L'affiche publicitaire française (1)

Hooray! I've finally found someone in Winnipeg that sells Orangina in a nice, big 1750mL bottle. Much better than paying $2 for a tiny little bottle on Osborne, Corydon or Provencher. You know Orangina, right? That wonderful little French drink that's not much more than carbonated water and orange juice, the Orangensaft mit Sodawasser that I so enjoyed during my boyhood trip to Europe. But it's not just that it tastes better and is more refreshing than any soft drink you've ever had. There's also the legendary iconography created by Bernard Villemot, of which the poster featured here is the best known example. I must confess that the whole Orangina experience somehow transports me to the Côte d'Azur, perhaps during the earlier part of the twentieth century, and I can just imagine myself relaxing at Antibes or Juan-les-Pins, enjoying the sun and sipping a surprisingly refreshing citrus-based carbonated beverage. Ridiculous, certes, but much more enjoyable than living in the real world. If any of this resonates with you, then you will certainly want to visit the Virtual Orangina Museum, and to see more of the work of Bernard Villemot. If you're really hardcore like me, then you will also want to pick up the beautiful book (see below for purchasing information) that came out last year featuring Villemot's best posters (Hoëbeke, 2005).

European poster art, especially the art of the French advertising poster of decades gone by, has always fascinated me. In the future there will be more posts related to this most agreeable of topics.

To buy the book, choose the option nearest you: [Canada] [France]