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As the roaring 1920s came to a close and the shadow of the Great Depression loomed, a young advertising team at Coca-Cola found themselves under the fluorescent lights of a bustling office.
The year was 1929, and America was on the brink of the most significant economic downturn in history. Amid this impending gloom, an idea sprang to life, almost ironically.
It was a slogan that would make history, a phrase that carried the promise of respite in adversity—“The Pause That Refreshes.”
During the Great Depression, radio became the dominant medium of entertainment for American homes. The media landscape was full of various shows and new voices.
Trying to seize on the opportunity both of the technology and economic hardships. Coca-Cola created a brilliant radio advertising campaign using their new slogan, “The Pause that Refreshes.”
This was The Coca-Cola Company’s first venture into radio marketing. It was a strategic marketing shift away from their traditional print advertisements.
The Pause that Refreshes campaign transformed Coca-Cola from a simple beverage into a symbol of emotional relief for these hard times.
Their branding team positioned Coca-Cola as a “hero” in daily life.
They did this by focusing on:
The slogan resonated deeply with the American public and made Coca-Cola a cultural symbol of the era. It also created a lasting association between the brand and moments of pause/relief.
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Coca-Cola partnered with Norman Rockwell to create the Pause that Refreshes campaign. Rockwell was a famous American painter and illustrator of the era, and he was known for his depictions of everyday life.
His focus was on converting the marketing team’s text to visual yet ordinary scenes of Americans drinking a Coke.
He brilliantly depicted everyday Americans in moments of rest with a bottle of Coca-Cola.
Some of his best scenes include:
Rockwell’s ordinary artwork elevated Coca-Cola’s marketing from simple slogans to visual storytelling.
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In the 1930s, Coca-Cola decided to make Santa Claus its unofficial Christmas ambassador.
To do this, they merged The Pause that Refreshes campaign with Christmas themes.
They were able to use Santa as a symbol to appeal to children and even adults. And they were able to connect the brand directly with Christmas celebrations.
The campaign created a lasting association between Santa Claus and Coca-Cola. A bottle of Coke was now part of the typical holiday traditions alongside Xmas trees and presents. Creating a new holiday experience.
The Pause that Refreshes also made a debut in the Cinema. The moving picture ads were displayed proudly before and during the intermissions of the break.
Notable films that ran the ads include:
This was also the first time that Coca-Cola was placed strategically in scenes of movies and physically in the movie theater itself.
The “The Pause That Refreshes” campaign continued into the 1940s during WWII. The slogan gained a new meaning during wartime. Going from civilian rest to military comfort.
Coca-Cola trucks were deployed proudly to the war zones. The Coca-Cola company established the largest cola distribution systems in world history, with bottling plants across battlefields.
Coca-Cola and its slogan served as a symbol of home for soldiers. It represented the American lifestyle they were fighting to protect. Providing familiar comfort in foreign lands.
Some of the new ads for the campaign included:
The campaign was a morale-boosting operation and might have even helped America win the war.
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