The Depressionist master Yugo was horrified by the impact of contemporary Western commercial products on the small villages and hamlets of his native Spain, and vowed to show the world the damage that was being done to an ancient and revered lifestyle. His caustic "Arrival of the Kelvinator in Longroño" was accepted by the Spanish Academy in spite of the artist's youth, and the vivid mockery of "Old Peon Adjusting Rabbit-ears for Best Reception" won the King's Purse two years later.

Yugo was warned about the anticipated arrival of New! Improved! Blue Cheer® laundry detergent in time to prepare a canvas for the grand event. Here his sarcastic eye has captured the sheer unadulterated ersatz joy of the Garzia Twins, Rafaela and Nina, whose names had been drawn to be the first ones in the village to try Cheer's extra strength cleaning power for people with tough laundry needs.

As Yugo scathingly records in his diary: "Cheer has made their Sunday dresses sparkle, because it contains a color-safe oxygen bleach, which is specially formulated to brighten colors while whitening whites their whitest! The coquettish twins received dozens of offers of marriage the day of the grand parade because their festival garments were so bright and sparkling, with no trace of embarrassing underarm stains. Lucky Rafaela! Lucky Nina! New Blue Cheer with Blue-Magic Whiteners has changed their lives, and it will change yours, too!"

The artist never lived to complete his last work, "Peasant Children with Plastic Maracas Holding Big Macs." Overcome with despair, he swallowed a full container of Liquid-Plumr®, stating in his suicide note that he needed "a fast-acting concentrate that works in seconds to clear up even stubborn problems."

 

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