“I’d like to teach the world to sing….”
Coca Cola Classic Never Goes Out of Style
As each new year comes to a close, I like to look back and get a little nostalgic.
The word ‘nostalgia’ comes from the ancient Greek language, a combination of two words: “nostos,” meaning ‘a return home, travel, journey’ and the word “algos,” meaning ‘pain, grief.’
This would roughly translate back in ancient times as ‘the pain from an old wound,’ but the colloquial modern use still captures at least some of that essence – “a bittersweet yearning for the things of the past.” The pain from looking back – a warm memory, but one you know you can’t ever really return to.
So all you have left is a memory that simultaneously feels good and hurts a bit.
Even in todays fast paced world, ware fads come and go in a matter of weeks, and movie, television, & recording stars just sail briefly through the public consciousness, people still respond to nostalgia. I know that I certainly do.
As to the power of modern nostalgia, I think it’s mostly because the things that trigger the memories are now more real than they have ever been in the past.
While past generations had to rely on old stories passed down as cornerstones of memory, the modern era has recorded video and audio – methods that appeal to two powerful senses, sight and sound.
So I believe our modern sense of nostalgia is therefore much more real, since we can literally go back to the sights and sounds of the past and experience ‘bittersweet yearning’ in ways prior generations simply could not.
And why is the feeling so potent? We can go back to that video or audio and suddenly a link to the past is formed. And in most cases, there is a strong perception that the time past was just better and more fulfilling.
Was it really all that much better? It doesn’t matter. The memory and perception is what’s important. Memory can be a funny thing, of course. We tend to exaggerate things, especially the extremes. The good seems a bit better, and the bad can seem worse if you’re not careful.
Indeed, the passing of time combined with wisdom does tend to minimize the bad, and that’s a good thing.
How’s this for a segue?
Which brings me to one of my all time favorite television commercials. The advertising whizzes who thought this one up sure caught lightning in a bottle – Coca Cola somehow associated with an infectious, folksy, feel good, hippy-dippy song, featuring smiling faces from around the world all getting along.
“I’d like to teach the world to sing” is indeed a classic commercial (and there are so few of those around). An unforgettable image and an unforgettably simple melody & lyrics.
Coca Cola seemed to run this commercial for most of the 1970s, and why not? It pushes all the right buttons and even a relatively young curmudgeon like me can’t resist its basic appeal.
Twenty years later, a different set of ad executives once again had a flash of genuine inspiration and tried to capture lightning in a bottle once again. The plan was uncomplicated – reunite the smiling faces from the 1970s commercial, and this time add their children – a new generation of Coca Cola drinkers, and recreate the song and imagery for a new era.
It’s just the type of thing that gets botched 98 times out of 100. But I think they really succeeded. If memory serves, they carted out the 20th Anniversary commercial at The Super Bowl that year, assuring that it would get maximum exposure and word of mouth the next day in homes, schools, and offices.
Note that while audio and video appeal to the senses in bringing forth powerful nostalgic feelings, this ad very cleverly incorporates the sense of taste to the experience. Just a few years earlier, Coke had introduced their infamous ‘New Coke,’ tinkering with a successful formula. That experiment was a failure.
Coke quickly re-introduced ‘Coca Cola Classic’ – a clever use of nostalgia in itself. So the 20th Anniversary commercial connects with people using another potent source of memory – taste!
Just a fantastic piece of work. They patterned the 20th Anniversary ad fairly closely to the original, which is clear when you watch them both. It’s very well crafted, and whoever worked on it really knew what they were doing.
I particularly like the 23 second mark as the original generation turns slightly to face their children as they skip into the frame, singing the updated ‘Coca Cola Classic’ jingle, woven masterfully into the original song. I confess I get some goosebumps and a bit choked up as the 20th Anniversary commercial ends with the text scrolling, much as the original commercial concluded.
Those few who know me well know I am a sucker for nostalgia and sentimentality (though I like to think I do a good job of camouflaging it). A pleasant melody from the past, warm friendly faces, happy young children singing. Love and family. It doesn’t get any better.
And while the imagery ostensibly speaks to a global theme, the truth is that this ad is quintessentially American. People from all over the world can gather on an hillside in Italy, but the message is unmistakable (if unintentional). It speaks to Americans, who have come from every corner of the globe to be part of the greatest nation on earth.
And truly, Coca Cola is about as American as Mom, Baseball, & Apple Pie.
Ultimately, with a slight tear in my eye, it’s nice to remember that though things may change, it’s our job to make things change for the better. But it’s a warn, wonderful feeling to know that the memories of the past are there to bring us a joyful feeling.
And in the end you just can’t beat the feeling. You can’t beat the real thing.
Happy New Year!
Also of interest:
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OK, you knew it couldn’t last. I am back to my senses.
