New Coke
New Coke\xa0was the unofficial name for the reformulation of\xa0Coca-Cola\xa0introduced in April 1985 by\xa0The Coca-Cola Company\xa0to replace the original formula of its flagship\xa0soft drink, Coca-Cola (also called\xa0Coke). New Coke originally had no separate name of its own but was simply known as "the new taste of Coca-Cola" until 1992, when it was officially renamed\xa0Coke II.
Coca-Cola's\xa0market share\xa0had been steadily losing ground to diet soft drinks and non-cola beverages for many years. Meanwhile, consumers who were purchasing regular colas seemed to prefer the sweeter taste of rival\xa0Pepsi-Cola, as Coca-Cola learned in conducting\xa0blind taste tests. However, the American public's reaction to the change was negative, even hostile, and the new cola was a major failure. The subsequent, rapid reintroduction of\xa0Coke's original formula\xa0(which was re-branded as "Coca-Cola Classic" and put back into market within three months of New Coke's debut) resulted in a significant gain in sales. This led to speculation that the introduction of the New Coke formula was just a marketing ploy; however, the company has always maintained it was a genuine attempt to replace the original product.[1]
New Coke remains influential as a\xa0cautionary tale\xa0against tampering too extensively with a well-established and successful brand. It was officially discontinued in July 2002.
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Additional music in this episode:
"Chill Wave" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/ licenses/by/3.0/