HILL TOP COCA-COLA ADVERT ANALYSIS

The Hilltop Coca Cola advert was made in 1971, and was shot on a hilltop in Rome- hence the name ‘the hilltop advert’. The creative director Bill Backer had the idea for the advert one day when, sitting in the waiting room for a flight, he saw people chatting and talking over Coca Cola. He felt then that 'let's share a Coke' had a different meaning, about keeping people company and bringing the world together as one. He used this inspiration to create new lyrics ('I'd like to buy the world a Coke and keep it company') to the song 'I'd like to teach the world to sing' by Roger Greenaway and Cook.

This advert was produced during the Vietnam War, when other countries were saying to America not to get involved and they did. The advert shows that America wasn’t all about war and conflict but about world peace and bringing everyone together- this also tied in nicely with the slogan made at the time ‘It’s the real thing’ which showed that Coca-Cola really was the real thing.

The messages given throughout the advert are very clear. There is a group of people singing together in ‘harmony’ which is effective because they are singing about peace and harmony. The advert shows people enjoying each other’s company and coming together because of it. The main line is 'I'd like to buy the world a Coke and keep it company'. This projects the image of Coca-Cola which symbolises bringing the world closer and people making friends all over the world. The main singer is a woman and the rest are all teenagers which show’s that the target audience is aimed at all ages.

The brand name, slogan and bottle are shown a lot throughout the advert, mainly close-ups of the teenagers in the advert holding the bottle with a big smile on their faces. This is a good marketing technique as it shows Coca-Cola can ‘make the world a better place’ or ‘make everything better’.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE COCA-COLA HILLTOP ADThe song was very popular at the time and over 100,000 people wrote letters to Coca-Cola, saying it should be played on the radio. It was then made into a single which sold many copies.