Hollywood has been remaking old classics for years. But now Coca-Cola is jumping on the bandwagon by relaunching its most famous commercial to market the latest incarnation of its fizzy drink.
But the new version is set to dismay fans of the 1971 original, which featured an angelic cast of young people singing: ”I’d like to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony / I’d like to buy the world a Coke and keep it company.”
Instead, the new version of Hilltop, as the original was known for its mountainous Italian backdrop, will be called Chilltop, and aimed at the ”go-go lifestyle” of 18- to 24-year-olds.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the ad was recently shot on the roof of a Philadelphia building at sunset and featured hip-hop artist G Love crooning to a cast of young people: ”I’d like to teach the world to chill, take time to stop and smile / I’d like to buy the world a Coke and chill with it awhile.”
It will be used to market Coca-Cola Zero, a zero-calorie cola designed to win back young consumers, especially men, who have ditched sugary fizzy drinks for bottled water.
The launch of the campaign follows some very unchill first-quarter earnings. The company’s flagship brand, Coca-Cola Classic, has been losing sales and market share in the United States for more than four years.
Tom Pirko, president of BevMark LLC, a beverage consulting company in California, said the remake illustrated Coke’s lack of fresh ideas: ”How much longer can you continue to look back over your shoulder before admitting you have to create a whole new company? And you don’t do it by using retreads.” — Â