Three Point Shot

Still Teaching the World to Sing, Coca-Cola Scores in Dispute over Spanish Language Version of World Cup Anthem

For generations, Coca Cola Co. has taught the world to sing – and as the company has become an increasingly global brand, those singing do so in a multitude of languages. After the 2010 FIFA World Cup, however, the company faced at least one legal complication related to that strategy when it was taken to court by a Miami-based composer and producer who claimed that Coca-Cola had unlawfully taken his translation of a song and tried to teach it to the Spanish-speaking world.

The composer, Rafael "Rafa" Vergara Hermosilla, didn't claim to have written the song, "Wavin' Flag." The original version, written and performed by Somali-Canadian rapper K'naan (pronounced KAY-non), was chosen as the centerpiece of Coca-Cola's $300 million advertising campaign surrounding the World Cup. As part of the campaign, K'Naan wrote a new verse for the "Coca-Cola Celebration