I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing

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"I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing (In Perfect Harmony)" is a pop song which originated as an advertising jingle, produced by Billy Davis and sung by The New Seekers, for Coca-Cola, and was featured in a 1971 as a TV commercial.

1 Origins
2 TV commercial
3 In the media
4 External links

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Origins

The song began life as a collaboration by UK hit songwriters Roger Cook and Roger Greenaway called "True Love and Apple Pie" and recorded by Susan Shirley. It was then rewritten by Cook, Greenaway, Coca-Cola account executive Bill Backer, and Billy Davis and recorded as a Coca-Cola radio commercial, with the lyric "I'd like to buy the world a Coke and keep it company." First aired on American radio in 1970, it was also used as a TV commercial a year later, sparking public demand for its release as a single. Reworked, again, to remove the references to the brand name, the single climbed to UK #1 and US #7 in 1971.

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TV commercial

The 1971 TV commercial featured young people from around the world singing on a hilltop, and was so popular that the song (without the Coke references) became a hit in its own right. Commercial recordings as a pop-song were issued by The New Seekers and The Hillside Singers.

In the commercial, the lead singer and the people surrounding her were filmed in isolation, and never met (or sang with) any of the hundreds of young people represented in the final version of the ad.

The song's success was particularly notable in the UK where it is one of the 100 best selling singles of all time.

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In the media

The song's melody was later used as the basis of the song "Shakermaker" by the rock group Oasis. They were successfully sued for the unlicensed use by The New Seekers and had to pay out A$500,000. This incident was the inspiration for the Oasis parody/tribute band No Way Sis's cover of the song in an Oasis style.

A 2002 7-Up commercial parodied the famous Coke ad as an attack on its soft drink rival.

In 2005, Coca-Cola Zero was introduced with an ad campaign featuring "I'd Like to Teach the World to Chill", with rewritten lyrics intended to better match a new generation's sensibilities.

In 2005 the Fox show "American Dad" referenced it in a video of the Stan and Haily.

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