Always Coca-Cola

Trivia/Info

• This is a radio advertisement created for Coca-Cola by John Flansburgh that aired around 1997. From the monopuff.org FAQ:

Flans did indeed create a radio commercial for Coca-Cola which was meant to sound as if someone was riding the radio dial and stopping on a bunch of fake song bites that had to do with Coke. Flans sang all these songs, one of which is a version of "Poison Flowers" from The Steve Calhoon Years EP, with the lyrics "cherry cola" changed to "Coca Cola". The commercial was about 60 seconds and played for a brief time on American radio.

• John Flansburgh described the advertisement when it was released to the 2024 iteration of the TMBG Instant Fan Club:

This spin-of-the-radio-dial covers a fair bit of ground genre-wise. Initially, there were some bone-crushing DMX-style drum machine moments in there but it was found too extreme for the client. We also had to sign a contract the size of a phone book including a clause that forbid us from saying anything disparaging about Coca-Cola. But who would? Robin “Goldie” Goldwasser joins the proceedings in the haunted “Alll-wayssss” ending.

• A majority of the audio bites recorded for the song's demo were reused for this version. However, the "Who's going to wear my sandals?", "Coke rules!" and "I like the fuzz" sections would be re-recorded, with the latter two being given new lyrics.
• The "thirsty cyborg" line also appeared in the live "Born In A Graveyard" glockenspiel introduction.
• This advertisement was originally known as the "Coke Radio Ad" and "Always Be Giants" by fans before its official title was revealed to members of the 2024 Instant Fan Club.

Song Themes

Colors, Doors, Non-John Vocals, Recycled Material, Robots, Songs Used In Commercials, Trade Names

Videos