# Those old Coca Cola ads freak me out **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 23, 2006, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-old-coca-cola-ads-freak-me-out/377554 "2006-10-23T14:18:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2006, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-old-coca-cola-ads-freak-me-out/377554/1 "2006-10-23T14:18:01Z")
So I’m eating lunch with my girlfriend this Sunday at the local Johnny Rockets. For those who are not familiar, these are 1940’s-esque dinner themed restaurants known mostly for their shakes and burgers. Anyhow, they have a lot of these period Coca Cola ads. Well, they FREAK ME OUT. They remind me of Nazi war propaganda posters. All the characters are blonde with blue eyes and just too damn happy. They look freakin creepy. Some examples: [This is what Mom and Dad drink right before we heard them making the funny noises in the bedroom…](http://www.scanraptor.com/cabernet/ccolaads8/pages/p-Coca_Cola_177.htm) [Remember, don’t leave home without your identity papers…](http://www.scanraptor.com/cabernet/ccolaads8/pages/p-Coca_Cola_180.htm) [If someone touches you in a bad way…go straight to a trusted adult…](http://www.scanraptor.com/cabernet/ccolaads8/pages/p-Coca_Cola_181.htm) [Bob doesn’t know about that secret ‘other woman’…](http://www.scanraptor.com/cabernet/ccolaads8/pages/p-Coca_Cola_196.htm) [Oh do me on this yardarm!!](http://www.scanraptor.com/cabernet/ccolaads8/pages/p-Coca_Cola_197.htm) [Did someone say ‘sausagefest’?](http://www.scanraptor.com/cabernet/ccolaads7/pages/p-Coca_Cola_152.htm) [Killing Japs and Krauts really makes me thirsty!](http://www.papership.com/archives/000068.php) ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2006, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-old-coca-cola-ads-freak-me-out/377554/2 "2006-10-23T14:30:06Z")
They’re a bit scary, I admit, but they come from an era prior to the type of advertising we’re used to. These are drawn images depicting a stylized ideal. What we’re used to seeing is impossibly beautiful people made up and shot in the most flattering way imaginable. They, too, bear little resemblance to real life. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2006, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-old-coca-cola-ads-freak-me-out/377554/3 "2006-10-23T14:33:31Z")
#3 is…_disturbing_… ---
**Author:** ![sciurophobic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@sciurophobic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sciurophobic)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2006, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-old-coca-cola-ads-freak-me-out/377554/4 "2006-10-23T16:20:07Z")
She’s kinda cute. [And she’s not a blonde either](http://www.artsmart-online.com/shopping/images/lieb/EUR/2300-8346.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2006, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-old-coca-cola-ads-freak-me-out/377554/5 "2006-10-23T20:36:44Z")
[ooo!..I think someone put something in this drink!](http://www.scanraptor.com/cabernet/ccolaads8/pages/p-Coca_Cola_178.htm) ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2006, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-old-coca-cola-ads-freak-me-out/377554/6 "2006-10-23T22:31:21Z")
[QUOTE=msmith537] They remind me of Nazi war propaganda posters. All the characters are blonde with blue eyes and just too damn happy. They look freakin creepy. [/QUOTE] I think you’re overreacting. They’re just ads. ---
**Author:** ![brossa](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brossa/32/3040_2.png) [@brossa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brossa)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2006, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-old-coca-cola-ads-freak-me-out/377554/7 "2006-10-23T22:39:32Z")
I think it’s more interesting how _small_ the portions are. ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2006, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-old-coca-cola-ads-freak-me-out/377554/8 "2006-10-24T00:10:50Z")
What is advertising if not propaganda? ---
**Author:** ![A.R.Cane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ee7513/32.png) [@A.R.Cane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A.R.Cane)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2006, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-old-coca-cola-ads-freak-me-out/377554/9 "2006-10-24T00:22:07Z")
Judging history by contemporary standards. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2006, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-old-coca-cola-ads-freak-me-out/377554/10 "2006-10-24T00:51:51Z")
You’re saying that attractive, happy people creep you out. Hmm. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2006, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-old-coca-cola-ads-freak-me-out/377554/11 "2006-10-24T02:08:42Z")
[QUOTE=brossa] I think it’s more interesting how _small_ the portions are. [/QUOTE] That small 8oz bottle was the standard Coke size in the 1950’s. I believe Pepsi boasted theirs was bigger, for the same price. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2006, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-old-coca-cola-ads-freak-me-out/377554/12 "2006-10-24T02:21:49Z")
I don’t know if I would say this is like NAZI propaganda. The NAZIs didn’t tend to show this kind of “hedonistic” enjoyment. If people were smiling, it was because they were climbing a mountain or hailing the fueher. Or they showed the rigid control of Riefenstahl’s films. ---
