Post By : 23/06/2024

New Coke

• Launch Date: April 23, 1985
• Discontinued: July 11, 1985 (Classic Coke reintroduced)
• Manufacturer: The Coca-Cola Company
• Known For: One of the most infamous marketing failures in history

• The Person Behind It: New Coke was spearheaded by Roberto Goizueta, the Cuban-born CEO of Coca-Cola at the time, along with the company's president, Don Keough. The decision came after Coca-Cola lost market share to Pepsi, which was gaining ground through its sweeter formula and aggressive “Pepsi Challenge” taste test campaigns.
• Sales Figures & Market Impact: Though New Coke initially saw a spike in sales—thanks to curiosity and heavy marketing—this success was short-lived. Coca-Cola Classic was reintroduced in July 1985 after 79 days, following widespread backlash. In just that short span, Coca-Cola received over 400,000 angry letters and calls from disgruntled fans, including comments like:
• * “You have taken away my childhood.”
• * “You are tampering with history.”
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• In fact, within weeks of the reintroduction of the original formula, Coke’s sales figures for "Coca-Cola Classic" surged and eventually led to a double-digit growth in market share for the brand by the end of 1985.
• Public & Media Reaction: Public reaction to New Coke was overwhelmingly negative. People staged protests, including one notable demonstration where a group poured New Coke down the drain. The media mocked the company, with The New York Times calling it "the marketing blunder of the century." Comedians and late-night hosts like Johnny Carson and David Letterman joked about it, further adding to its notoriety.
• Pepsi even took advantage of the situation, running ads proclaiming that Coke had changed its formula because Pepsi was winning the cola war. One famous Pepsi ad declared:
• * "Somebody out there tell me why Coke did it. Why did Coke change?"


• Despite being a major failure, some analysts now argue that New Coke may have been a “happy accident,” because the backlash and eventual reintroduction of Coca-Cola Classic generated immense media coverage and restored the brand’s emotional connection with its customers.
• Quotes:
• * Don Keough, Coca-Cola President: "The simple fact is that all the time and money and skill poured into consumer research on the new Coca-Cola could not measure or reveal the deep and abiding emotional attachment to original Coca-Cola felt by so many people."
• * Roberto Goizueta, CEO of Coca-Cola: "We did not understand the deep emotions of so many of our customers for Coca-Cola."
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