Classic Commercial: Coca Cola

Coke's iconic 1971 commercial showing young people on a hilltop crooning a ditty about buying Coke to boost world peace struck the kind of chord that year that few TV ads do. The commercial, produced by the agency once known as McCann Erickson, stands among the ranks of TV ads that transcended their sales pitch and became landmarks of American culture. The song, featuring the lyrics “I’d like to teach the world to sing / In perfect harmony / I’d like to buy the world a Coke / And keep it company / That’s the real thing” proved so popular a message that it became a popular radio hit as well (though references to Coke were dropped in the New Seekers version).