Pepsi advertisement Mid Century Original Artwork Golden Age of Illustration

Joe De Mers specialized in illustrations depicting the modern mid-century American girl. He did not portray them as stereotypes, but as a diverse array of dazzling females, sweet, charming, or sophisticated, with chiseled features. The present artwork was a comp for an ongoing Pepsi print campaign. It features an all-American, highly attractive couple in the prime of their lives, enjoying a quintessential American summer pursuit. The Great American Outdoor Barbeque. What's notable about the artwork is how great a draftsman and technical artist Joe deMers is. Focus on the female portrait in profile. With a few lines, he gets her stylish portrait perfect. - deMers' talent does not end with portraying idealized, glamorous women; his composition and use of color would make a Modernist painter jealous. Notice in the positive and negative spaces, each area is a little masterful composition, and yet this artwork was done without laboring. Finally, deMers painted the type. That in itself is a virtuoso accomplishment. The Pepsi Cap logo set against a solid yellow ground is a collage element. We have not been able to find the finished version of this comp. It may or may not have run, but it has yet to be scanned on Google. It was part of a Pepsi print campaign that focused on Pepsi's social and physical branding identity. So Up to Date, So Slim, So Smart. Few examples of deMers' original work exist and rarely come on the market
unframed, unsigned. Board size 24.38 x 18.88
De Mers' work has been exhibited at the MOMA in New York, at the Corcoran Museum of Art, at the Los Angeles County Museum and in various other locations.
In 1997 he was included in the Society of Illustrators Hall of Fame.