Self Demonstrating / Sprite Boy

"P.S.: Everybody likes to shorten words. Abbreviation is a natural law of language. You hear 'Coke' — the friendly abbreviation for the trade-mark 'Coca-Cola' — on every hand. I tell the story in a picture you have so often heard in words."

— Me, in my first Coca-Cola ad ever

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(For the full self-demonstrating experience, read this in the voice of-) ^note  giggles "Silly you! I'm a character in a Coke ad, I don't have a voice actor!"

HELLO... ^note  Anything that's bolded would be represented by giant yellow text in one of my Coke ads.

I'm Coca-Coca, known, too, as- wait a second, this isn't an advertisement, is it? What is this... (gasps) My own TVTropes page?! YES! This is the greatest day of my life! I- oh, you're still here? Reading this? Well, then I suppose you want a proper introduction. giggles Alright, then. You want it, you got it!

Hello! I'm Sprite Boy, ^note  known, too, as "Kayoni" if you're one of those crazy PokéLatin speakers and I-

(screaming) ^note  "What? Am I really that creepy?"

(wide-eyed terror) ^note  "They've been doing this for years..."

(people fainting) ^note  "*giggles* Please! They're just exaggerating!"

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...Yeah, as you can see, I haven't exactly been getting the best reputation nowadays... But still, I have a lot of things to tell you about my career. Especially since practically no one seems to remember me anymore...

So, where to start?

Well, I might as well go back to the 1940's at a little company you may have heard of called The Coca-Cola Company. You see, the brand's name was Coca-Cola, and all the executives thought people should call it that. But nope. Instead, people relied on something called "the natural law of language" ^note  see above and shortened the name to "Coke." And the company was not happy. They kept resisting the whole idea. ^note  Silly them! Who wouldn't want to abbreviate "Coca-Cola" to something shorter? But the consumers continued to use the name...

...and then, as you might expect, the company finally said, "Well, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em!" ^note  Good for you, Coke!

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So they decided to come up with an advertising campaign that told people it was okay to use the term they'd already been using for years. January 1942 arrived, and yessiree, what a glorious day it was indeed! Okay, sure, we had a big war going on and Nazis terrorizing the planet, but that day was the first time Coca-Cola ever used the term "Coke." The best part?

THEY USED ME TO ADVERTISE IT!

You won't believe how happy I was that day! I had always said that abbreviation is a law of language, and look where it got me! ^note  Okay... I should probably calm down now. I wasn't nearly this exciteable in the ads- more on that later.

Life in the ads was pretty good. In my first ad (and in most ads to follow), I addressed the people directly. I was disembodied- only my head and hands were shown- and while that might sound creepy at first, believe me, it's not as bad as it seems. I was constantly smiling, and had a bunch of magic sparkles surrounding me. But the best part? I had fans. And a ton of them, in fact. Heck, I was used so often in advertising, I got two hats! ^note  I still had a Limited Wardrobe, though. As for my personality... basically, take that crazy guy over at that comic book company, put him in an elf's body, and make him a much friendlier guy. Yep, I was a friendly, mischevious, fourth-wall-breaking sprite boy with a penchant for Coke, ladies and gents! I was basically Deadpool before he was cool! Not to brag, of course.

And it lasted until about 1958, when I broke the fourth wall for the final time and was phased out of advertising. I was sad, of course, but like the happy-go-lucky sprite I am, I kept looking forward to the future.

And boy, was my future crazy!

I got my pictures and merchandise put up in museums and restaurants everywhere, and then in 1961, in comes a certain lemon-lime drink from the Coca-Cola Company. ^note  I'm not named after it. Nor is the drink named after me. I thought I was named after it at first, but it turns out I just gave them the rights to use the name and that the name itself was suggested by somebody else. So really, it was just a coincidence. After that, it seemed like I was completely destined to fade out of advertising...

...and then came a little thing called FANON, my friends!

A small community of fans who recognized my importance to the Coke community came together and created a full-fledged personality for me, fully establishing me as a friendly, mischevious, fourth-wall-breaking sprite boy with a penchant for Coke... and also a huge Stepford Smiler who desperately wants friends and wants to not be seen as just Accidental Nightmare Fuel. ^note  Which reminds me, do you know how many people have seen me as "creepy" or "insane" in the past few years? A lot. They also made me a lot more exciteable than I had been in the ads- and that's the personality you're reading about on your screen right now. Yeah, sorry, Sundblom, but you never truly gave me a full-fledged personality other than "Hi, readers! You can call Coke "Coke" now!" I mean, I know it was technically my job to be a fourth-wall breaker, but still... ^note  That's Haddon Sundblom, by the way. He's the guy who created me. Everyone says he created Santa Claus, too (who I actually appeared with in a few ads- that's me, on the left!), but he'd been portrayed like this before.

