Always be sociable

This is a lovely 1959 Pepsi ad depicting an upscale, sophisticated crowd. The balance in the picture is created by the two groups of men and women, one in the foreground (left) and the other in background (right). Each group creates the basic triangular form in composition. In the foreground, two men and a woman serve as a counterpoint to the two women and a man in the background. All this adds to the aesthetic balance in this ad.

The central focus point of the ad, however, is the young woman sitting down in the foreground. She sits in a very feminine pose, emphasizing the rounded forms of her attractive femaleness. The color of her shoes, dress and hair match the color of the table close to her. If you notice the table, it too has rounded features, the base resembling the female waistline. She extends her left arm, delicately holding her cigarette unlike a man would. Most important of all, she drinks Pepsi. She is bright and sophisticated.

While the group in the foreground seems harmonious in that all three are paying attention and discussing a plant, there is tension within the group in the background. The man and the woman in the blue dress have turned their backs on each other. There is tension between both sexes created in this spot of the ad. The lady in front of the man, holding a Pepsi bottle, seems to be distancing herself from him as well. Curiously, we don't see a Pepsi bottle in this man's hands. He seems to be the odd man out. Perhaps he's not too sociable.

In the far background of the ad, we see a man and woman, probably a couple. Not too much detail here. This couple clearly serve to give the entire illustration balance of form.