Ben Gilbert

The company's headquarters, I think the original Lay Company, is an Atlanta company.

So in many ways, Coca-Cola is sort of the preferred buyer.

And Coke turns it down.

The wild thing is today, if you look at the health of Pepsi's beverages business and their food business with Frito-Lay products, Frito-Lay is a much, much better business.

While the revenues are a little bit smaller than the Pepsi business by revenue, Frito-Lay generates twice as much profit inside the parent company, PepsiCo.

That's a good one to own.

Big miss from Coke.

I mean, it doesn't have high fructose corn syrup yet, so ostensibly it is the real thing.

So listeners, if you don't know... The Hilltop ad.

The Hilltop ad to the song I'd Like to Buy the World a Coke is fictionally created or alluded to be created by Don Draper in the finale of Mad Men, but of course is a real ad 40 years before Mad Men came out.

I think it's given him a little bit too much credit.

If you're going to do a show about advertising in this era, you kind of have to do McCann Erickson.

So the story behind this ad is awesome.

So Bill Backer at McCann Erickson, who was sort of the big partner of Coca-Cola's there.

Yes, for a long time.

Said that he was on a flight that was grounded at an airport in Ireland, and he noticed a diverse crowd of passengers, and everyone's upset that this flight isn't happening.

And they're chatting and they're joking with each other.

And it's over bottles of Coca-Cola.

And he's like, man, Coca-Cola really brings people together across borders, across languages.

And he jots down on a napkin, I'd like to buy the world a Coke.