Appearances of Argentine Marxist revolutionary Che Guevara (1928–1967) in popular culture are common throughout the world. During his lifetime he was a highly politicized and controversial figure, in death his stylized image has been transformed into a worldwide emblem for an array of causes, representing a complex mesh of sometimes conflicting narratives. Che Guevara's image is viewed as everything from an inspirational icon of revolution, to a retro and vintage logo. Most commonly he is represented by a facial caricature originally by Irish artist Jim Fitzpatrick and based on Alberto Korda's famous 1960 photograph titled Guerrillero Heroico. The evocative simulacra abbreviation of the photographic portrait allowed for easy reproduction and instant recognizability across various uses. For many around the world, Che has become a commercial general symbol of the underdog, the idealist, the iconoclast, or the martyr. He has become, as author Michael Casey notes in Che's Afterlife: The Legacy of an Image, "the quintessential postmodern icon signifying anything to anyone and everything to everyone."Brand Che: Revolutionary as Marketer's Dream by Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times, April 20, 2009

Che Guevara's likeness has undergone continual apotheosis while being weaved throughout the public consciousness in a variety of ways. From being viewed as a "Saintly Christ-like" figure by the rural poor in Bolivia where he was executed, to being viewed as an idealistic insignia for youth, longing for a vague sense of rebellion. His likeness can also be seen on posters, hats, key chains, mouse pads, hoodies, beanies, flags, berets, backpacks, bandannas, belt buckles, wallets, watches, wall clocks, Zippo lighters, pocket flasks, bikinis, personal tattoos, and most commonly T-shirts. Meanwhile, his life story can be found in an array of films, documentaries, plays, and songs of tribute. Throughout television, music, books, magazines, and even corporate advertisements, Che's visage is an ever-present political and apolitical emblem that has been endlessly mutated, transformed, and morphed over the last fifty years of visual popular culture. This allows Che to operate as "both a fashionable de-politicized logo, as well as a potent anti-establishment symbol used by a wide spectrum of human rights movements and individuals affirming their own liberation."Che to Che: Sexual Politics in Chile by Carmen Oquendo-Villar, for Harvard's David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies

Additionally, his face has evolved into many manifestations and represents a Rashomon effect to those who observe its use. To some it is merely a generic high street visual emblem of global marketing, while to others it represents the notion of dissent, civil disobedience, or political awareness. Conversely, to those ideologically opposed to Che Guevara's belief in World revolution, or to those that resent his veneration because of his violent actions, his propagation represents shallow ignorant kitsch, idolatry worthy of spoof makeovers, parody, or even ridicule. Despite the competing narratives, Che has become a widely disseminated counter-cultural symbol that sometimes even operates entirely independent of the man himself. Hannah Charlton of The Sunday Times made note of the varying uses by postulating that "T-shirt wearers might wear Che's face as an easy replacement for real activism, or as a surrogate for it.""Che Guevara: Revolutionary & Icon", by Trisha Ziff, Abrams Image, 2006, pg 8

Genesis

Walk through any major metropolis around the globe and it is likely that you will come across an image of Che Guevara, most commonly a stylized version of Korda's iconic Guerrillero Heroico. An archetype, capable of endless visual regeneration which, depending on your opinion, either helps tell the story of 20th century visual literacy or kitsch banality. According to Hannah Charlton, editor of Che Guevara: Revolutionary and Icon, "By the 1990s the global market saw the emergence of what Naomi Klein has called a 'market marsala'—a bilingual mix of North and South, some Latin, some R&B, all couched in global party politics.""Che Guevara: Revolutionary & Icon", by Trisha Ziff, Abrams Image, 2006, pg 11 By embodying corporate identities that appear radically individualistic and perpetually new, the brands attempt to inoculate themselves against accusations that they are selling sameness. The next stage is to present consumption as a code, where mega brands, supposedly reflecting the "indie" values of their purchasing audience, can do so with a knowing irony that of course the buyer can remain seemingly untouched by the corporate values underpinning the transaction.

Enter Che: the 1960s symbol of student revolution, the all-pervasive ascetic gaze used to add allure and mystique to a product, because either a sophisticated audience is savvy enough to distinguish between revolution and commerce while enjoying the irony, or oblivious of who he is or what he represents. This began the metamorphosis from Che the martyred resistance fighter beloved by many, and Che the violent Marxist revolutionary despised by others, to his dual paradoxical position in the global corporate capitalist culture. The commodification of the image has been ongoing since his death, and since the late 1990s has seen a resurgence. UCLA art historian David Kunzle, has described the phenomenon by noting "if you go to Havana today, you will not see Che with a gun, you will see him with a rose or a dove. He's become the Gandhi of Cuba."

