Yo, friends. This is one bizarre comic strip advertisement for Pepsi, from May 1941. Read it and let me dissect this one for you. Sorry for the poor quality scan but that’s how these rare ones often are.

– Click to enlarge

Panel 2, the opening of the story. Pepsi (the bigger fat one) and Pete fall from the sky after passing through “the wrong door” into a magical tropical world of speed-planes and palm trees.

Panels 3 and 4. A grass skirt, top hat wearing native asks for a match so they can cook a “fat explorer” for a banquet. The similarities in the explorer’s body type to Pepsi worries him though it doesn’t seem the natives are interested in eating the two cops. The native is quite polite and not using his spear in attempt to capture the new fat people that fell from the sky (obviously their food source).

Panel 5. Pete shows his sympathy for the poor explorer while Pepsi just focuses on the act of running. You know, getting into the zone.

Following this so far? Does it make you thirsty for an ice-cold soda pop? It should.

Panel 6. Strange birds fly around with a somewhat Dr. Seussian looking fish and cat.

Panel 7. The two cops have captured one of these exotic birds, presumedly by Pete grabbing its legs as it flew by while Pepsi jumping it from the nearby tree, his weight pinning the bird down. Time for a drink, eh? For only 5 cents, they were able to afford to force the bird to swallow some Pepsi (the drink, not the man. You never know who may be eaten in this magical world.)

Panels 8. With the power of a sugar rush, the bird is able to help capture the happy fat explorer from becoming “fricassee” (a word not used enough in comics today).

Panel 9, the end of the story. Can the bird read English? If not, is it just coincidence that they happen to be heading back to America? The dazed bird doesn’t seem to care what happens to him now that he got his soda buzz. What will happen to them when they arrive back in Long Island with a naked fat man? Pepsi and Pete actually look worried about it.

But it doesn’t matter because all that is supposed to sell you on a big big bottle of Pepsi. Print out this comic strip and present it at your local grocery or email it to pepsi.com to get your 66 year old bottle for only 5 cents!