--- description: The ad is a perfect button on the end of Don's story title: Watch the Coke Ad That Closed the 'Mad Men' Finale image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blteb63c1fd292e8bd1/69884cf42dce0169019e35e4/don.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # 'I'd Like to Buy the World a Coke' Was the Perfect Way to End _Mad Men_ by [Sarah Begley](/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 18, 2015 4:11 AM CUT  Jon Hamm as Don Draper Jon Hamm as Don DraperFrank Ockenfels—AMC by [Sarah Begley](/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 18, 2015 4:11 AM CUT _Mad Men_’s much-anticipated closing song wasn’t a gritty track by an artist who served as an icon for the sex, drugs and rock-and-roll generation — but a jingle. It might not have had the adrenaline-pumping impact of _The Sopranos_’ “Don’t Stop Believin’,” but it made perfect sense for the end of a story about Don Draper — a guy to whom it was once said, “If you had to choose a place to die, it would be in the middle of a pitch.” “I’d Like to Buy the World a Coke” was, of course, a real ad from 1971 for Coca-Cola, Don’s white whale. The song was actually the brainchild of a man named Bill Backer, a creative director at McCann-Erickson, the firm that employed Don for a brief minute. It was such a success that it was released as a single with lyrics disassociated from Coca-Cola (“I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing”); subsequently, it’s been revived as the company’s jingle several times. The song works not only because of its overlap with the particulars of Don’s career, but also because of its placement right after his seeming revelation while meditating in paradise. Has he really bought into the vision this retreat is selling? (Don’t forget, it _is_ a business — Don thinks it’s a good thing when the receptionist takes his money after he arrives. Also note that the receptionist wore her hair in the [same ribboned braid](https://twitter.com/mariebardi/status/600143057300881409 "undefined") as a woman in the Coke ad.) It certainly seems possible — after all, that man’s weepy confession in group therapy sounded uncannily like a Don Draper pitch, complete with a domestic setting and a sentimental message. Don responds to that “pitch” like nothing else we’ve seen from him lately. Advertising may be a lie, but the best lies have an element of truth. It’s always been hard to tell how much Don actually wanted that American dream he’s been selling to people — full of soap, lipstick, beer and cars. But it’s equally hard to imagine him sitting in a lotus pose just for the sake of going along with the crowd. “It’s the real thing,” the singers declare in the jingle. But what exactly _is_ the real thing? Don’s newfound inner peace? Or the idea that everything is a product that can be sold — including mental health? Is the meaning of life spirituality, or is it capitalism? That might be _Mad Men_’s ultimate cliff-hanger. ### 'Mad Men' Up Close: Photos From the Set of the Celebrated Show  February 2014\. From left: Vincent Kartheiser as Pete Campbell, Elisabeth Moss as Peggy Olson and John Hamm as Don Draper behind the scenes on set of Mad Men’s seventh and final season, Los Angeles. Alex Majoli—Magnum for TIME  February 2014\. From center: Vincent Kartheiser as Pete Campbell and Christina Hendricks as Joan Harris behind the scenes on set of Mad Men’s seventh and final season, Los Angeles. Alex Majoli—Magnum for TIME  February 2014\. From left: Aaron Staton as Ken Cosgrove, Robert Morse as Bertram Cooper and other cast members behind the scenes on set of Mad Men’s seventh and final season, Los Angeles. Alex Majoli—Magnum for TIME  February 2014\. From left: Christina Hendricks as Joan Harris, January Jones as Betty Draper, Elisabeth Moss as Peggy Olson, and Vincent Kartheiser as Pete Campbell on the set of Mad Men’s seventh and final season, Los Angeles. Alex Majoli—Magnum for TIME  February 2014\. From left: Matthew Weiner, Creator of Mad Men and Robert Morse who plays Bertram Cooper, behind the scenes of Mad Men’s seventh and final season, Los Angeles. Alex Majoli—Magnum for TIME  February 2014\. Christina Hendricks, who plays Joan Harris, has makeup applied on the set of Mad Men’s seventh and final season, Los Angeles. Alex Majoli—Magnum for TIME  February 2014\. From center: John Slattery as Roger Sterling and Rich Sommer as Harry Crane behind the scenes on set of Mad Men’s seventh and final season, Los Angeles. Alex Majoli—Magnum for TIME  February 2014\. Matthew Weiner behind the scenes on set of Mad Men’s seventh and final season, Los Angeles. Alex Majoli—Magnum for TIME  February 2014\. Christina Hendricks as Joan Harris behind the scenes on set of Mad Men’s seventh and final season, Los Angeles. Alex Majoli—Magnum for TIME  February 2014\. From center: Elisabeth Moss, who plays Peggy Olson, and Matthew Weiner, Creator of Mad Men behind the scenes on the set of Mad Men’s seventh and final season, Los Angeles. Alex Majoli—Magnum for TIME  February 2014\. John Hamm as Don Draper behind the scenes on set of Mad Men’s seventh and final season, Los Angeles. Alex Majoli—Magnum for TIME ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3882114/mad-men-finale-id-like-to-buy-the-world-a-coke-ad/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3882114/mad-men-finale-id-like-to-buy-the-world-a-coke-ad/"},"headline":"'I'd Like to Buy the World a Coke' Was the Perfect Way to End Mad Men","datePublished":"2015-05-18T04:11:37.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:03:33.868Z","description":"The jingle is a perfect button on the end of Don's story","url":"https://time.com/3882114/mad-men-finale-id-like-to-buy-the-world-a-coke-ad/","keywords":["Television","Mad Men"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blteb63c1fd292e8bd1/69884cf42dce0169019e35e4/don.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sarah Begley","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blteb63c1fd292e8bd1/69884cf42dce0169019e35e4/don.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Don","caption":"Jon Hamm as Don Draper - Mad Men _ Season 7B, Gallery _ Photo Credit: Frank Ockenfels 3/AMC","creditText":"Frank Ockenfels—AMC","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3882114/mad-men-finale-id-like-to-buy-the-world-a-coke-ad/","name":"'I'd Like to Buy the World a Coke' Was the Perfect Way to End Mad Men"}}]}] ```