Historical significance of 1950 soda ads

Extract

[...] Every single person throughout the ads is smiling, first of all. The first ad also talks about hospitality, suggesting that people should be entertaining and going to parties, rather than worrying about a possible World War III. The next ad shows the mechanic going about his normal day, balancing work with family, rather than falling to a state of panic. There's even the ad with the young Americans at the ski resort, which implies that people should be spending their money on pleasurable luxuries, rather than making paranoid purchases such as home bomb shelters. [...]

[...] illustration of what could be a ski resort, unlike previous art pieces in that it's flatter and has more defined lines, with the focus on one female and two males– two of which are clearly holding Cokes. There is more Coke in the background. The next ad, from 1954, illustrates a middle-age woman sitting with her feet up on a table, holding newspapers in one hand and a coke in the other. There is a bucket of iced Coke on the table, and a case of more Coke on the floor, with a man and a wife, presumably her neighbors, walking through the door. [...]

[...] Similarly, the 1953 ad explains that Coke is naturally associated with good living, implying that Americans expect the pleasures of higher standards of living. Then, in the 1955 ad, Coca-Cola bluntly states that their product is unparalleled, writing, “Almost everyone appreciates the best.” Not only are these Coke ads reflecting an existing mindset of competition, but they're instilling and encouraging it. The ads essential say that there needed to be a focus on achieving American superiority in all fields, even the soft drink industry. [...]