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Corporate Capitalism or Coca-Colonisation? Economic Interests, Cultural Concerns, Tax Policies and Coca-Cola in Denmark from 1945 to the Early 1960s

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 September 2012

NILS ARNE SØRENSEN  and
KLAUS PETERSEN
NILS ARNE SØRENSEN
Affiliation:
Professor of Contemporary European History, University of Southern Denmark, [email protected]
KLAUS PETERSEN
Affiliation:
Professor, Centre for Welfare State Research, University of Southern Denmark, [email protected]
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Abstract

The history of Coca-Cola in Denmark in the early post-war years offers a fascinating case for studying the close links between Cold War politics, business interest and cultures of consumption. In the early 1950s, the well-organised Danish beverage industry lobbied effectively to protect their home market against the American soft-drink giant. The result was a special cola tax that made production of cola drinks unprofitable in Denmark. This tax came under growing pressure in the late 1950s and was eventually abandoned in 1959. Resistance to ‘America's advance’ continued after 1959 as the Coca-Cola Company came to face strong competition from the local Jolly Cola brand, produced by exactly the same business interests that had lobbied for the cola tax six years earlier.

Capitalisme corporatif ou coca-colonisation? intérêts commerciaux, soucis culturels, politique fiscale et le coca-cola au danemark entre 1945 et le début des années 1960

L'histoire de Coca-Cola au Danemark pendant les années d'après-guerre sert d'étude de cas pour examiner les liens étroits liant la politique de la guerre froide, les intérêts commerciaux et la culture de la consommation. Pendant de début des années 1950, le secteur danois des boissons exerça une pression bien organisée pour protéger le marché domestique des avances du géant américain, et réussit à faire imposer une taxe particulière sur les boissons cola, si bien que la manufacture de ces boissons s'avéra non rentable au Danemark. Vers la fin des années 1950 cette taxe souffrit une pression croissante, et elle fut abandonnée en 1959. L'avance américaine continua après 1959: la marque danoise Jolly Cola, établie par les intérêts mêmes qui avaient six ans auparavant demandé la taxe cola, lança un défi d'envergure contre la compagnie Coca-Cola.

Korporativer kapitalismus oder coca-kolonisierung? wirtschaftsinteressen, kulturelle wahrnehmungen, steuerpolitik und coca-cola in dänemark von 1945 bis zu den frühen sechziger jahren

Die Geschichte der Coca-Cola Produktion in Dänemark bietet eine faszinierende Fallstudie zum Zusammenhang von Kalten Krieg, Wirtschaftsinteressen und Konsumkultur. In den frühen fünfziger Jahren versuchte die dänische Getränkeindustrie mit Erfolg ihren Heimatmarkt gegen den amerikanischen Wettbewerber abzuschirmen. Das Ergebnis war eine Cola Steuer, welche die Cola-Produktion in Dänemark wenig profitabel machte. Diese Steuer geriet jedoch seit Ende der fünfziger Jahre zunehmend unter Druck und wurde 1959 abgeschafft. Der Widerstand gegenüber dem ‘Vordringen Amerikas’ ging jedoch auch nach 1959 weiter. Denn nun sah sich Coca-Cola dem starken Wettbewerb der dänischen Firma Jolly Cola gegenüber, die dieselben Wirtschaftsinteressen repräsentierte, welche sich Anfang der fünfziger Jahre für eine Cola Steuer eingesetzt hatten.

Type
Articles
Information
Contemporary European History , Volume 21 , Issue 4 , November 2012 , pp. 597 - 617
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2012

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References

1 There are several histories of the Coca-Cola Company. See, for example, Kahn, Alfred J., The Big Drink: The Story of Coca-Cola (New York: Random House, 1960)Google Scholar; Allen, Frederick J., Secret Formula: How Brilliant Marketing and Relentless Salesmanship Made Coca-Cola the Best-Known Product in the World (New York: HarperBusiness, 1995)Google Scholar; and Pendergrast, Mark, For God, Country & Coca-Cola: The Definitive History of the Great American Soft Drink and the Company That Makes It, (2nd edn, New York: Basic Books, 2000)Google Scholar.

