The Wolf Man, Pepsi ‘Monster Match’ 1991

Don Ivan Punchatz created this advertising artwork for Pepsi's 'Monster Match' campaign, though the date it was made is unknown. It depicts the Wolfman, a classic figure from the Universal horror film franchise. Here, the Wolfman is not merely a scary monster; he’s a commercial tool, transformed into a vehicle to sell soda. This points to the complex relationship between art, commerce, and cultural institutions. Punchatz was a prolific commercial illustrator. His success depended on major corporations such as Pepsi, and publishers such as Ace Books, which depended on his artwork to illustrate its books. This image prompts us to consider the institutional contexts that enable artistic production. How do marketing strategies shape the images we consume? And how do artists like Punchatz negotiate the demands of commerce with their own creative vision? These are the kinds of questions that drive art historians who are interested in social context. By examining archives, advertisements, and other period documents, we can more fully understand art’s meaning as contingent on social and institutional context.