians, Harcourt, Brace and Company, page 211.


Skywriting diplomacy:
"Look, Ivanovitch, the American Delegation is arriving!"
Robert Day
Pepsi-Cola advertisement
Time, March 10, 1947, page 35


Luxury travel requires a luxury beverage.
"The railroads are certainly going after business these days."
Robert Day
Pepsi-Cola advertisement
Time, August 4, 1947, page 25

The skywriter up close:
"...she's jet propelled—does 604 an hour and writes Pepsi-Cola in eight foreign languages."
Robert Day
Pepsi-Cola advertisement
Time, October 27, 1947, page 41

 The Queen Mary stocks up on high-end goods:
"Now I know why they say everyone travels first class on her."
Robert Day
Pepsi-Cola advertisement
Time, November 24, 1947, page 41

Trains, cruise ships, airplanes, and now helicopters feature in these Pepsi ads. Curiously, Day's bold inking gives unusual prominence to an onlooker's bald spot. It's not an accident; he does something similar in the following three ads as well.
"That's what I call smart merchandising."
Robert Day
Pepsi-Cola advertisement
1947
in Bryan Holmes, Advertising: Reflections of a Century
(London:  William Heinemann, Ltd., 1982)


In 1947, there was a new angle to the office Christmas bonus.
"...and in addition to your bonus checks, on account of the many deductions for taxes, social security, etc., etc."
Robert Day
Pepsi-Cola advertisement
Time, December 22, 1947


 Round table diplomacy:
"The Ambassador says his country will settle for 12 cases of Pepsi-Cola."
Robert Day
Pepsi-Cola advertisement
c. 1954




"...he's the editor of 'Gourmet Magazine'."
Robert Day
Pepsi-Cola advertisement
The New Yorker, 1950s


 Note:  There could easily be dozens of other Pepsi ads by Robert Day. Readers with access to any of these, or with better scans of the ones shown here, may send them in for inclusion in this post. Needless to say, original advertising art from this campaign would also be welcome.
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Saturday, December 29, 2018

eBay 101: Naming Names

The title of an eBay listing this past month seems pretty straightforward:  "John Ruge Listed Artist 1940's WWII WPA Era Cartoon Illustration Pepsi Cola #1." That #1 indicates this is one of four eBay listings with original art by John Ruge. Here's what his signature looks like in listing #2:
John Ruge's signature

 Note that eBay listing #1 has a markedly different signature. Attentive readers of this blog may recognize it instead as the signature of cartoonist William Von Riegen. Like John Ruge's signature, it contains the letter R. All right, to be fair, if you were the eBay seller and if you didn't have three examples of John Ruge's signature right in front of you, you might be able to convince yourself that William Von Riegen's signature reads John Ruge.
"But, Sarge, someone had to come along to take back the empty bottles."
William Von Riegen
Original advertising art


 So, is this a freestanding magazine gag cartoon? Or is it an example, rather, of advertising art, as I am suggesting? Von Riegen has written Pepsi Cola on the label of just about every bottle. To me, that degree of deliberate product placement constitutes advertising until proven otherwise.
"But, Sarge, someone had to come along to take back the empty bottles."
William Von Riegen
Original advertising art

 Note how loosely yet skillfully Von Riegen handles facial expression, posture, hands, clothing folds, uniforms, military equipment, and all those soda bottles.
"But, Sarge, someone had to come along to take back the empty bottles."
William Von Riegen
Original advertising art

 Not John Ruge's signature:
Signature of William Von Riegen

 It's remarkable how well Von Riegen handles the three-dimensionality of his characters's heads, and especially their lips:
Detail

 There's a good variation in tone throughout:
Detail
The name of the product appears multiple times.
Detail

Detail
Almost all the bottles are at an angle, ensuring that the image does not appear static.
Detail

 The back of the art contains no hint as to where this might have been published.
Verso

William Von Riegen
eBay Listing Ended December 16, 2018

William Von Riegen
eBay Item Description

William Von Riegen
eBay Bid History
One bid just four seconds before the auction closes. Well done.


 In summary then, only three of these four John Ruge eBay listings are actually by John Ruge:


Note:  This piece apparently dates from World War II. Does anyone know the specifics of where it was published? Are there other known examples of Pepsi advertising by William Von Riegen, if that is indeed what this is?



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