**Author:** ![A.R.Cane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ee7513/32.png) [@A.R.Cane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A.R.Cane)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2006, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-old-coca-cola-ads-freak-me-out/377554/13 "2006-10-24T02:41:05Z")
[QUOTE=Musicat] That small 8oz bottle was the standard Coke size in the 1950’s. I believe Pepsi boasted theirs was bigger, for the same price. [/QUOTE] Actually those classic 50’s Coke bottles were 6 and a half ounces, for a nickel. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2006, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-old-coca-cola-ads-freak-me-out/377554/14 "2006-10-24T03:29:30Z")
[QUOTE=guizot] I don’t know if I would say this is like NAZI propaganda. The NAZIs didn’t tend to show this kind of “hedonistic” enjoyment. If people were smiling, it was because they were climbing a mountain or hailing the fueher. Or they showed the rigid control of Riefenstahl’s films. [/QUOTE] [Mmm!! Zeees Cola iz sehr gut!](http://cghs.dade.k12.fl.us/holocaust/jugen.jpg) [Similarities?](http://www.scanraptor.com/cabernet/ccolaads7/pages/p-Coca_Cola_175.htm) ---
**Author:** ![brossa](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brossa/32/3040_2.png) [@brossa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brossa)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2006, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-old-coca-cola-ads-freak-me-out/377554/15 "2006-10-24T05:33:29Z")
[QUOTE=A.R. Cane] Actually those classic 50’s Coke bottles were 6 and a half ounces, for a nickel. [/QUOTE] Intellectually, I knew this. The ballooning American serving size, and all that. Still, seeing those tiny glasses just gives me a sad feeling, somehow. I bet that soft-handed dude in the straw boater nursed that 6.5 oz of Coke for a good long time, 'cause it was a _forspecial_. Am I happier with my Big Gulp that that guy was with his cordial glass? I imagine my grandkids will get the same feeling, looking back through the family album over a 24 oz glass of Red Bull. ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2006, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-old-coca-cola-ads-freak-me-out/377554/16 "2006-10-24T05:59:46Z")
I didn’t notice an unusual number of blonds. There were brunettes and redheads as well. What’s missing is a mixture of ethnicities. At least the women look healthy. ---
**Author:** ![gabriela](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/db5fbb/32.png) [@gabriela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gabriela)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2006, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-old-coca-cola-ads-freak-me-out/377554/17 "2006-10-24T11:00:14Z")
OK, in all the arguments about Nazi or not I think we’re missing the boat here: a moment of awe and praise for **msmith537** ’s skill at writing funny creepy caption lines for old ad photos. You know, **m** , that skill’s salable. Cuz you’re good at it. Reaally really good. Or ought to be salable. You read Lileks ever? Second, my local paper ran an article yesterday on the decreasing frequency of blue eyes in the American population. In 1900 half the people in America were blue eyed. By 1950, a third. Today, one in six. Increasing intermarriage with brown-eyed people plus immigration by brown-eyed people is the cause. A guy got interested in it when he noticed how many blue-eyed old folks there were in nursing homes where he worked; his initial hypothesis was that blue eyes made you live longer, but that turned out to be a crock; it was just that blondes with blue eyes intermarried a lot in the Nordic-admiring 1900-oughts, because of the cultural taboo against marrying out of the race, and so lots of recessive phenotypes were preserved. So the prevalence of blondes and blue eyes in this may reflect what people were accustomed to seeing around them. Or just the pro-blonde prejudice which gave us all those dyed platinums of the 1930’s-60’s, which tied in nicely with the Nazi Aryan fixation. Have it both ways, why not. The current most favored phenotype by advertisers is said to be honey-colored skin with dark brown hair and either brown or green eyes. Brazilians are hitting modeling big. Personally I can’t wait until it’s ebony skin and the pure African head; I love that shape. There’s going to be a heck of a lot of honey-skinned brown-haired kids with blue eyes in the F3 and F4 generations, though. Sorry for minor hijack, carry on - ---
**Author:** ![Common\_Tater](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/common_tater/32/13846_2.png) [@Common\_Tater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Common_Tater)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2006, 11:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-old-coca-cola-ads-freak-me-out/377554/18 "2006-10-24T11:19:35Z")
I bet those tiny 6oz cokes were made with cane sugar, not corn syrup, and thus a lot tastier than the 64oz crap that passes for a soft drink these days. Advertising today is just as silly as it was then if you stop and think about it. ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2006, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-old-coca-cola-ads-freak-me-out/377554/19 "2006-10-24T11:26:42Z")
[QUOTE=msmith537] [Killing Japs and Krauts really makes me thirsty!](http://www.papership.com/archives/000068.php) [/QUOTE] Hey, sonny boy, watch it with the rough stuff there! ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2006, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-old-coca-cola-ads-freak-me-out/377554/20 "2006-10-24T17:01:18Z")
[QUOTE=msmith537] [Mmm!! Zeees Cola iz sehr gut!](http://cghs.dade.k12.fl.us/holocaust/jugen.jpg) [Similarities?](http://www.scanraptor.com/cabernet/ccolaads7/pages/p-Coca_Cola_175.htm) [/QUOTE] Not really, except that they’re both painted advertising posters of young caucasian females. Honestly, I think it may be just that we’re unused to seeing painted advertising posters these days, so we exaggerate the similarities between them. If we were more used to seeing them, we’d look past the medium more. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-old-coca-cola-ads-freak-me-out/377554.md?page=2)