40 Years Ago: The Doomed ‘New Coke’ Experiment Comes to an End Read More: 40 Years Ago: The Doomed 'New Coke' Experiment Comes to an End

UltimateClassicRock ^

[nickcarraway]

The 1985 debut of New Coke

[Republican Wildcat]

It’s f-f-f-f-funny - most people in a t-t-t-t-taste test actually agr-r-r-r-r-reed it tasted better side by side. However, it did not mean they didn’t st-st-st-still like original Coke, and it did not taste how people expected Coke to taste when b-b-b-b-uying it - hence, it failed. “This isn’t Coke!”

[Dr. Sivana]

Goizueta graduated from my high school, and gave our Commencement Address. He was a conservative (Cuban).

He also drank “new” Coke (rebranded “Coke II”) to his dying day, which came far too early.

Only well after that was New Coke completely eliminated.

[Larry Lucido]

Hairstyles were different back then.

[BipolarBob]

Mexican coke is the best.

[BipolarBob]

I’m talking the soda with cane sugar not the snortin’ cartel kind.

[Ronaldus Magnus III]

I was stocking the soda isle at a large Safeway when this idiocy occurred. EVERYONE, customers, staff children, everyone said: What The #@&????

[Fresh Wind]

I’d love to try the original Coke, with real sugar and real cocaine.

[Sirius Lee]

The original had the snorting kind in it.

[Republican Wildcat]

They might have had better luck had they tried that to start with vs. trying to completely replace the previous, popular product. Just like they’ve had success with other flavors - Cherry Coke, etc...but if they had attempted to replace regular Coke with Cherry Coke, both would have failed most likely.

[MotorCityBuck]

Coke kinda lost its appeal after it became New Crack.
Just saying.

[Republican Wildcat]

In case you aren't getting why I did that stutter in my above post :-)

[Neanderthal]

Trump now needs to roll out “New Bondi” with Epstein answers.

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

True. New Coke did taste better. I believe it was too much hoopla that did it in. They should have made subtle changes to it over a couple of years and no one would have noticed.

[BipolarBob]

Bring it back. Bring it back. bring it back.

[Drew68]

hence, it failed. “This isn’t Coke!”

Mostly, it failed because it tasted like Pepsi.

And if you liked the way Pepsi tasted, you bought Pepsi (or RC, which also tastes like Pepsi).

[Dr. Sivana]

They might have had better luck had they tried that to start with vs. trying to completely replace the previous, popular product.

They kind of did. Diet Coke had supplemented Tab shortly before, and it is said that New Coke is based on the flavor of Diet Coke, while Coke Zero Sugar is more like "Original" formula. CaffeineFree Coke and Caffeine-Free Diet Coke also came out before New Coke.

For decades. the Coke name was supposed to represent only ONE product, the REAL Thing. Once they started exceptions, the floodgates opened. Inasmuch as Diet Coke outsells regular Pepsi these days, I guess the change worked. Reformulating Tab would NOT have had the same result. Still, I think they lost something.

[sloanrb]

The thing was, after they switched back to the original formula sales of original Coke doubled from before they switched. Some people thought that Coke deliberately brought out New Coke in order to generate support for Original Coke.

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

I liked Okinawan coke from 1968.

[Drew68]

Trump now needs to roll out “New Bondi” with Epstein answers.

The "New Bondi" is gonna be like, "Jeffrey Epstein? Never heard of the guy."