Coca-Cola conquers the world
Boris Artzybasheff is known for his surreal illustrations in popular American magazines. This drawing on the cover of Time Magazine, showing Coca-Cola giving a happy baby globe its bottle, accompanies an article about the marketing strategy this ‘company’ uses to conquer the world. Coke bottlers travelled with the US armies during World War II to bring their brand and flavour to the attention of millions of unsuspecting consumers. The model salesman now no longer focuses solely on making a profit. Henceforth, as a scout, diplomat and movie star all in one, it was about making new friends with his product: “A man feels best when he makes others happy.” In May 1950, some 50 million bottles of cola were consumed daily. This gripping example underlines that modern US imperialism not only presupposes a capitalist system, but is equally based on the spread of the ‘American way of life’.
B. Artzybasheff, World & Friend, Love that piaster, that lira, that tickey, and that American way of life, in: Time Magazine May 15, 1950. Coll. S/T W.9.74, 28.5 x 21.5 cm.
