JOIN HANDS AND SHARE THE SPIRIT OF PEACE
A Creative Kids Talent Workshop Parody
We’re joining hand in hand … all across the land … and asking all the people ‘round the world
To share the spirit of peace and the spirit of giving… with every man, woman, boy & girl
It’s a time of sharing … It’s a time for caring... A time for us to just speak out and say…
“HEY!”
We’re children of this planet… this great big beautiful planet
So raise your bottle up and say… (Music ends)
DRINK COKE / DRINK PEPSI
(War begins)
VO: Don’t get ANGRY... get Re*newal Water
A Creative Kids Talent Workshop Parody
We’re joining hand in hand … all across the land … and asking all the people ‘round the world
To share the spirit of peace and the spirit of giving… with every man, woman, boy & girl
It’s a time of sharing … It’s a time for caring... A time for us to just speak out and say…
“HEY!”
We’re children of this planet… this great big beautiful planet
So raise your bottle up and say… (Music ends)
DRINK COKE / DRINK PEPSI
(War begins)
VO: Don’t get ANGRY... get Re*newal Water
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Back in the freewheeling Hippy 'Stop the War', Nuke the Whales era; Coca Cola wanted to take peace and love and make it corporate. The Song the Pop Soda Giant selected for that campaign was 'I'd Like to Teach The World to Sing!", a snazzy little botton Top 100 hit. It registered with Americans who fell for its 'world peace for all races' theme, pre-Benneton ads.
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As Coca Cola played it over and over, I was becoming less and less enamored of it, if not just plain annoyed. There were parodies of the song and the commercial over the years. Parodies of its worldwide hand holding love message. People! I thought. This is Coca Cola. A major corporation ...seeking peace? Really? I had my doubts. Coca Cola has waged war against its competitors as soon as it became the #1 brand of soft drink in the nation... the world! It has kept its world title (even with that little blip of a NEW COKE mistake) by advertising... advertising... and advertising the product everywhere. Places like... like that mountaintop in that original Teach the World ad.
Buried deep inside me was an undying annoyance of that particular ad. Finally, it took my friend DK and his wife Jenny to offer me a way to vent. They owned a bottled Spring water company out of Florida. 'All Natural Spring Water in an All Natural Bottle' (bottle made out of corn, easy to recycle).They were great supporters of my acting program 'The Creative Kids Talent Workshop'... So, as a favor to them. I had my acting kids create a mock Re*Newal Water commercial for them. Our target and theme? Soft Drink Company vs Soft Drink Company... with a healthy alternative (Re*Newal Natural Spring Water) winning the war.
So, the class storyboarded the commercial and the jingle was composed... the only thing left was to record the music... and film the commercial. Trouble ahead? There were about 10-15 kids in the Sunday Workshop at the time. Though, we had some extraordinary singers (musical theater stars), we had our share of clunkers. As the more polished kids pushed the weaker voices aside, I could sense a growing animosity starting to build. Perfect! This could be reflected in the filmed 'Mock Cola War!' The song, now recorded had turned out well, it was off to create its video parody of that 'rainbow of mankind' magic.
Nary an acting student remembered ever seeing the original 'Teach the World' ad for Coca Cola, even as it has been replayed in different adaptations over the years. The Kids mostly stood looking confused when directed to show 'a love of mankind' on their faces! But we got through it. And other than the punchline being said by an actress wearing a shirt with a logo, a no no in Creative Kids... (Note: When we film... the talent must dress generic, so people watch YOU and not your Logo! Sorry Hollister/Aeropostale!), the haunting memory of that Coca Cola ad... the ad which had demonized me for all those years... was finally exorcised.
As DK had the mock ad placed on his Re*Newal website, I could just envision his marketing team scratching their collective heads and asking. 'Now just what are we doing here?' DK never once questioned our original content, he knew all the ads we created for him were made out of respect, love and thanks for his support to our acting program. The acting program that might just turn out the next generation of marketing men and women, who knows? We probably won't create world peace through advertising a bottle of Spring Water.... But....All we say is this.. If you get it... you get it!
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