I'd Like To Buy The World A Coke. Again.

There have been many famous advertising campaigns that were laid to rest over the years. Then suddenly, they were brought back to life.

Sometimes it was because the commercial idea was too good to bury. Sometimes it was because something big triggered an opportunity in the marketplace. And other times, old campaigns get a second life because the general public simply won't let it die.

But when it comes to revived commercials, there is one ad that tops them all.

It first aired way back in 1971. Actually, it first aired as a radio commercial, but it didn't really take off. So it was re-imagined as a television commercial. It featured people of all different colours and races standing together on a hilltop:

The idea for the commercial came from Bill Backer, who was the Creative Director at an advertising agency called McCann-Erickson. Backer had been on a flight to England, but the plane was forced to land in Ireland due to fog. Passengers were unhappy and grumpy. But when the airline served everyone Coca-Colas, Backer watched as people began to relax, and start chatting with their fellow passengers. That grumpiness changed to good will when people connected over a Coke.

Backer jotted down a few words on a napkin that said, "I'd like to buy the world a Coke, and keep it company."

That experience inspired the commercial.

The song was co-written by Backer, along with Roger Greenaway, Billy Davis and Roger Cooke, who had separately written a string of top ten hits, including "Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress" and "Lonely Teardrops."

The Coke "Hilltop" commercial has been cited as possibly the most famous commercial of all time. It ran right around the world. And Coke received over 100,000 letters from people who loved it. And it has been resuscitated more than once.

In 1977, the commercial was reworked for the holidays:

Three years later, Coke shot another Christmas version, only this time it featured singers and Disney characters:

Then 19 years after the original commercial had aired, Coke created a "Hilltop Reunion" commercial - inviting all the original singers to come back. Except the crowd on that hilltop was much bigger this time – because Coke invited the singers to bring their children along with them.

In 2005, Coke resuscitated the commercial yet again in order to launch Coke Zero. And instead of teaching the world to sing, it wanted to teach the world to chill:

In 2011, for Coke's 125th anniversary, Coke created a commercial using the original song, but peppered the ad with images from over the last century. Then in 2012, Google partnered with Coke to revive the Hilltop commercial in a brand-new way.

First, they recruited, Harvey Gabor, the original art director who worked with Backer on the 1971 commercial. Then using digital technology and specially-designed vending machines, they figured out a way for people to pick any country around the world, and send a free Coke to a stranger they've never met.

The app let users see the Coke digitally winging its way across the world to a specific Coke machine in a foreign country. Those special Coke vending machines contained a screen, where senders could write a personalized message with their Coke delivery. And Google Translate converted the messages on the fly to that country's language. Recipients could write a thank you message back, and send a video of them getting their surprise free Coke.

It was a remarkable feat of technology – and finally – you really were able to buy the world a Coke.

Then in 2015, Coke's Hilltop commercial re-entered the zeitgeist once again. In the widely-viewed final episode of Mad Men, a very troubled Don Draper goes to a retreat to meditate to try and find some inner peace. While sitting cross-legged and meditating on a hilltop in the final scene of the final episode, a smile slowly unfolds across his face.

The next thing we see is the famous Coke Hilltop commercial.

In the fictional world of Mad Men, it wasn't Mad Man Bill Backer who came up with the idea, it was Don Draper. And now everybody was talking about Coke's Hilltop commercial again – 44 years after it first hit the air.

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