The Making Of ‘I’d Like To Buy The World A Coke’

Bad Weather Ruins Two Commercial Shoots

Phil Messina, the agency’s producer, planned the filming of Gabor’s visual concept on the cliffs of Dover. Hundreds of British schoolchildren and 65 principals were cast to lip-synch the song. Three days of continuous rain scrubbed the shoot. The crew moved to Rome. New young people were cast and taught by Davis to lip-synch the song. The opening shot of the commercial had to have that “right” face, which was filled by a young lady on vacation in Rome from Mauritius.

The production was delayed by more rain. Finally, late in the day, the crew completed the climactic helicopter shot. The next day revealed that the young people looked as though they had really been in a rainstorm. The film was unusable, the budget was spent and the young people were released to go on their way.

Because of Bill Backer’s confidence in the hillside concept, Sid McAlister, the account supervisor on the Coke account, went to bat on another budget to reshoot the spot, and McCann Erickson tried again. The new budget eventually topped $250,000, a staggering amount in that era.