Worst Mistake Ever, or Best Marketing Ploy Ever?

Last week, May 8th to be precise, was the 122nd anniversary of Coca-Cola. When Coca-Cola was first introduced in 1886, they sold about 9 drinks a day. Today, that figure pushes upwards of 1.5 billion. And no, I am not responsible for a majority of them.

I do drink more than my fair share of Coke, going back to when I was a kid. Probably one of the good things my step-dad did was drink Coke, so we generally had some around the house. He was from the south, so that is probably why he drank that over “that other cola” (Yes, if I am at a restaurant and I ask if they have Coke or Pepsi, if hey say Pepsi I get something else entirely). Back then it was the old 16 ounce, returnable, glass bottles that came in the eight-pack (or was it ten?) cartons. Then I remember the 8 ounce cans, the commercials showed you that they were pocket-sized, but I could never get them to fit in my pockets. Maybe it was those Sears brand jeans I wore as a kid?

By the time I was in High School, I was probably at a 5-6 can a day habit. I even kept a 12-pack in my room and had no problem drinking the occassional warm Coke while doing homework or something. All and all, life was good.

Then came Spring of 1985, my senior year in high school, and I was about to be betrayed. After years of clinical trials or something, April 23, 1985 is a day that will live in cola infamy as the day the boys in Atlanta introduce “Coke”.  The “new” was never part of the name. The new cans had a simple block style “COKE” name on them, with the word  “NEW!” in a banner ribbon.

Faced with a declining market share, both from Pepsi and from their own recent introduction of Diet Coke, Atlanta did a tone of taste testing to come up with a formula that was “smoother and sweeter”, and well… basically more Pepsi like. Since Diet Coke had been tooled to be smoother than the original Coca-Cola and was not simply a sugar-free version of the actual product, someone figured that the public must no longer want that “bite” you got from regular Coke.

Needless to say, the public reaction to the change was less than stellar. I remember trying it myself, and it was probably the first time I had ever thrown away an unfinished can of coke. Less than three months later, it was announced that “old” Coke would be returning to the shelves as “Coca-Cola Classic”, while that other Coke was later dubbed “Coke II” before slowly fading away all together.

Sales wise, the new Coke really was not that big of a flop. And as far as the marketing goes, researchers say 80% of the American public was aware of the product within 48 hours of it being announced. That in itself could be a testament to the level of penetration Coca-Cola has in to our lives.  And while sales in the first month after the switch were on par with sales before the switch, by June, a time when sales normally would be increasing, Coke sales remained flat.

Coca-Cola suffered for awhile, their own actions had further segmented the sugared soda market, and allowed Pepsi to capture the position of number one soft drink, beating the combined sales of both Coke’s. The victory was brief however, and by early 1986 “Coca-Cola Classic” had regained that throne.

Rumors and theories abound - was this all just a marketing ploy to keep Pepsi beat down? Was it just a ploy to change the sweetener in Coke from cane sugar to high-fructose corn syrup? Was it the commies? (Ok, I just tossed that last one in there).

Truth is, somehow, someone actually thought they could beat Pepsi at their game with this new Coke flavor. And under other conditions, maybe they would have. But what the folks at Atlanta forgot was that products are not always just about the product. They forgot about the image, the nostalgia, the history, as well as the emotional attachment and loyalty consumers build towards a product.

Personally, I did stop drinking Coke during this time. It helped me further expand my carbonated beverage tastes… I remember Squirt being one of my favorites of the time. In the end, I’m just glad they switched back.

More Reading
New Coke and other marketing fiascoes [msnbc.com]
23 years after “new Coke” [cocacolaconversations.com]
Knew Coke [snopes.com]
New Coke [wikipedia.com]
12 Things to Do with Coca-Cola [thebizzare.com]

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