By the way, let me check what's been going on at the Coke museum... WHAAAAAAAAT?! I'M GETTING MY OWN EXHIBIT?! They really do care!

Yeah, I know. I talk a lot. You came to see tropes, so... here you go!

Trope time! ^note  By the way, could you please get me a Coke while you're at it?

• Adaptation Expansion: Yay, fanon! Thanks to them, I've got more of a personality now. ^note  Namely, I'm just as friendly and fourth-wall breaking as I was in the ads, but I'm much more enthusiastic. Not to mention, they gave me something that, admittedly, Sundblom didn't: character flaws.
• All of the Other Reindeer: Poor, poor me, destined forever to be labeled as Sundblom’s creepiest creation. Back in the day, I was popular, but it seems that nowadays no one likes a “crazy-eyed” sprite with a Cheshire Cat Grin. All of a sudden I’m starting to feel these feelings I’ve never felt before... what is this? Sadness?
• Berserk Button: Pleasedontcallmenightmarefuel pleasedontcallmenightmarefuel pleasedontcallmenightmarefuel... ^note  Seriously, don't. You don't know how many times I've been called "creepy" or "insane."
  • Also... DEAR GOD, WHAT HAVE THEY DONE TO ME?! ^note  Okay, I think I can see where they're coming from now, but still... NEVER SHOW ME THIS IMAGE! I look like a demon woman with that crazy grin on my face!
• Breaking the Fourth Wall: ^note  BUT OF COURSE! HELLO...
• Catchphrase: Thank the fans for this one: “WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!” *giggles* Still doesn’t roll off the tongue as much as I’d like it to, but hey! If it’s supposed to be representing my ability to fly at supersonic speeds, then I’m all for it!
• Cheerful Child: Don’t let that Cheshire Cat Grin fool you, folks! I’m not out to steal your souls, don’t worry!
• Cheshire Cat Grin: Well, duh! <<:) ^note  Although, this has caused people to see me as a Creepy Child in recent years...
• Creepy Child: Or so they say. I'm not really creepy, per se. I'm a very friendly sprite if you get to know me. ^note  Though the image above may show otherwise... *shudders*
• Dude, Where's My Respect?: Hey, if it wasn’t for me, you wouldn’t be calling Coke “Coke”! At least the company themselves has dignity... but that makes sense. They’re the company, after all!
• I Just Want to Have Friends: You know, these days the only thing I truly want is to be accepted by the people. Except for the few fans that do care (thanks for that!) no one likes me for who I am. Thankfully, though, that new exhibit over at the Coke museum could change all that...
• Motor Mouth: Have you ever seen any of my ads?! Seriously, it takes about two paragraphs for me to finish what I’m saying! That’s how much I talk. Speaking of talking, did you ever hear about a little thing called the “fourth wall”? You should, since that’s what I keep breaking all the time. No, it’s not an actual wall. It’s imaginary. Just like my body was in practically every single ad ever! Sundblom drew me that way, you know. Ever heard of him? Great guy. He’s an amazing artist, though I hear he’s dead now, and that makes me sad, and I’m flooded with all these weird emotions and- (beat) Oh, sorry. Moving on...
• Nice Guy: Hello! May I invite you to have a Coke?
• No Fourth Wall: My main forte, and I’m not ashamed to admit it!
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Ever see me drop my smile? Something’s up. ^note  It’s never happened in canon, though. The fans, however, gave me a few moments where I do drop it.
• Perpetual Smiler: And proud of it! *giggles*
• The Pollyanna: War’s going on? Expect me to focus on the hope that all those soldiers will come home one day. Not getting enough respect from consumers? Doesn’t really matter as much as long as the company likes me! Yeah, as you can tell, I’m not one to accentuate the negative. And that’s good, isn’t it?
• Ron the Death Eater: Am I a good guy? Certainly! But everyone plays me up like I’m a crazy demon, and I just don’t get it...
• Stepford Smiler: What do you mean, “stepford”? This is genuine!... OK, OK, I’ll admit, sometimes it’s just so I can keep myself from breaking under pressure.

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