1 LIVE POLL, 1 PS: Favorite Coca-Cola Billboard Movie During the Cola Wars (Not Ready)

@Peter_pbn​, 

There are more advertising "spectaculars" than run-of-the-mill billboards, and no advertising broadsides (large sheet of paper printed on one side only, possibly a poster) in the answer pool. The answer pool features physical advertisements that are the size of a small building or larger as stated in the introduction, "signature landmark "spectaculars," billboards, electric/neon billboards, JumboVisions, wall-painted murals, and other building-size branded signs".

The title "Favorite Coca-Cola Billboard Movie Broadside During the Cola Wars" breakdown is intended as follows:

• Favorite (defined as preferred above all others)
• Coca-Cola Billboard (defined as very large Coca-Cola advertisement)
• Movie Broadside (defined as movie product placement that is part of larger advertising campaign that is intended to inundate consumers with Coca-Cola branded impressions and/or movies with multiple Coca-Cola appearances)
• During the Cola Wars (peak defined as the 1970-2000 period for question)

Also, the term is used as a metaphor for the dominance of Coca-Cola in overall advertising impressions and movie product placements that are unleashed on consumers daily. It also alludes to the use of the term as a military tactic (in the Cola Wars), a strong verbal, written, or other communitive attack (such as the daily visual barage of Coca-Cola images) or in general a targeted attack (both on consumers in general and against Pepsi-Cola) to keep Coca-Cola top of mind when it comes to carbonated beverages.

The infographic above shows how Coca-Cola is the King of movie product placements and leads all consumers bands and the absurd number of product placement Coca-Cola has each year. The poll spotlights this by focusing on a slice (billboard appearances) of those movie placements.

I changed the question from

Which select Coca-Cola advertising broadside made during the height of the Cola Wars (1970–2000), manifested as a movie appearance of a signature Coca-Cola landmark "spectacular" or a Coca-Cola billboard located inside the United States, is your favorite on-screen pairing of a movie and Coke?

 to

Which select Coca-Cola advertising broadside attack made during the height of the Cola Wars (1970–2000), manifested as a movie appearance of a signature Coca-Cola landmark "spectacular" or a Coca-Cola billboard located inside the United States, is your favorite on-screen pairing of a movie and Coke?

in an attempt to remove the confusion with the poster definition of the word (even though three other definitions of the word apply).

Although, the question clearly limits the scope to "...manifested as a movie appearance of a signature Coca-Cola landmark "spectacular" or a Coca-Cola billboard located inside the United States,..".

Also, the pool excludes smaller billboard product placements that may be considered large posters / broadsides (ie 1971's 'The Organization')

and focuses exclusively on the small building or larger size billboard product placements (ie 1980's Superman II & 1982's 'Blade Runner').

I can't really see that a single ad appearing in a movie amounts to a broadside attack.

@Peter_pbn​

It is more about the collective impact of these impressions than an individual one, just like a ship's broadside is not about the single shot of an indivdual cannon, but a volley of shots lauched from one side of a ship's naval artillery is what constitutes a "broadside".

Plus, some/most of these movies had other Coca-Cola imagery (intentional & unintentional of cans, bottles, glasses, signs, vending machines, etc.) within the same movie, I am just focusing on the biggest and easiest to visually communicate in a poll. Plus, I am not sure it is worthwhile or possible to document all of them to justify the use of the world, "broadside".

Movie impressions are part of a larger multi-prong strategy to inundate consumers with Coca-Cola imagery, when they are driving down the road, in a store, watching TV or in the theater, etc, especially those sanwiched between the period beginning in the 1970s "I'd Like to Buy the World a Coke" / "Pepsi Challenge" and extending to through the 1990s introduction of "New Coke" / "Pepsi Points" advertising campaigns.

In the US, the Cola wars were such a big thing, they were parodied in the media numerous times over the years, including SNL's "No Coke, Pepsi" skits, Marty McFly's confusing Tab and Pepsi-Free ordering in the Back to Future sequel, among many others.

The movies, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) with a then high water mark of four seperate paid Coca-Cola product placements (no billboards) and later with Days of Thunder (1990) featuring the Coca-Cola drink, Mellow Yellow with triple digit product placement images are the best examples from this period of individual movies, but had neither had billboards that I recall.

@Peter_pbn​ 

I think people are in general are unaware of how many advertisements / brand impressions they see daily (they probably get six Coca-Cola impressions a day, just by opening their refrigerator). A good movie example of movie, I don't think of as an obvious Coca-Cola movie, but you see the Coca-Cola logo six to twelve times+ seperately in the form of a 6-pack carrier of Coca-Cola bottles, various Coke cans, Coca-Cola wooden crates, Coca-Cola fountain cups, a Coca-Cola decal, a Coca-Cola vending machine, and a Coca-Cola store sign. This movie is more of the rule, than the exception with its breadth. I think both set designers and cinematographers generally make an effort to exclude the brand unless they are getting a paid product placement. But, Coca-Cola brand images are so prevelant in the real-world it may impossible to sanitize a movie completely of all the unpaid ones in the background.  

I would guess that in industrial countries that indivduals in their daily activities see the Coca-Cola logo (most of which are not ads) in some form at least two dozen times a day plus (and the brand probably leads in daily impressions over all other brands worldwide). I also think many of these brand impressions are very subtle and not as obvious as a billboard, nor may they even register on a conscious level. My point being is that consumers face a daily bombardment/broadside/barrage/inundation (pick a word) by Coca-Cola, even if they don't realize it conciously. Plus, I can't think of any other brand even being on the same level as Coca-Cola or one that you could justifably accuse of making an "advertising broadside attack" on consumers.

@Peter_pbn​ 

Thanks, I updated the pair of poll titles to: 

1. Favorite Coca-Cola Billboard Movie During the Cola Wars [USA]

2. Favorite Coca-Cola Billboard Movie During the Cola Wars [INTL]

and removed the Coca-Cola roman à clef option from the movie, Romeo + Juliet.

I am still searching for images in these movies from the period, but they haven't been readily available or easily visually confirmed to even exist, other than by an AI query. They be false positives, as I have found other smaller Coca-Cola signs in my searches of Coca-Cola imagery for these movies.

Notable & Iconic 1970s Films with Coca-Cola Billboards

Notable & Iconic 1980s Films with Coca-Cola Billboards

Notable & Iconic 1990s Films with Coca-Cola Billboards

Honorable Mentions (1970-2000)

@dan_dassow​ Thanks.