May 1976, Coca-Cola  introduced a new Coke ad campaign, aimed at the young. The new campaign, “Coke Adds Life to …,” was designed to show viewers that Coca-Cola added simple the enjoyment to life.

“Coke Adds Life” emphasized refreshment and tried to show Coke as the perfect accompaniment to food, fun, and leisure. The campaign highlighted the soft drink’s role in many situations common to consumers around the globe, and the campaign’s theme was adapted to appeal to a worldwide audience. While Coca-Cola often produced advertising in the United States that was adapted for international use, in 1978 the company adapted two overseas “Coke Adds Life” spots—from Italy and Brazil—for U.S. audiences. The Italian ad, “Flirting,” follows the attempts of a young man to meet the one who will be his special girl. The viewer also sees the romantic pursuits of others both young and old. The message is that Coke helps pave the way to romance

After “Coke Adds Life,” the stage was set for a new advertising campaign for Coca-Cola, “Have a Coke and a Smile,” which further emphasized the reliability and reward in drinking Coca-Cola. The new campaign was announced in commercials featuring Bob Hope and Bill Cosby, who explained the idea of “Have a Coke and a Smile” and encouraged viewers to watch for the new advertising.

The campaign centered around a single melody and one set of lyrics. For television, the music served as a background for dozens of vignettes featuring people from many walks of life drinking Coca-Cola while working or relaxing. One such ad, released on October 1, 1979, became one of the most famous Coke commercials, captivating audiences almost as much as had the “Hilltop” commercial eight years earlier. Written by Penny Hawkey, produced by Jean-Claude Kaufman, with art direction by Roger Mosconi and direction by Lee Lacy, the commercial known as “Mean Joe Greene” featured the defensive lineman of that nickname from the Pittsburgh Steelers professional football team and a twelve-year-old boy, Tommy Okon.

The casting of this ad was integral to its success. While The Coca-Cola Company had suggested Roger Staubach, the popular quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys, McCann decided on the “Mean”-looking Steeler player instead. The ad was filmed over three days in May 1979 at a stadium in New Rochelle, New York, with Joe Greene and Tommy Okon performing countless retakes and Greene consuming eighteen 16-ounce bottles of Coca-Cola the final day alone.

The ad proved to be immensely popular, sparking a surge of letters to The Coca-Cola Company. It won the 1979 CLIO award in the world’s largest advertising awards competition, and Greene took home the award for best actor in the same contest. The Coca-Cola Company followed up with a promotion to “win the shirt off my back,” distributing thousands of replica jerseys to winning entrants. It also adapted the ad’s concept to other parts of the world: Brazil, Argentina, and Thailand all produced versions of the commercial following the same plot line but featuring renowned football (soccer) players from each country, such as national soccer champion Niwat in Thailand.

“Mean Joe Greene” concluded its life as a made-for-TV movie that aired on NBC-TV on November 8, 1981. Joe Greene starred in the movie, but the part of the young boy was played by Henry Thomas, who later went on to star in E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial. The movie recreated the ad and told the story of what happened after the ad ended.