2 Cf. Kahn, Big Drink, 25; Pendergrast, God, 238–40.

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6 Cf. Wagnleitner, Reinhold, Coca-Colonisation and the Cold War: The Cultural Mission of the United States in Austria after the Second World War (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1994)Google Scholar, and Haddow, Robert H., Pavilions of Plenty: Exhibiting American Culture Abroad in the 1950s (Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1997)Google Scholar. See also Schröter, Harm G., ‘Economic Culture and its Transfer: Americanization and European Enterprise, 1900–2005’, Revue économique, 58, 1 (2007), 215–29CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

7 ‘The Coca-Cola Company mod mineralvandsfabrikken “Balderskilde””, Højesteretstidende, 102, 1959, 252 (The figure was supplied by the Coca-Cola Company).

8 Erhvervsarkivet, archive no. 2117 (A/S Coca-Cola, mineralvand en gros, Købehavn), note by Thorvald Mikkelsen, dated 8 Jan. 1946.

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11 Letter from H. B. Nicholson, Jr., Casablanca, to J. F. Curtis, Coca-Cola Export Corporation, New York, 17 March 1953, in Coca-Cola Archives, Atlanta.

12 This was documented in a report by the Danish Trust Commission from 1949. See Betænkning vedrørende konkurrenceforholdene for øl og mineralvand, The Danish Trust Commission of 31 March 1949, Public Report No. 246 (Copenhagen 1960), 56; Hjejle, Bent, Hof eller Tuborg: Konkurrence og fusion 1895–970 (Copenhagen: Nyt Nordisk Forlag, 1982)Google Scholar.

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14 Letter from Danske Mineralvandsfabrikanter to the Minister of Finance, 17 Nov. 1952, in Rigsarkivet, Departementet for Told- og Forbrugsafgifter, 1. forbrugsafgiftkontor, file 38 B-3082: Cola-sagen.

15 Letter from ‘Toldvæsnets Prøvesamling’ to Tolddepartementet, 16 Oct. 1953, Rigsarkivet, Departementet for Told- og Forbrugsafgifter, 1. forbrugsafgiftkontor, file 38 B-3082: Cola-sagen, 1. forbrugsafgiftskontor.

16 The temporary character of the excise tax laws was to a high degree a technicality. Although the laws were only to be in force for a specific period of time, they were normally prolonged with only minor revisions.

17 Rigsdagstidende 1952–3, Landstingets Forhandlinger, col. 1007.

18 Retsforbundet was founded in 1919 based on the ideas of the American economist and philosopher Henry George. It combines George's idea of a single tax on land with liberalistic anti-state and free trade thinking.

19 Rigsdagstidende 1952–3, Folketingets Forhandlinger, col. 3922.

20 Folketingstidende 1953–4, Forhandlingerne, col. 1140–68, 1576–94, 1868.

21 For France see Kuisel, Seducing. For Sweden see Ahlborn and Nilmander, Forsvinnande, 88.

22 The correspondence is held at Rigsarkivet, Departementet for Told- og Forbrugsafgifter, 1. forbrugsafgiftkontor, file 38 B-3082: Cola-sagen.

23 Letter from Michael Deane, Coca-Cola Export Corporation, to Samuel C. Waugh, Assistant Secretary of State for Economic Affairs, Department of State, 2 Feb. 1954; Letter from Michael Deane, Coca-Cola Export Corporation, to Samuel C. Waugh, Assistant Secretary of State for Economic Affairs, Department of State, 18 Feb. 1954 and Department of State. Memorandum of Conversation. Subject: Danish excise tax on ‘cola-containing goods’, 18 Feb. 1954, National Archives, RG 59 Department of State, Decimal File, 1950–4, Box 5137, File: 85911/12–450.

24 Internal note from the Office of Customs and Excise Taxes, Feb. 1955, in Rigsarkivet, Departementet for Told- og Forbrugsafgifter, 1. forbrugsafgiftkontor, file 38 B-3082: Cola-sagen. The correspondence between the various parties and the Ministry of Finance are all kept in this file.

25 This discussion started in 1953 and went on in the following years. See the correspondence between Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Trade and Tariffs in Rigsarkivet, Departementet fory Told- og Forbrugsafgifter, 1. forbrugsafgiftkontor, file 38 B-3082: Cola-sagen.

