The Day Coca-Cola Caught on to Frank O'Hara

The Coca-Cola Company has finally gotten wind of Frank O'Hara's "Having a Coke With You," and is in the midst of using the poem for promotional purposes. Writes Andrew Epstein at Locus Solus: "As part of [an ongoing series called 'Stories,'] Coke posted this new story by Jac Kuntz that provides Coke fans with an overview of O’Hara’s life, and a brief gloss on his best-known (though not only!) poem with a Coke cameo, 'Having a Coke with You.'” More:

In the piece, Kuntz talks a little — though less than you might expect — about the role of Coke in O’Hara’s poem:

One poem in particular subtly marked the country’s cultural ascension with a classic American icon, while demonstrating O’Hara’s romantic intensity… Romance and tenderness aside, “Having a Coke with You” almost begs an interpretation that asserts the glory of the inherently American “every day” over Europe’s crown jewels of high culture. Though the author’s intention was arguably one of affection, Gooch pointed out how the classic soda replaced the traditional Italian or French red wine as the romantic drink of choice. A simple, corner store bottle of coke, sipped under the foliage of a tree with a loved one, far exceeded the visual marvels and rich tastes Europe once could offer—a reflection of the mid-century cultural shift.

One can only imagine how O’Hara might’ve felt upon learning that Coke was using his poem to promote its brand — ironic laughter? eye-rolling? disgust? In any event, this unusual confluence of corporation and poem surely marks an interesting moment in the long debate about the role of consumer culture in O’Hara’s poetry, his insouciant dropping of brand names, his reveling in the pleasures and banality of pop culture and everyday consumption. Is O’Hara a cheerleader for American capitalism at the height of its postwar triumph and expansion? Is he an ironic commentator on its excesses and absurdities? A savvy cultural critic gauging consumer culture’s charms alongside its insidious dangers and vapidity?

Although critics have been debating such questions about O’Hara for the past several decades, leaving them unresolved, it seems pretty clear how the Coca-Cola Corporation would answer them.

Read on at Locus Solus. And if you're not a Coke fan, there's always Pepsi, the choice of a Second generation.