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Shakespeare & Beyond

Shakespeare the salesman: Advertising Coca Cola, iPhones, and chewing tobacco

Marcus Ward calendar
Marcus Ward calendar

Shakespeare is a familiar sight in the theater and on the movie screen, but he’s permeated many other areas of American life. Advertisers have picked up on the ubiquity of Shakespeare for more than two centuries.

Shakespeare and his characters have been used to sell everything from chewing tobacco to iPhones. This advertisement from 1874 refers to Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.