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Coke's '85 Jingle Corrupted Bossa Nova Gem
13 Jun
Summary
- Coca-Cola used a bossa nova song as a soda jingle in 1985.
- The original song is a sublime Brazilian standard by Elis Regina and Jobim.
- The jingle was a testosterone-fueled rock version of the original.
In 1985, Coca-Cola notably adapted the acclaimed Brazilian bossa nova song "Águas de Março" into a commercial jingle. This iconic song, originally a masterful duet by Elis Regina and Antônio Carlos Jobim, was part of their 1974 album "Elis & Tom." Jobim composed the song in 1972, intending to capture the essence of Rio de Janeiro's autumn rains through a series of evocative images.
The Coca-Cola advertisement, launched during the 1985 Super Bowl, presented a significantly altered version of the song. It replaced the original's subtle delivery with a high-energy rock sound and lyrics such as "It is awesome." This commercial rendition, promoted with images of athletes and soldiers, preceded the official U.S. release of the "Elis & Tom" album in 1989, though an English cover by Art Garfunkel existed.
Despite the commercial exploitation, Coca-Cola's aggressive rewrite inadvertently highlighted the profound, undefinable quality of Jobim and Regina's original "Águas de Março." The advertisement's betrayal of the song's subtle artistry served to underscore its transcendent surrender to ambiguity.
