The year was 1984. The National Coffee Association was looking to update the image around the same old cup of joe, make it hip, even. It was a time long before Starbucks had engulfed the world, and was just another vendor in Seattle's Pike Place Market. Coffee simply wasn't cool to kids, who'd shifted to sugary sodas loaded with precious caffeine, like Mountain Dew and Jolt.
RELATED: Heart Makes Dramatic Comeback with "Heart"
The National Coffee Association's answer: "The Coffee Achievers," a campaign launched to highlight the virtues of a good, old-fashioned cup of coffee, and the very cool and influential people already drinking the stuff. Among them: the appropriately Seattle-based band, Heart. Ann and Nancy Wilson of Heart, alongside guitarist Howard Leese, are seen in "The Coffee Achievers" TV spot enthusiastically sipping coffee while mixing a new record.
Providing the perfect soundtrack to these inspirational promos: Electric Light Orchestra's 1981 single, "Hold On Tight."
Interestingly enough, it was Heart's self-titled 1985 album that brought the band back to prominence, and back to the top of the charts. Coincidence? If you drink enough coffee, you already know the answer to that question.
Also in the campaign: David Bowie, although his participation seems to be limited to clips taken directly from his "Modern Love" video. Author Kurt Vonnegut, Saturday Night Live OG Jane Curtin, and Hollywood icon Cicely Tyson are among those seen making big things happen, thanks in large part to the inspiration found where else but in the bottom of a cup of coffee. Tyson gets so fired up that she slaps a guy. Watch it all unfold below.
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