Classic Pop Icons

Before the New Seekers had the world singing along to “I’d Like to Buy the World a Coke” in 1971, dozens of the biggest artists of the 1960s, including Marvin Gaye, Tom Jones, The Supremes and Roy Orbison, had recorded a Coca-Cola jingle as part of the “Things Go Better with Coke” campaign.

In 1956, Coca-Cola ended its 50-year relationship with advertising agency D’Arcy and transferred the company’s advertising account to McCann-Erickson. The aim was to more successfully utilise new media and this was achieved with two campaigns in the 1950s – “The Sign of Good Taste” (1957) and “Be Really Refreshed” (1959).

Pop performers such as the McGuire Sisters, Connie Francis, Emmett Kelly, Anita Bryant, and the Brothers Four were involved in these campaigns.

Connie Francis

“Things Go Better with Coke”

The next major campaign was “Things Go Better with Coke,” which commenced in 1963. For this campaign, there was an explosion in the number and quality of ads, and the number of top music stars involved. There were radio and/or television commercials recorded by some huge stars under the “Things Go Better with Coke” campaign, including the Supremes, Jay and the Americans, the Moody Blues, Jan and Dean, Roy Orbison, Petula Clark and Ray Charles.

These stars were asked to incorporate the “Things Go Better with Coke” slogan into a song, which was generally inspired by one of their big hits, eg Tom Jones’ Coke commercial uses the melody and arrangement of “It’s Not Unusual.”

Here’s some entertaining jingles from the “Things Go Better with Coke” campaign.

The Supremes

Roy Orbison

The Shirelles

Everly Brothers

The Moody Blues

Ray Charles and Aretha Franklin

Ray Charles would switch his allegiance in the early 1990s and make commercials for Diet Pepsi.

Tom Jones

Marvin Gaye

The Troggs

The Four Seasons

Sixty-four of the “Things Go Better with Coke” jingles were released on a CD in the 1990s. The CD has been discontinued, but can still be picked up from some sellers.