[re: 7/28/09 preorder update] HMX did it!

[Sayburr]

First, the New Seekers Tried it.
Then, Coca-Cola Tried it.

Looks like The Beatles: Rock Band will suceed where so many others have failed.

No longer will someone sing out the chorus "I want to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony" without someone replying to them, "Just get them to buy The Beatles: Rock Band and soon the world will be able to do just that"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZjoYxBc8RI

[jay4428]

Most people on this board aren't old enough to remember the Coke reference...

[deadpool247]

Most people on this board aren't old enough to remember the Coke reference...

I remember the reference. Heck, I was even 5 years old when MTV first started, and I remember the first night of programming, too. (all of the vjs, too)

Good job, Sayburr.

[Sayburr]

Most people on this board aren't old enough to remember the Coke reference...
Damn... for a moment I forgot that I am old, now you brought it back to the forefront of my mind...

[jay4428]

Damn... for a moment I forgot that I am old, now you brought it back to the forefront of my mind...

Sorry man. It reminded me how old I am, so I thought I'd share :D

[LuigiHann]

Most people on this board aren't old enough to remember the Coke reference...

How old would you have to be? I'm in my early twenties and I remember those.... ads? Okay, I don't remember it that well, but I got the reference

[vcalzone]

I don't remember the ads either, but I definitely have seen that many times. Of course, Ihave visited World of Coke twice.

[OFunkMaster]

I get the reference but what does this have to do with Beatles: Rock Band?

[LuigiHann]

I get the reference but what does this have to do with Beatles: Rock Band?

The Beatles Rock Band is going to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony. Pay attention

[Rute86]

How old would you have to be? I'm in my early twenties and I remember those.... ads? Okay, I don't remember it that well, but I got the reference

Same here, early twenties and got the reference.

[jeccaneko]

How old would you have to be? I'm in my early twenties and I remember those.... ads? Okay, I don't remember it that well, but I got the reference

Ditto. I'm 26 next month and I definitely remember those.

That's a great point, Sayburr! I really look forward to the harmony feature of this game. Should be fun! I hope it also turns more people into vocalists. There's not enough Rock Band vocalists, and there isn't as much incentive to get into it with normal Rock Band. Maybe The Beatles will help people get into it and then they'll take that back onto the main Rock Band platform.

[miche.cs]

Ditto. I'm 26 next month and I definitely remember those.

That's a great point, Sayburr! I really look forward to the harmony feature of this game. Should be fun! I hope it also turns more people into vocalists. There's not enough Rock Band vocalists, and there isn't as much incentive to get into it with normal Rock Band. Maybe The Beatles will help people get into it and then they'll take that back onto the main Rock Band platform.

I've always been a vocalist, but I'm looking forward to a game where I know I'm not going to struggle through almost half the songs:) Although I'm a platinum vocalist, most tunes I can only three star, lol. Unless I know a song real well it's a bit of a case of just winging my way through!

[Moony_Lupin]

I don't think it's so much that people in their 20's or younger remember these ads, they remember seeing/learning about them in retrospectives on VH1 and the like. Not criticising, just saying.

[chrth_rb]

I appreciated it, Sayburr. Don't listen to the haters ;)

[LoopyChew]

For the slightly younger than the people who just barely got the Coke reference, Smash Mouth also wished to be able to do this with the power of the wacky tabacky in "Walkin' on the Sun."

[LuigiHann]

I don't think it's so much that people in their 20's or younger remember these ads, they remember seeing/learning about them in retrospectives on VH1 and the like. Not criticising, just saying.

What year were they airing the ads you're thinking of? I'm certain that Coke themselves were putting out ads featuring this song while I was old enough to be seeing movies and watching television and being cognizant of things in general. They may have been remakes of or homages to earlier ads, though, certainly.

[Moony_Lupin]

What year were they airing the ads you're thinking of? I'm certain that Coke themselves were putting out ads featuring this song while I was old enough to be seeing movies and watching television and being cognizant of things in general. They may have been remakes of or homages to earlier ads, though, certainly.

The "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing" ad that Sayburr was referencing first aired in 1971. Again, I'm not being critical, but there's no likely way folks in their 20's remember this commercial/advertisement being on TV. That's why I pointed out that anyone in their 20's or younger who understood the reference most likely know the commercial from some retrospective.

