"I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing (In Perfect Harmony)" is a pop song that originated as the

jingle A jingle is a short song or tune used in advertising and for other commercial uses. Jingles are a form of sound branding. A jingle contains one or more hooks and meaning that explicitly promote the product or service being advertised, usually ...

"True Love and Apple Pie", by British hit songwriters Roger Cook and

Roger Greenaway Roger John Reginald Greenaway, (born 23 August 1938) is an English singer, songwriter and record producer, best known for his collaborations with Roger Cook. His compositions have included "You've Got Your Troubles" and the transatlantic mill ...

, and sung by Susan Shirley. The lyrics were rewritten by the songwriters, together with US advertising executive

Bill Backer William Montague Backer or Bill Backer (June 9, 1926 – May 13, 2016) was an American advertising executive.Weil, Martin. "William Backer, ad man behind Coke jingle that taught the world to sing, dies at 89." ''Washingtonpost.com'', 17 May 2016 ...

and US songwriter Billy Davis, for

The Coca-Cola Company The Coca-Cola Company is an American multinational beverage corporation founded in 1892, best known as the producer of Coca-Cola. The Coca-Cola Company also manufactures, sells, and markets other non-alcoholic beverage concentrates and syrups ...

's then-advertising agency,

McCann Erickson McCann, formerly McCann Erickson, is an American global advertising agency network, with offices in 120 countries. McCann is part of McCann Worldgroup, along with several other agencies, including direct digital marketing agency MRM//McCann, expe ...

, to become "Buy the World a Coke" in the 1971 "Hilltop" television commercial for

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance bar, temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pembe ...

and sung by

the Hillside Singers The Hillside Singers were an American folk group. The ensemble was created by advertising agency McCann Erickson to sing in a television commercial. McCann Erickson had written the jingle "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing (In Perfect Harmony) ...

. "Buy the World a Coke" was produced by Billy Davis and portrayed a positive message of hope and love, featuring a multicultural collection of teenagers on top of a hill appearing to sing the song. The popularity of the jingle led to it being re-recorded in two versions: one by

the New Seekers The New Seekers are a British pop group, formed in London in 1969 by Keith Potger after the break-up of his group, The Seekers. The idea was that the New Seekers would appeal to the same market as the original Seekers, but their music would have ...

and another by the Hillside Singers, as a full-length song, dropping references to Coca-Cola. The song became a hit record in the US and the UK.

Origins

The idea originally came to

, an advertising executive working for

, the agency responsible for

. Backer, Roger Cook and Billy Davis were delayed at

Shannon Airport Shannon Airport ( ga, Aerfort na Sionainne) is an international airport located in County Clare in the Republic of Ireland. It is adjacent to the Shannon Estuary and lies halfway between Ennis and Limerick. The airport is the third busiest ai ...

in Ireland. After a forced layover with many hot tempers, they noticed their fellow travelers the next morning were talking and joking while drinking Coca-Cola. Backer wrote the line "I'd like to buy the world a Coke" on a napkin and shared it with British hit songwriters Cook and

. The melody was derived from a previous jingle by Cook and Greenaway, originally called "True Love and Apple Pie" that was recorded in 1971 by Susan Shirley. Cook, Greenaway, Backer, and Billy Davis reworked the song into a Coca-Cola radio jingle, which was performed by British pop group

The New Seekers The New Seekers are a British pop group, formed in London in 1969 by Keith Potger after the break-up of his group, The Seekers. The idea was that the New Seekers would appeal to the same market as the original Seekers, but their music would have ...

and recorded at

Trident Studios Trident Studios was a British recording facility, located at 17 St Anne's Court in London's Soho district between 1968 and 1981. It was constructed in 1967 by Norman Sheffield, drummer of the 1960s group the Hunters, and his brother Barry. ...

in London. The radio jingle made its debut in February 1971 before being adapted for the Coca-Cola "Hilltop" television commercial later that year. The commercial ended with the statement: The song became so popular that its creators revised it, adding three verses and removing product references to create a full-length song appropriate for commercial release. The full-length song was re-recorded by both

The Hillside Singers The Hillside Singers were an American folk group. The ensemble was created by advertising agency McCann Erickson to sing in a television commercial. McCann Erickson had written the jingle "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing (In Perfect Harmony) ...

and The New Seekers and both versions became huge hits.