26 Mariager, Rasmus, I tillid og varm sympati: Dansk-britiske forbindelser og USA under den tidlige kolde krig (Copenhagen: Museum Tusculanum Press, 2008), 558Google Scholar; Pedersen, Jan, Danmarks økonomiske historie 1910–1960 (Copenhagen: Multivers, 2010)Google Scholar.

27 Nissen, Henrik, Gyldendal og Politikens Danmarkshistorie, vol. 14: Da landet blev by, 1950–1970 (Copenhagen: Gyldendal and Politiken, 1991), 62–5Google Scholar.

28 Larsen, Hans Kryger, Industri, stat og samfund 1939–1972 (Odense: University of Southern Denmark Press, 2008), 179–92Google Scholar.

29 Folketingstidende, Forhandlingerne 1956–7, col. 2800. The general tax on soft drinks had been raised from 12 øre to 20 øre in 1955.

30 ‘Nyt fremstød for Coca-Cola in Denmark’, Politiken, 6 March 1957. No files from the work of the parliamentary committee debating the tax have survived in the archive of the Folketing. Mr Thorvald Mikkelsen was a major shareholder in DADEKO which probably explains why this company with no experience in soft-drink production was granted the contract by Coca-Cola Export Corporation.

31 ‘En krone’, Politiken, 2 April 1957, and ‘En amerikansk Røst i Sagen om Coca-Cola’, Børsen, 3 April 1957.

32 Cf. Allen, Secret Formula, 1–2.

33 Ekstra Bladet, 2 April 1957.

34 Folketingstidende 1956–7. Folketingets Forhandlinger, cols. 3657–60.

35 See Social-Demokraten, Fyens Stifttidende, Ekstra Bladet and Herning Folkeblad, all 4 April 1957; Aarhus Stifttidende and Jydske Tidende, 5 April 1957; Roskilde Tidende, 8 April 1957, and Jyllandsposten, 13. April 1957.

36 Letter from Einar Dessau to Minister of Finance, Viggo Kampmann, 28 April 1958, in Rigsarkivet, Departementet for Told- og Forbrugsafgifter, 1. forbrugsafgiftkontor, file 38 B-3082: Cola-sagen. Our italics.

37 A copy of the letter, dated 15 April 1958, is in the archive of the Albani Breweri, Stadsarkivet, Odense, Albanis Arkiv: Box 8.

38 Olsen, Erling and Hoffmeyer, Erik, Dansk pengehistorie 1914–1960 (Copenhagen: Danmarks Nationalbank, 1968), 278–81Google Scholar; Larsen, Industri, 117–235.

39 Olesen, Torsten Borring and Villaume, Poul, Dansk Udenrigspolitiks historie, vol. 5: I blokopdelingens tegn 1945–1972 (Copenhagen: Gyldendal, 2006), 379–444Google Scholar.

40 Folketingstidende, Folketingets Forhandlinger 1958–9, cols. 659–74. For Kampmann's position in Feb., see idem., 1957–8, cols. 2626–7.

41 Letter from Danske Mineralvandsfabrikanters Fællesråd to the Folketing's committee for customs and excise taxes, 25 Nov. 1958, in Folketingets Bibliotek og Arkiv, Toldudvalget. The letter was originally produced by The Association of Breweries and was also distributed to the press.

42 For this figure, see Folketingstidende. Forhandlingerne 1956–7, col. 3652.

43 Letter from Ambassador Val Peterson to Department of State, 9 Dec. 1958, in National Archives, RG 59 General Records of the Dep State. 1955–9 Central Decimal File, Box 4703, File 859.312/1–356.

44 Folketingstidende. Folketingets forhandlinger 1958–9, col. 1662.

45 Olesen and Villaume, I blokopdelingens tegn, 402–31.

46 Jyllands-Posten, 21 Jan. 1959.

47 Petersen, Klaus, Legitimität und Krise: Die politische Geschichte des dänischen Wohlfahrtsstaates 1945–1973 (Berlin: Berlin Verlag, 1998)Google Scholar; Pedersen, Danmarks økonomiske historie.

48 Letter from Val Peterson to Department of State, 9. Dec. 1958, cit.

49 Cf. Rasmussen, Hanne and Rüdiger, Mogens, Danmarks Historie – Tiden efter 1945 (Copenhagen: Gyldendal, 1990), 155–8Google Scholar.

