INTERVIEW EDGE • JULY 1993

Talent...It's the Real Thing

Have you ever wondered why some highly experienced people you hired in the past simply did not work out? Sure, experience is important –­ but what's often more important is the talent to do the job.

Let's look at Coca Cola. With its choice of the world's best jingle writers, it's not surprising that Coca Cola would come up with a great jingle for a new ad campaign centered on the word "always." What is surprising is that this time the company sought talent elsewhere. Instead of looking for just experienced jingle writers, they recruited people who had demonstrated creative abilities and innovative thinking.

The search paid off. Mercenary Productions, a small rhythm and blues record producer, chose to approach "always" not as a jingle, but as a song. The result was "Always, Coca Cola," which Bob Garfield of Advertising Age magazine called "wonderful music, the best soft-drink jingle I've heard in years."

So the next time you think experience is all that matters, remember ­– that's not ALWAYS true!