8 ads and products that sell America to the world, from blue jeans to Coca-Cola

American culture has tremendous influence on much of the world.

Other countries might only know the US through its products, like Coca-Cola or Levi's jeans.

Those products and the ads that sell them are what helped broaden American influence across the globe.

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The American Dream comes in a glass bottle, or maybe between two sesame seed buns. It even comes filtered, light, or in menthol.

Through ad campaigns, products, music, and movies, the US has imprinted its image on people's minds around the world.

Companies like Coca-Cola and McDonald's sell their products in almost every non-embargoed country, while Hollywood makes most of its money from the international box office.

“America can't help but affect us all. We cannot not be affected by America,” wrote British journalist Nick Fraser in the Guardian. He was discussing a book by Australian sociologist Peter Conrad called “How the World Was Won,” which explains how America took over the world — culturally speaking, of course.

Conrad himself wrote that the rest of the world has become “so Americanized that we no longer need to venerate the United States.” Partly to thank (or to blame) are American exports, Conrad says, be they cultural or physical products.

Here are eight of the many ads and products that sold America to the world.