50 Investment of Foreign Capital in Denmark, n.d. (but 1957), 5. See also Sørensen, Peter and Tarbensen, Kenn, ‘Det multinationale gennembrud’, Den Jyske Historiker, 109 (2005)Google Scholar.

51 The following is based on the copies of the papers from this ‘cola committee’ held at the archive of the Odense brewery Albani. See Stadsarkivet Odense, Albanis Arkiv, Box 29; Bestyrelsesmøder, file: A/S Dansk Coladrik 1959–66.

52 Minutes from meeting of cola partners, 13 Jan. 1959, Albanis Arkiv, Box B29: Bestyrelsesmøder, file: A/S Dansk Coladrik 1959–66 (Stadsarkivet Odense).

53 The copy of the advertisement is preserved in the archive of Albani Brewery, cit.

54 Cf. Tedlow, Richard S., New and Improved: The Story of Mass Marketing in America (New York: Basic Books, 1990), 73–95Google Scholar.

55 Dansk Handelsblad, 12 June 1959.

56 Cf. Børsen, 27 June 1959.

57 Cf. Interview with Poul Madsen, former president of Wilian and Madsen, 14 Feb. 2008.

58 Dagens Nyheder, 21 June 1959.

59 Cf. DADEKO Scrapbog, Carlsbergs Arkiv, Copenhagen.

60 Land & Folk, 30 June 1959.

61 Aktuelt, 5 Aug. 1959.

62 Letter dated 9 Sept., held in Stadsarkivet Odense, Albanis Arkiv, box 29.

63 This question is discussed several times in the internal correspondence of Dansk Coladrik in the spring and summer of 1960. This correspondence is held in B29, Albani's Arkiv, Stadsarkivet Odense.

64 Based on monthly sales statistics for Jolly Cola, 1959–64, in archive of the brewery Slotsmøllen, Kolding Stadsarkiv.

65 Boje, Per and Johansen, Hans Christian, Altid på vej . . . Albani Bryggeriernes Historie 1859–84 (Odense: Odense Universitetsforlag, 1984), 250–1Google Scholar.

66 Among the many examples, one can mention Afri-Cola (Germany), Austro Cola (Austria) and Cuba Cola (Sweden). See Gries, Rainer, ‘Coca-Cola: Globale Werbeikone und Symbol der Amerikanisierung’, in Paul, Gerhard, ed., Das Jahrhundert der Bilder: 1949 bis heute (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck and Ruprecht, 2008) 162–9Google Scholar, and ‘Coca-Cola’, available at www.ooegeschichte.at/Coca-Cola.378.0.html (last visited 19 May 2011). A self-promoting version of the history of Afri-Cola is 80 Jahre anders (2011). On Cuba Cola see www.cubacola.nu/trocaside.asp?id=1 (last visited 7 Nov. 2011).

67 Interview with Poul Madsen 14 Feb. 2008. Madsen was co-founder and CEO of Wilian & Madsen in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s.

68 The importance of the ‘size argument’ was stressed by former president and co-owner of Wilian & Madsen, Coca-Cola's bottler in western Denmark, Poul Madsen when we interviewed him in 2008.

69 The focus on the pre-18 age-group is very clear in a series of glossy advertisement that Jolly Cola ran in Vi Unge, Denmark's dominant youth magazine, in the mid-1960s.

70 For anti-Americanism in Denmark in the first post-war decades, see Sørensen, Nils Arne and Petersen, Klaus, ‘Ameri-Danes and Pro-American Anti-Americans’, in Stephan, Alexander, ed., The Americanization of Europe: Culture, Diplomacy, and Anti-Americanism after 1945 (New York: Berghahn, 2006), 134–9Google Scholar.

71 For the concept ‘Americanisers’, see Volker Berghahn, ‘Conceptualizing the American Impact on Germany: West German Society and the Problem of Americanization’, paper presented at Conference at the German Historical Institute, Washington D. C., 1999, available at http://webdoc.sub.gwdg.de/ebook/p/2005/ghi_12/www.ghi-dc.org/conpotweb/westernpapers/berghahn.pdf (last visited 7 Nov. 2011).