This abiding 'renaissance' of Che's visage, is chronicled by filmmaker and Guggenheim scholar Trisha Ziff, who explores the genesis, continuing adaptation, and history of Che Guevara's famous image in the 2008 documentary "Chevolution".Tribeca Review: Chevolution by Joel Keller, April 27, 2008. In another documentary titled Personal Che (2007), filmmakers Adriana Marino and Douglas Duarte document the numerous ways that people around the world re-create Che in their own image.Official Website of Personal Che directed by Adriana Mariño & Douglas Duarte

Hannah Charlton hypothesizes that "appropriating the aura of Che for brand building, has now given rise to a new resurgence of "Che-ness" that transcends branding in its global appeal. In the shifting complexities of intercultural values, in the search for universal images that can speak across borders and boundaries, today's global image of Che is the most successful.""Che Guevara: Revolutionary & Icon", by Trisha Ziff, Abrams Image, 2006, pg 12 The Che face, more than any other icon according to Charlton, can keep accruing new application without relinquishing its essence – a generic and positive version of anti-status quo and liberation from any oppressive force, and a general, romantic, non-specific fantasy about change and revolution.

In advertising

A French businessman has Che Perfume by Chevignon, "Dedicated to those who want to feel and smell like revolutionaries." Converse uses the image of Che Guevara in one of their shoe ad campaigns. In 2008, Romanian auto maker Dacia (a subsidiary of Renault) produced a new commercial advertising their new Logan MCV station wagon titled "revolution". The ad, utilizing actors, begins with Fidel Castro's arriving at a remote villa, where he finds a host of other modern era revolutionaries, and ends with his standing on the back patio, where Che Guevara tells Karl Marx that "it is time for another revolution". Marx responds, "Che, it's about what people need.""Revolution": The New Dacia Logan MCV Commercial The Che brand of cigarettes is named after Guevara.El Che cigarettes "El Ché-Cola" donates 50% of their net profits to NGOs, and has the slogan: "Change your habits to change the world."(Company's website) In 1970, the Italian company Olivetti utilized Che's image for an ad celebrating its creative sales force. It read, "We would have hired him".Ernesto Goes to the Movies by J. Hoberman, The American Prospect, September 19, 2004 Smirnoff vodka attempted to use the image of Che Guevara in an advertising campaign in 2000, but was stopped in court by photographer Alberto Korda, who took the original iconic image. For an advertising campaign, Taco Bell dressed up a chihuahua like Che Guevara and had him state: "Yo quiero Taco Bell!", Spanish for: "I want Taco Bell!" When asked about the allusion to Che, Taco Bell's advertising director, Chuck Bennett, stated: "We wanted a heroic leader to make it a massive taco revolution."

The New York-based distributing company Raichle Molitor utilized a "Che look-alike contest" in order to create marketing buzz for their line of Fischer's Revolution skis. In defending their reasoning, product manager Jim Fleischer stated that "the Che image, just the icon and not the man's doings, represented what we wanted: revolution and extreme change." In an advertisement for Jean Paul Gaultier sunglasses circulated in Europe in 1999, Che is painted as a Frida Kahlo-type landscape, in front of a blazing desert sun. Leica (which was the camera used by Alberto Korda to capture Guerrillero Heroico) has used an image of their camera with Che's red star to advertise their "revolutionary camera." The offices of the Financial Times in London, features a large poster of a Che-esque Richard Branson greeting visitors in a beret, while pronouncing "We live in financial times".In various shades of Che by Peter Aspden, Financial Times, December 13, 2008 In November 2008, The Bobblehead LLC company released a limited edition of 100 Che Guevara bobbleheads. Creator and owner Rick Lynn announced that it had been a "long time dream" to create the hand painted and custom designed pieces, which will be hand signed and numbered as a collector's item.The Bobblehead, LLC Releases Che Guevara Bobblehead Collection Press Release, November 25, 2008 In December 2008, the Tartan Army began selling t-shirts with "Scotland's favorite son" Robert Burns in the mould of the iconic image of Che Guevara. The proceeds will go to organizations that assist disadvantaged and chronically ill children in countries the Tartan Army visit.Army Backs Burns to Raise Cash The Evening Times, December 1, 2008

Businesses / restaurants

The Russian capital, Moscow, features a Club Che, which is a vibrant Latin American-themed club staffed by Cuban waiters. The Russian city of St. Petersburg features a Cafe Club Che (lounge, bar, & jazz club) where patrons can get their hands on a shot of Cuban rum and a fine Cuban cigar at the drop of a military beret. Cairo, Egypt features a Che Guevara-themed nightclub, where the waiters dress in uniformed black berets. The Slovenian capital Ljubljana contains a Che Bar, where images of the man decorate every wall and surface. Zagreb, Croatia contained a restaurant named Che Wap, specializing mostly in ćevapi, but has since then closed. San Diego features Che Cafe on the UCSD campus. Colombo, Sri Lanka, features a Café CHé, whose walls "take you through the life of the iconic revolutionary leader."Café CHé Daily Mirror, October 10, 2009 Lipscani, a district of downtown Bucharest, Romania, features the popular bar, El Grande Comandante,El Comandante Bar in Bucharest, Romania which is made to look like a "basement shrine to Che Guevara."Bucharest District Struts Again by Lionel Beehner, The New York Times, August 30, 2009 Lagos Island, Nigeria features a Che Lounge & Steakhouse, where Che's face appears on every square inch of glass available, on the menus, the waiters' t-shirts and lapel pins."Parmgana Pasto" in the Palace of Che by Tokini Peterside, September 9, 2009 Mexico City features a Cafe La Habana (Restaurant and Cafe) where it is believed it was the spot that Che Guevara and Fidel Castro met multiple times to plot the Cuban Revolution in exile.