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RARE HISTORIC 1957 African-American Coca Cola Sign 36”x20” Cardboard - Damaged

$ 380.16

Availability: 100 in stock
  • Brand: Coke
  • Color: Red, White, Yellow
  • Type of Advertising: Sign - Cardboard
  • Date of Creation: 1957
  • Condition: Not Mint ... damage ... but overall displays great. Sign has tears, bends, stains etc. It shows the wear of over 40 years. Please look carefully at all the pictures which are an accurate description of the cardboard sign's condition. Remember, however, that this is really a historic piece of Coke collectable.
  • All returns accepted: ReturnsNotAccepted
  • Country/Region of Manufacture: United States
  • Theme: Soda
  • Original/Reproduction: Original

    Description

    RARE and ORIGINAL and HISTORIC
    Featuring African American Models.
    Part of Coca Cola’s 1950's campaign to feature middle-class African Americans in Coke ads.
    See more background details below.
    Google images do not show a copy of this sign.
    Markings. Bottom left reads COPYRIGHT 1957, THE COCA-COLA COMPANY, LITHO, IN U.S.A. 823
    Sign measures apx. 36" wide by 20" high.
    Shows very well. Would look great framed.
    Due to its historic value it is an item that should be part of any serious Coke collection.
    Remember to look at all the pictures for a detailed description of the sign and of its condition.
    Sold “as is.”
    Why selling? Seniors downsizing & this sign deserves a home that appreciates its value.
    Background. "Moss Kendrix was an African-American public relations specialist who had Coca Cola as a client. In the mid-1950s, he produced an ad campaign that depicted African-Americans as “everyday” people.
    Seeking these “everyday people,” Kendrix visited the Atlanta-based Clark and Morehouse colleges, where he recruited black college students to appear in Coke’s first non-celebrity “Negro market” ads. Beginning in 1955, these young black men and women appeared in advertisements that featured portraits of black women shopping, teaching and typing; black men wielding golf clubs or relaxing in a “favorite chair” after work; young women gossiping, playing tennis and dressed for prom; and young couples dating, picnicking and studying.
    These ads circulated widely. They appeared in the black print media, including EBONY magazine, black newspapers and trade journals, as well as in primarily (but not exclusively) black businesses, and in the "general market" as billboards and subway placards.
    These non-celebrity black advertisements mirrored precisely Coca-Cola’s “general market” advertisements."