Fifty Years of Coca-Cola Television Advertisements: Highlights from the Motion Picture Archives at the Library of Congress
[Detail]Color experiment: Coca-Cola in refrigerator.
Standards
Collection Overview
Fifty Years of Coca-Cola Television Advertisements: Highlights from the Motion Picture Archives at the Library of Congress presents a variety of television advertisements, never-broadcast outtakes, and experimental footage reflecting the historical development of television advertising for a major commercial product. Featured advertisements include the 1971 "Hilltop" commercial with an international group of young people on an Italian hilltop singing "I'd Like to Buy the World a Coke"; the Mean Joe Greene commercial from 1979; the first Polar Bear commercial from 1993; the "Snowflake" commercial from 1999; and "First Experience" an international commercial filmed in Morocco in 1999.
Special Features
These online exhibits provide context and additional information about this collection.
- Highlights in the History of Coca-Cola Television Advertising
- The "Hilltop" Ad: The Story of a Commercial
- Biography of Dr. John S. Pemberton, Inventor of Coca-Cola
- Timeline: Advertising Times
- Television Advertising: A Brief History
- Beverage Industry: Celebrating 50 Years of Service
Historical Eras
These historical era(s) are best represented in the collection although they may not be all-encompassing.
- Development of the Industrial United
- States, 1876-1915
- Emergence of Modern America, 1890-1930
- The Great Depression and World War II, 1929-1945
- Postwar United States, 1945-early 70s
- Contemporary United States, 1968-present
Related Collections and Exhibits
These collections and exhibits contain thematically-related primary and secondary sources. Also browse the Collection Finder for more related material on the American Memory Web site.
- American Life Histories, 1936-1940
- The Emergence of Advertising in America: 1850-1920
- Great Earthquake and Fire: San Francisco, 1897-1916
- Inside an American Factory: Westinghouse Works, 1904
- Inventing Entertainment: The Edison Companies
- Life of a City: New York, 1898-1906
- Touring Turn of the Century America, 1880-1920
Search Tips
Specific guidance for searching this collection.
To find items in this collection, search by Keyword or browse by Title Index.
For help with genereal search strategies, see Finding Items in American Memory.