Probably the most obnoxious thing about the 20th Anniversary commercial is that the woman in the beginning acts so moved and sentimental about a television commercial she did 20 years ago. They probably weren’t even really singing. There probably wasn’t even any sound recorded on location.
She was $hilling for a soda pop – they all were. Big deal. Rots and discolors teeth. Contains way too much sugar. Has absolutely no nutritional value whatsoever. And yet, it’s treated like some kind of big step in world peace.
The original commercial does have some very pretty 70s babes in it, and it’s well known I like 60s and 70s babes best. It’s a great look – natural, fresh, pretty, and sweet. Modern era woman by and large just can’t pull it off.
But for some reason these folks seem to think that buying a coke for some desperate nutjob halfway around the world will soften him. Nothing could be further from the truth – they will hate them more for giving them the soda! It’s a clear sign of Western economic imperialism. And it’s unhealthy. What’s so sweet and hippy-dippy about that?
In the 20th Anniversary commercial, look quick at the 30 second mark – looks like one of The Village of the Damned wandered on the set!
Also, in the original commercial the young folks are happy and smiling, but fairly serious, like it’s a joyful hymn. The oldies in the 20th Anniversary commercial are just having too good a time. Dancing around, cheering, and evidently thrilled over a bottle of coca cola. Weird.
And lets be fair – they sing a mean game, but 20 years later, you know many of those folks cheat on their taxes, lie to their loved ones, go faster than the posted speed limit, and all sorts of other rotten things. And it’s 17 years later – I’m sure many of those cheery kids grew up to be malcontents and degenerates.
Just putting things in context!
On a serious note, when I first saw the ad I wondered if the woman prominent towards the end of the 20th Anniversary commercial (47 second mark) was the same woman prominent towards the end of the original commercial (44 second mark). My memory of the original wasn’t that good and she sure looks different. Now, years later I can look at both closely and am very confident it’s her. Same mouth and teeth, though her hair is lighter.
Just something that’s been nagging me for a while!
So do you think they will cart these folks out for a 40th Anniversary commercial?
Nostalgia indeed! What a wonderful way to close the year! This is one of my all-time favorite TV commercials. Pure genius!
I will have to watch a few more times to see if I can match the lady you mentioned. And I sure do hope they cart these folks out again for a 40th reunion.
In regards to the woman who was moved about the commercial she had done earlier, perhaps that was her only claim to fame.
Best wishes for a Happy New Year to you, too, Mr. VV!
Yes, I believe it IS the same woman!
You know, it might not be a bad idea to bring some Coke to the Middle East. In fact, they should drop it by the case. Might make those SOBs happier people.
As for the rest of your comments: LA LA LA LA LA….I CAN’T HEAR YOU! (covering ears) I don’t want you to blow my bubble. Feh!
Thelma,
Yes the original and the 20th anniversary commercials are both classics in my book. Very well done – they didn’t overdo or overstate anything. And like I wrote, it pushes all the right buttons.
Well, also don’t forget that the woman at the beginning IS acting after all. Still, I’m sure she was recognized a lot in the 70s, so I am sure it is a legitimate fond memory for her.
As for the woman prominent at the end of both ads, when I first saw the anniversary ad I remembered the original and said it had to be here, basically in the same spot of the commercial, but I couldn’t remember what the looked like that well in 1971. Watching them again recently, I wasn’t sure but like I said, her mouth and teeth are pretty compelling evidence that it is her. A very nice touch among many nice touches.
Exporting Coke to the Mid-East would be naked western economic imperialism. They won’t take kindly to their teeth and bodies being poisoned – they may hate us even more! If there was a way to unwind those tightly wound, perpetually angry people, I’d be all for it.
As for my mean spirited comments, well you know I’m a mean man. There is only so sweet and sentimental good old VV can be!
Gotta’ admit, that wisecrack about The Village of the Damned was funny!
Happy New Year to you, and God bless you and your loved ones!
VV
Let me be the first one to post here this year.
Happy 2008!
VV, I have to say I breathed a huge sigh of relief when I read your followup comment above!
Unlike you and Thelma, that commercial always gave me the creeps. Something very Stepford Wives about it. (I switched permanently to RC Cola after seeing it!) One world, united under Coke. It always struck me as the height of cynical manipulation. And let us remember this was at a time when the world, this country, was anything but harmonious and peaceful, so it’s hope for peace through simple commercialism seemed too precious to be believeable. Still, it was a comforting and hopeful thing to see this fantasy made flesh, this hope for community and harmony made real, if only to sell soda pop for a few seconds. And even a Doubting Thomas like me can’t resist that song. (At least companies took the care and trouble to write actual, memorable jingles back then!)
