“To hear some tell it, April 23, 1985, was a day that will
live in marketing infamy ... spawning consumer angst the likes of which no
business has ever seen.” —
The Coca-Cola Company, commenting on the New Coke announcement.
In April 1985, The Coca-Cola Company launched New Coke, and discontinued the production of the original
formulation. Taste tests findings clearly indicated consumers’ preference for
the sweeter New Coke mixture over both regular Coca-Cola and Pepsi. But the
consumers’ response was not what Coca-Cola had anticipated. At the onset, it
was a minority, albeit a vocal one that protested against the transformation of
a brand that had become so much a part of their heritage. Yet, their mood was
infectious and headquarters in Atlanta started receiving an avalanche of
letters expressing anger and dismay.
What transpired was one of the greatest
expressions of the will of consumers. Overwhelmed with over 400,000 calls and
letters, the company reintroduced Coca-Cola, as Coca-Cola Classic.
The episode gave us a rare glimpse of the enormous
depth of emotion that consumers feel for mega brands like Coca-Cola. One can only
imagine what the response might have been, if consumers, at that time, were
empowered by social media.
A psychiatrist the company
hired to listen in on calls told Coca-Cola executives that some callers sounded
as if they were discussing the death of a family member.
New Coke was more than a change of formulation. The
brand name, logo, and the manner it was presented was altered in one fell
swoop. No longer the “the real thing”, for many Americans it was the demise of
the Coca-Cola that they knew and had grown to love.
This was a demonstration of the enormous power
that resides in the minds of consumers for this extraordinary brand.
According to Muhtar Kent, the company’s chairman & CEO, “Coca-Cola is more
than just a drink. It is an idea; it is a vision, a feeling.” Great brands like
Coca-Cola live beyond generations, becoming part of society’s heritage, bonding
people together across the globe.
