How THIS Ad Campaign "Invented" Coffee Breaks

Did you know? This campaign invented coffee breaks? In the mid-1950s, a Pan American Coffee Bureau ad campaign challenged workers to find some midday relaxation with the line give yourself a coffee break and get what coffee gives to you. Despite the fact that the copy itself is somewhat awkward, the notion took hold fast. Soon, breaks became commonplace and were even sometimes protected by law. The coffee break became something that people bargained for. In 1964, the United Auto Workers union threatened to go on strike unless the coffee break was actually written into their contract, which within a very short space. The coffee break had been so thoroughly publicized that the phrase had become part of our language. This ad had a profound impact on the American coffee culture, not only making the coffee break a household phrase, but also setting a new business standard, all done through a two million dollar ad that started in 1952.