I have mentioned before that the status symbol of having Coca-Cola is great. If ever we wanted to treat our staff to something special, buying them a few liters of Coke was the ultimate. Notorious for indicating wealth, it was common practice in Harare for people to carry used Coca-Cola bottles around with them, typically filled with water, but giving the appearance of having means.
If I would have started collecting pictures of Coca-Cola ads when we first arrived in Africa, I would have had thousands by now. Coca-Cola pervades Africa. (Ask anyone if they know what a Pepsi is and they will give a blankly confused stare.) And because Delta Beverages is happy to make signs for other companies that sell its products, you can find it on the fronts of hotels, supermarkets, restaurants, butcheries, stadiums, street signs, stores, investment companies, and even a few churches. While I may eventually put some elbow grease into writing a blog on how the Chinese appear to actually be taking over Africa, Coca-Cola is a very, very close second...
