Coke comes to France
How Coca-Cola targeted mid-century marketing to Paris
Chris Wild
April 1950
At a Paris bar, a man in a beret spits a mouthful of Coca-Cola at the camera.
Credit: Mark Kauffman/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
In 1950, the Coca-Cola company decided the people of France were ready for the great taste of Coke. So it began a marketing campaign targeted to the country. Coca-Cola had been available unofficially in France since 1919 and officially since 1933, but after the war Coke decided to raise its profile and capitalize on the proliferation of refrigerators in French homes.
Under the slogan "Drink Fresh," vans toured the streets and salesmen distributed samples to adults and children, in what Coke now calls "La révolution du froid" (The cold revolution).
View of a Coca-Cola delivery truck as it crosses Pont de l'Archeveche, near the cathedral Notre Dame de Paris.
Credit: Mark Kauffman/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
A bystander watches as a man pours a bottle of Coca-Cola into a glass held by a smiling, elderly man, in Paris, France.
Credit: Mark Kauffman/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Several unidentified men drink bottles of Coca-Cola, in Paris, France.
Credit: Mark Kauffman/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
People buying Coca-Cola at an air exhibition.
Credit: Mark Kauffman/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
The liberation of Paris in August 1944 by the U.S. army would have exposed Parisians to American culture, and possibly to Coke — at least, according to Coca-Cola advertising of 1945.
The invitation "Have a Coke" is a symbol of a Yank soldier's felling of friendliness toward folks in Paris. It says "We're your allies, we wish you well" in a way as American as baseball. - US Coca-Cola Ad, 1945
Original image has been replaced.
Credit: Mashable
In 1950, the Coke salesmen shown here wore plain boiler suits with a vaguely military look, possibly to remind Parisians of the American liberating army of World War II, and also perhaps to blend in with the people still recovering from the hardships of war and occupation.
In a Paris shop, a man pours a bottle of Coca-Cola into a glass held by an elderly woman.
Credit: Mark Kauffman/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Watched by a man with several bottles in his hands, a woman drinks a bottle of Coca-Cola in a shop, in Paris, France.
Credit: Mark Kauffman/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
A young woman drinks a bottle of Coca-Cola in a Paris shop.
Credit: Mark Kauffman/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
A Coca-Cola delivery driver sits in the open door of his truck while on a break, in France.
Credit: Mark Kauffman/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
An unidentified couple sit at a sidwalk cafe near the Eiffel Tower and read. Each has a bottle of Coca-Cola in front of them.
Credit: Mark Kauffman/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