TV commercial

Lyrics

"Buy the World a Coke" contains the line "I'd like to buy the world a Coke" and repeats "It's the real thing", which was Coca-Cola's marketing slogan at the time.

introduced that slogan in October 1969.

Versions as an ad

Several versions of the ad have been made. * The song first aired on American radio on February 12, 1971, but not all of the Coca-Cola bottlers were impressed. However, DJs reported that they were receiving requests to hear the commercial. Backer persuaded

McCann-Erickson McCann, formerly McCann Erickson, is an American global advertising agency network, with offices in 120 countries. McCann is part of McCann Worldgroup, along with several other agencies, including direct digital marketing agency MRM//McCann, expe ...

to film a commercial using the song. The TV commercial, titled "Hilltop", was directed by Roberto Malenotti. The ad cost $250,000 ($ million today), the most expensive commercial in history at that time. :The first attempt at shooting was ruined by rain and other location problems. The finished product, first aired in July 1971, featured a multicultural group of young people lip synching the song on a hill in

Manziana Manziana is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Rome in the Italian region Latium, located about northwest of Rome. Manziana borders the following municipalities: Bracciano, Canale Monterano, Oriolo Romano, Tolfa Tolfa is a t ...

, outside Rome, Italy. The global unity of the singers is emphasized by showing that the bottles of Coke they are holding are labelled in a variety of languages. The

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...

n government asked for a version of the commercial without the black actors. Coca-Cola refused its request. The company later reduced its investment in that country, the then CEO saying "We have been reducing our investment in South Africa since 1976, and we have now decided to sell our remaining holdings in that country". * In 1990, a follow-up to this commercial, called "Hilltop Reunion" and directed by Jeff Lovinger, aired during coverage of

Super Bowl XXIV Super Bowl XXIV was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion San Francisco 49ers and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Denver Broncos to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion fo ...

. It featured the original singers (now adults) and their children, and culminated in a medley of this song and the then-current "Can't Beat the Real Thing" jingle. * G. Love remade the song for the

Coca-Cola Zero Coca-Cola Zero Sugar is a diet cola produced by The Coca-Cola Company. In some countries, it is sold as Coca-Cola No Sugar. The drink was introduced in 2005 as Coca-Cola Zero as a new no-calorie cola. In 2017, the formula was modified and the ...

commercial "Everybody Chill", which aired in 2005. * In 2006, the song was used again in a Coca-Cola commercial in the Netherlands, performed by Dutch singer Berget Lewis. * In 2010, Coca-Cola once again used the song in a television commercial featuring the entire line of its sponsored

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and ...

Sprint Cup drivers. The commercial included the drivers singing the song while driving in a race. * In 2011, information on how many dollars it would take "to buy the world a Coke" was given in a commercial featuring the red silhouette of a Coke bottle and the melody of the song. * In 2012, As part of the Google Project Rebrief campaign, the Hilltop ad was reimagined for the digital age. Via the web, people were able to "send" a Coke to special vending machines located around the globe. Recipients of the Coke could then record a thank-you message to send back to the sender. Machines were located in Buenos Aires; Cape Town; Mountain View, California; and New York City. * In 2015, a

public service announcement A public service announcement (PSA) is a message in the public interest disseminated by the media without charge to raise public awareness and change behavior. In the UK, they are generally called a public information film (PIF); in Hong Kong, ...

was made by

Center for Science in the Public Interest The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) is a Washington, D.C.-based non-profit watchdog and consumer advocacy group that advocates for safer and healthier foods. History and funding CSPI is a consumer advocacy organization. Its ...

about the consequences of excessive soda consumption, and contained an altered version of I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing. The advert featured hospital doctors and dentists, and patients struggling with obesity-induced diseases (

type 2 diabetes Type 2 diabetes, formerly known as adult-onset diabetes, is a form of diabetes mellitus that is characterized by high blood sugar, insulin resistance, and relative lack of insulin. Common symptoms include increased thirst, frequent urinatio ...

hypertension Hypertension (HTN or HT), also known as high blood pressure (HBP), is a long-term medical condition in which the blood pressure in the arteries is persistently elevated. High blood pressure usually does not cause symptoms. Long-term high b ...

and

tooth decay Tooth decay, also known as cavities or caries, is the breakdown of teeth due to acids produced by bacteria. The cavities may be a number of different colors from yellow to black. Symptoms may include pain and difficulty with eating. Complicatio ...