[LuigiHann]

The "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing" ad that Sayburr was referencing first aired in 1971. Again, I'm not being critical, but there's no likely way folks in their 20's remember this commercial/advertisement being on TV. That's why I pointed out that anyone in their 20's or younger who understood the reference most likely know the commercial from some retrospective.

Ah. They did play ads (I believe in the 1990's) which also used that song. Probably in a nostalgic way that I didn't appreciate at the time. And it was probably a newer cover. And I could probably check Wikipedia but I don't feel like it.

[Sayburr]

History:

"I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing (In Perfect Harmony)" is a pop song which originated as a jingle in the groundbreaking 1971 "Hilltop" television commercial for Coca-Cola. The song, produced by Billy Davis and performed by The New Seekers, portrayed a positive message of hope and love sung by a multicultural collection of teenagers on the top of a hill. It originally included line "I'd like to buy the world a Coke" and repeated "It's the real thing" as Coca-Cola's marketing theme at the time. It was so popular it was re-recorded by The New Seekers and The Hillside Singers as a full-length song, dropping references to Coca-Cola, and became a hit record. The version by The New Seekers reached #7 in the United States. The Hillside Singers' version was released as a successful single the same year; it reached #13 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #5 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart.

TV commercial
It was first aired on American radio on February 12, 1971, but failed. Although many radio stations refused to play it, Backer persuaded McCann-Erickson to film a commercial using the song.[1] The TV commercial, entitled "Hilltop", was directed by Haskell Wexler.[2] The first attempt at shooting was ruined by rain and other location problems. The eventual total cost of the commercial was $250,000 — an unheard of price in 1971 for an advertisement.[1] The finished product, first aired in July 1971, featured a multicultural group of young people lip syncing the song on a hill outside Rome, Italy. Radio stations began to get calls from people who liked it and Billy Davis' friends in radio suggested he record the song, but not as an advertising jingle.[2] It became so popular that the song was rewritten without brand name references, and expanded to three verses. Davis recruited a group of studio singers to take it on because The New Seekers did not have time to record it. The studio group named themselves The Hillside Singers to identify with the ad, and within two weeks the song was on the national charts. The New Seekers found time to do it, however,[1] and sold 96,000 copies of their record in one day, eventually selling 12 million total. It shot lead singer Eve Graham and the other members of The New Seekers to superstardom.[3] "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing (In Perfect Harmony)" climbed to UK #1 and US #7 in 1971 and 1972. The Coca-Cola Company waived royalties to the song and instead donated $80,000 in payments to UNICEF.[1]

In 2007, Campaign magazine called it "one of the best-loved and most influential ads in TV history",[4] serving as a milestone to be the first instance of the recording industry's involvement with advertising.[5] Marketing analysts have noted Coca-Cola's strategy of marrying the idea of happiness and universal love of the product illustrated by the song.[6][7]

In 1990, a follow-up to this commercial, called "Hilltop Reunion", aired during coverage of Super Bowl XXIV featuring the singers and their children, and culminating in a medley of this song and the then-current "Can't Beat the Real Thing" jingle.

In 2006 the song was used again in the Coca-Cola commercial at least in the Netherlands. The song is covered by the Dutch singer Berget Lewis. Remix prduce by Massive music team: DvM, Roy shen-Zoor And Aux. was present 13, in the Top 40, The Netherlands.

British band Oasis were sued after their recording "Shakermaker" borrowed its melody and some lyrics directly; they were forced to change their composition.[8]

[chrth_rb]

The "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing" ad that Sayburr was referencing first aired in 1971. Again, I'm not being critical, but there's no likely way folks in their 20's remember this commercial/advertisement being on TV. That's why I pointed out that anyone in their 20's or younger who understood the reference most likely know the commercial from some retrospective.

There was a period in the late 80s or early 90s (it all runs together now) where Coke reused the old commercials and aired them again (there might have even been an updated one*). So I could definitely see those in their 20s remembering it. Not as ubiquitous, but still present.

*Sayburr mentioned it above, didn't see his reference.

[Moony_Lupin]

I stand corrected.

[Sgt.Pepper]

I don't know, maybe I've seen it on Youtube or something, but I'm 15 and got the reference.

[Jordan10la]

This thread makes me feel young. References fly directly over my head.

16 by the way