I agree with your cynical observations; let me add these. That old commercial really did represent our old way of thinking, and to a few true believers, still does: a world very diverse, but united by and under an American imprimatur. All are welcome on that hilltop — but only with a Coke in your hand, and that song on your lips. The new commercial speaks our new language and attitude: everybody’s prosperous, noisily milling around, all traces of earnest solemnity gone, proudly congratulating and celebrating themselves, and their separate visions of Coke. Most disturbingly, what made the first commercial so appealing was totally absent from this one: a feeling of hope. How much more eloquent, affecting — and from an advertiser’s point of view — memorable this commercial would have been had they simply recreated the original — everyone older, wiser, but still filled with good will and hope.
Now, of course, our concept of diversity being what it is, we would never be so presumptuous as to present so American a vision of peace. Now, we’d probably have to include a few shots of Islamists spitting their Coke out in disgust!
Thelma,
Congrats for being 2008′s first poster!
Jaytee,
Well, I can get all sentimental but in the end, I’m good old VV, and we know there’s only so far I can take that!
I do like both commercials, because they basically remind me of my own personal better time. Inexorably linked to a time when the biggest challenge was an upcoming spelling test, and my biggest problem was tracking down a couple of baseball cards I needed. At that time, the original commercial was on tv. So I naturally link the two.
I can see how it could be mildly creepy, though. I think it’s elevated on the strength of the song, which is a classic and one that’s difficult to dislike, even for a younger curmudgeon like me.
Ultimately you’re right, and it’s a sentiment in my follow up comment, that this is really just a commercial $hilling for a soda. Not Florida oranges, milk, or something with some kind of benefit. They are getting all misty eyed over a soda. It’s downright strange. And crassly commercial, but of course it is by definition a commercial.
It was made at a time when people really wanted a pleasant, hippy dippy image and song, and it delivered.
The escapee from the Village of The Damned does creep me out.
And I agree with your cynical observations. There is something very American about the whole thing. Yes, it’s people from around the world, and yes they are on a hill in Italy. But it’s unmistakable – the nutty world’s nuttiness can be muted if they would just follow the leader. And that’s the USA. Did they intend the subtext to be a case for the Pax Americana? Doubtful. Did people who saw the commercial back then and responded strongly get the subtext? I doubt it, too.
And that’s a great distinction you raise with the commercials in important. The original is joyful but serious, the anniversary is self congratulatory. Your vision for a proposed 20th Anniversary commercial would have been powerful.
Oh, Jaytee, you had me in stitches with your Stepford Wives comment. But you’re, dare I say it, more cynical than VV.
Me, being older than both of you, still want to believe that we can “all get along.” (minus Rodney) And no, it ain’t oranges or milk (which is laden with milk fat!) that are being $hilled, but soda pop! What could be more fun-lovin’?
And I for one, like the transition from solemn to self-congratulatory. To me, it shows that growing up in America has given this bunch the freedom to make choices that work for them….soda in hand!
Great, thought-provoking posts though.
VV, what can I say? Like our liberal brothers, sometimes I’m just a dreamer . . . .
Let me emphasize that while I may not be as approving of the commercial as you and Thelma are, it’s a solid part of my fondly-remembered TV memories, too! Right up there with “Oh, Fab, I’m glad, there’s lemon-freshened Borax in you!” (That ring any bells, Thelma?)
Speaking of subtext, those were the good ol’ days, brother, when we Americans had no use for subtext. Everything was — at least up to that historical turning point — going our way. It was our world, and everybody else just had the good luck to live in it. I think the original commercial just sort of matter-of-factly reflects that. But I think that American hegemony is still maintained in a subtler fashion in the new version, too.
The original commercial really concentrated on displaying the amazing variety of appearance and dress to be found in the world. The camera pans from person to person giving you a good and respectful look at each earnest singer’s face and clothes; in this version, everybody’s pretty much in casual Western drag, swarming all over the screen. The camera only briefly catches faces. This time, the beautiful diversity is given short shrift. It’s no coincidence that that Village of the Damned escapee lingers so on the mind. Note also how, for example, the black woman in the African garb (about 46 seconds in), sings with an American gospel flourish, rather than an African one, as you would expect her to. The message is, it’s still an American world, we’re just not so obvious about it anymore. Out of respect for diversity, of course.
I’d also like to point to the final American hubris of the commercial, the claims of final crawl. Twenty years ago,those young people didn’t teach the world to sing; the only sincerely expressed the hope that they could. Would anyone suggest that at any point thereafter up to today, the world ever “sang in perfect harmony”?
No, I have affection and respect for the original, but I give a big thumbs down to the new one!
Thelma, you’re frightening me! More cynical than VV? Well, maybe, but either way, I’m sure he’d agree with me that it isn’t so much cynicism, as clarity of thought. Things is as they is, and we, unlike our more liberal counterparts out there, have no problem facing the truth! I, too, hope that one day, we can indeed all get along. Even with Rodney!
And shouldn’t we all be doing it not with regular, but with Diet Coke in our hands? Think of the children!