). Near the end it showed

Pepsi Pepsi is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by PepsiCo. Originally created and developed in 1893 by Caleb Bradham and introduced as Brad's Drink, it was renamed as Pepsi-Cola in 1898, and then shortened to Pepsi in 1961. History Pepsi wa ...

and

Mountain Dew Mountain Dew, stylized as Mtn Dew, is a carbonated soft drink brand produced and owned by PepsiCo. The original formula was invented in 1940 by Tennessee beverage bottlers Barney and Ally Hartman. A revised formula was created by Bill Brid ...

in beverage cups named "Obesity", "Diabetes Type Two" and "Tooth Decay" in the respective typefaces being poured away. The campaign was named "Change the Tune".

Significance and reception

In 2007, ''

Campaign Campaign or The Campaign may refer to: Types of campaigns * Campaign, in agriculture, the period during which sugar beets are harvested and processed *Advertising campaign, a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme * Bl ...

'' magazine called it "one of the best-loved and most influential ads in TV history". It served as a milestone—the first instance of the recording industry's involvement with advertising. Marketing analysts have noted Coca-Cola's strategy of marrying the idea of happiness and universal love of the product illustrated by the song. The commercial has continued receiving accolades in more recent times. In 2000,

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...

and ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...

'' ranked the song 16th in the 100 Greatest TV Ads, while in 2005, ITV ranked the advertisement 10th in its list of the greatest advertisements of all time.

Singles

The Hillside Singers

After the TV commercial aired, radio stations began to get calls from people who liked it. Billy Davis' friends in radio suggested he record the song, but not as an advertising jingle. It became so popular that the song was rewritten without brand name references and expanded to three verses. Davis recruited a group of studio singers to take it on because The New Seekers did not have time to record it. The studio group named themselves

to identify with the ad, and within two weeks the song was on the national charts. The Hillside Singers' version reached #13 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and #5 on Billboard's

Easy Listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to 1970s. It is related to middle-of-the-road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit songs, ...

chart. ''Billboard'' ranked this version as the No. 97 song for 1972.

The New Seekers

The New Seekers later recorded the song and sold 96,000 copies of their record in one day, eventually selling 12 million total. "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing (In Perfect Harmony)" climbed to UK #1 and US #7 in 1971 and 1972. The song became a gold record in the U.S., and has also sold over a million copies in the UK. The Coca-Cola Company waived royalties to the song, and instead donated $80,000 in payments to

UNICEF UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid to c ...

. ''Billboard'' ranked this version as the No. 93 song for 1972.

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

New Seekers version

Hillside Singers version

Covers and inspiration for other music

* A Japanese version was recorded in 1972, 3 people would later become members of The Candies the following year. * The British rock band

Oasis In ecology, an oasis (; ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment'ksar''with its surrounding feeding source, the palm grove, within a relational and circulatory nomadic system.” The location of oases has been of critical imp ...

was sued after their recording "

Shakermaker "Shakermaker" is a song by the English rock band Oasis. It was written by lead guitarist Noel Gallagher. The song was first released as a second single on 20 June 1994 and later released on Oasis' debut album ''Definitely Maybe'' (1994). The s ...

" borrowed its melody and some lyrics directly; they were forced to change their composition. * Oasis tribute band

No Way Sis No Way Sis were the official Oasis tribute band originating from Glasgow, Scotland. The band had a Top 40 hit single in the UK in 1996 with their EP, ''I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing'', the title track being a cover of the New Seekers ...

released a cover of "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing", entering the British charts at number 27 in 1996. * In 1997, the rock band Smash Mouth put a reference of the song in early lines of their first major single "

Walkin' on the Sun "Walkin' on the Sun" is a song by American rock band Smash Mouth from their first album, ''Fush Yu Mang'' (1997). Released as their debut single in June 1997, the song was Smash Mouth's first major single, reaching 1 on the US ''Billboard'' M ...

". * A version of the song was included in a Kidsongs video. * The

VeggieTales ''VeggieTales'' is an American Christian media, computer generated musical children's animation, and book franchise created by Phil Vischer and Mike Nawrocki under Big Idea Entertainment. The series sees fruit and vegetable characters retell ...

covered the song on their album ''Bob and Larry Sing the 70's''. * Gordon Webster recorded a live cover of the song on his 2013 album ''Live at Boston Swing Central''. * In 2015, US health advocates Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) created a parody in an effort to spread awareness of the dangers of drinking too much soda. * In 2016, Lucy Layton (daughter of New Seekers singer and bassist

Paul Layton Paul Martin Layton (born 4 August 1947) is an English musician and former child actor. He is the bassist and vocalist of the group The New Seekers. Biography Acting Layton studied acting, leaving school at fourteen to train at the Aida ...

