On January 18, 1971, McCann Erickson creative Bill Backer was flying to London when fog forced his plane to land in Shannon, Ireland. Stranded passengers from all over the world ended up in the airport cafe, talking and sharing bottles of Coke. Backer scribbled a line on a napkin: “I’d like to buy the world a Coke and keep it company.”
That napkin became “Hilltop.” Coca-Cola shot it on a hillside in Manziana, outside Rome, with a multicultural group of young people singing the song and holding bottles labelled in many languages. It reportedly cost $250,000, which made it the most expensive commercial ever made at the time. The first shoot was ruined by rain and location problems, so the crew had to start again.
It debuted in July 1971 and viewers responded so strongly that the jingle became a real pop hit. The New Seekers’ version, “I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing,” reached number one in the UK and number seven in the US, while a rival cover by the Hillside Singers peaked at number thirteen on the Billboard Hot 100. Coca-Cola gave $80,000 in royalties from the song to UNICEF.
Decades later the ad returned to the spotlight when it closed the 2015 series finale of Mad Men, a show about the same industry. The commercial’s promise was simple and a little naive, but it made a soft drink feel like an invitation to sit together, and few ads have been remembered as fondly.
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