New Coke

"May I offer you a drink? Tab or New Coke?"

New Coke was an attempt by the Coca-Cola Company to modernize the formula to try and take down Pepsi. It was introduced on April 23, 1985, then renamed Coke II in 1992. Coke II was eventually discontinued in July of 2002, but was reintroduced in 2019 to promote the third season of Stranger Things (which takes place in 1985).

Why It Flopped

 * 1) The main problem was how Coke messed with a familiar 99-year old formula.
 * 2) Coca-Cola made several mistakes when performing their market research. The biggest of all is to test the subjects based on taste alone, neither did they ask what the test subjects like best about the new flavor.
 * 3) Another major mistake Coca-Cola made is to pull the old Cokes from the shelves, this is an exceptionally bad move during the war between Pepsi and Coca-Cola since many consumers considered the brand of cola they choose a part of their identity. Changing the drink fundamentally confused consumers’ identification and relation to the brand.
 * 4) * Other customers that value tradition over novelty were also unhappy with that choice.
 * 5) Weird aftertaste.
 * 6) Even Fidel Castro hated it.
 * 7) Some customers boycotted, leading to Coke rapidly reintroducing the old formula, and by 1987, New Coke no longer sold mainstream in America.

Redeeming Qualities

 * 1) At least Coca-Coca brought back their original formula (rebranded as Coca-Cola classic) in 1985.
 * 2) The Max Headroom commercials!!