) released a cover. Her official video, posted to YouTube on September 23, depicted the extreme violence faced by Syrian refugees, with the visuals of war being in stark contrast to the song's message of peace and harmony. * In 2017, The Canadian vocal group

The Tenors The Tenors (formerly known as The Canadian Tenors) are a vocal group consisting of Victor Micallef, Clifton Murray, Alberto Urso, and Mark Masri. They perform operatic pop music that is a mixture of classical and pop, featuring songs such as ...

used parts of 'Teach the World' in the song "Santa's Wish (Teach the World)" on their album ''Christmas Together''. * In 2018, the People's Republic of China promoted its Belt and Road initiative with a video of a song called "I'd Like to Build the World a Road" based on the lyrics, melody, and imagery of Coke's Hilltop ad and song. * In 2020, the Icelandic band

amiina Amiina (formerly Amína, stylized in lowercase) is an Icelandic band composed of members Maria Huld Markan Sigfúsdóttir, and Sólrún Sumarliðadóttir, Magnús Trygvason Eliassen and Guðmundur Vignir Karlsson. In the past they have frequent ...

released a version of the song.

In popular culture

The commercial was used as the final scene (minus the It's the Real Thing statement at the end) in the ''

Mad Men ''Mad Men'' is an American period drama television series created by Matthew Weiner and produced by Lionsgate Television. It ran on the cable network AMC from July 19, 2007, to May 17, 2015, lasting for seven seasons and 92 episodes. Its fict ...

'' series finale, "

Person to Person ''Person to Person'' is a popular television program in the United States that originally ran from 1953 to 1961, with two episodes of an attempted revival airing in 2012. Edward R. Murrow hosted the original series from its inception in 1953 unti ...

" (airdate May 17, 2015), which was set in November 1970, at an oceanside spiritual retreat in California. It is implied that the show's fictional protagonist,

Don Draper Donald Francis Draper, born Richard “Dick” Whitman, is a fictional character and the protagonist of the AMC television series ''Mad Men'' (2007–2015), portrayed by Jon Hamm. Up to the Season 3 finale, Draper was creative director of ficti ...

, was behind the commercial's creation. The song was featured briefly in the 2001 movie ''

Freddy Got Fingered ''Freddy Got Fingered'' is a 2001 American surreal absurdist screwball black comedy film directed by Tom Green in his feature film directorial debut and written by Green and Derek Harvie. Green stars in the film as a childish slacker who wishes ...

'' and was also used in

Jeremy Paxman Jeremy Dickson Paxman (born 11 May 1950) is an English broadcaster, journalist, author, and television presenter. Born in Leeds, Paxman was educated at Malvern College and St Catharine's College, Cambridge, where he edited the undergraduate ne ...

's final edition of ''

Newsnight ''Newsnight'' (or ''BBC Newsnight'') is BBC Two's news and current affairs programme, providing in-depth investigation and analysis of the stories behind the day's headlines. The programme is broadcast on weekdays at 22:30. and is also availa ...

'' in 2014. A version of the song was used in the trailer for ''

Resident Evil ''Resident Evil'', known in Japan as is a Japanese horror game series and media franchise created by Capcom. It consists of survival horror, third-person shooter and first-person shooter games, with players typically surviving in environments ...

''.

References

External links

* Coca-Cola Company
''The Making of 'I'd Like to Buy the World a Coke' ''
* {{authority control Peace songs 1971 songs 1971 singles 1972 singles Advertising campaigns Irish Singles Chart number-one singles Number-one singles in New Zealand Oricon International Singles Chart number-one singles Oricon Weekly number-one singles Promotional campaigns by Coca-Cola Songs about music Songs against racism and xenophobia Songs based on jingles Songs written by Roger Cook (songwriter) Songs written by Roger Greenaway Super Bowl commercials UK Singles Chart number-one singles 1971 neologisms Quotations from music 1970s television commercials Philips Records singles Polydor Records singles Elektra Records singles