NEW COKE has largely been considered a PR nightmare and failure of the Coca-Cola Company. The company unsuccessfully tried to roll out a new hipper version of Coca Cola, only for it to be hated by the masses. Or was it a failure?
Conspiracy?
Maybe I watched too conspiracy movies as a kid, but I stand by what my 15 year old self immediately thought back in 1985, and that is.. Coca-Cola knew exactly what they were doing. It would actually be a perfectly executed ruse if this were the case. I mean really.. let's think about this for a minute..
- 1. Release a sub par version of a classic product.
- 2. One month later respond to the public outcry and announce the return of the original product named "Coca-Cola Classic".
- 3. Release re-branded product to market in record time.
- 4. Watch their stocks soar as everyone is drunk with nostalgia, as they are reunited with a classic piece of American history and Americana. Not to mention recapturing the market lead against Pepsi in the brutal Soda wars of the 80s!
My friends and I performed our very own taste tests and decided we liked Old Coke better than its new counterpart. Later that week, we all went out across town buying up cases of the old formula to stash in our bedrooms. We knew it wouldn't last forever, so we cautiously consumed it to make it last as long as we could. In the end.. we still had much of our stash left by the time 'Coca-Cola Classic' was hitting shelves. Once again all was right with the world.
From what I remember, I preferred old Coke to the new formula.. but didn't hate NEW COKE by any means. I was raised on RC Cola but would also drink Coke about 30% of the time. I'm a sucker for nostalgia and most anything retro, so I am pretty excited about this promotion, and will be scampering to buy some new.. old.. NEW COKE this summer!