Production Supervisor · 2025 · National Brand Campaign

The first global recreation of Coca-Cola's 1971 "Hilltop" commercial entirely in American Sign Language — produced by Take Care Productions in partnership with Gallaudet University and Coca-Cola Studio X, the campaign that gave Coca-Cola its first official ASL sign name.

AD AGE · COCA-COLA · GALLAUDET UNIVERSITY

We Want to Teach the World to Sign is a national Coca-Cola campaign — a frame-for-frame recreation of the brand's iconic 1971 "Hilltop" commercial, told entirely in American Sign Language. The campaign was led on the brand side by Coca-Cola's Studio X and developed in partnership with Gallaudet University across an eight-month collaboration. Gallaudet's Director of Storytelling Storm Smith led creative development with a team of Gallaudet students — ZaniBelle Hoglind, Natasha Richards-Hamilton, Misa Suzuki, and Alona Zfati — who set the cultural and creative framework. ASL translation of the original "I'd Like to Buy the World a Coke" lyrics was led by Gallaudet Theatre and Dance Professor Monique "MoMo" Holt. WPP / Hogarth served as agency, and the campaign was produced by Take Care Productions. It launched in May 2025, marking the moment Coca-Cola became the first global corporation to receive an official ASL name sign — the letters C-O-K-E with a rhythmic motion echoing the brand's ribbon.

I served as Production Supervisor on the DC shoot, hired by Take Care Productions (Chicago) as their DC production lead — sourcing and onboarding the below-the-line department for the shoot, from camera and grip & electric through HMU, wardrobe, and catering. Through pre-production, I sat in on creative briefs, mood-board reviews, and production-planning sessions alongside Coca-Cola Studio X, WPP / Hogarth agency leads, and Take Care's executive producing team — translating the campaign's cultural framework into the operational decisions that made the day work. On set, I was responsible for the crew's day-to-day execution and for protecting the production protocols a deaf-community-led shoot requires: tight coordination with ASL interpreters, sightline discipline so deaf cast and crew could communicate visually across departments, and a pace that prioritized the integrity of the signing performance over conventional commercial efficiencies.

The campaign launched May 8, 2025 and ran nationally. Press coverage included AdAge ("Coke remakes iconic 'Hilltop' ad in ASL with Gallaudet"), PR Newswire, Nasdaq, and Coca-Cola's own media center, alongside coverage from disability-inclusion outlets and ASL-community press. The campaign was submitted to the Valuable 500 Nothing Without Us Awards. Beyond the campaign itself, the work delivered Coca-Cola its first-ever official ASL sign name — a permanent linguistic credential the brand will carry across every future ASL communication it makes.