McCann Erickson created Coca-Cola’s 1971 “I’d Like to Buy the World a Coke” campaign.
The campaign grew from a song written by Bill Backer, Billy Davis, Roger Cook, and Roger Greenaway. Backer, a creative director at McCann Erickson, developed the idea after observing people gathering at an airport during a difficult travel delay.
The resulting television commercial showed a multinational group of young people on a hillside singing about buying the world a Coke. Its message linked Coca-Cola with harmony, friendship, and shared international identity.
The song was later recorded as “I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing,” including a hit version by the New Seekers. People sometimes confuse the advertising agency with the song’s performers or composers, but McCann Erickson was the agency responsible for the campaign.