Image Source: Pictures from Coca-Cola Company and Tavern Trove
What Was the Accusation?
In April 1985, The Coca-Cola Company replaced the formula of its flagship soft drink in the United States with a reformulated version that quickly became known as “New Coke.” The company had been losing ground to Pepsi in the intensifying cola competition and had conducted extensive taste testing before concluding that consumers preferred the new, somewhat sweeter formula. Chairman and CEO Roberto Goizueta publicly presented the change as an improvement to a product whose basic formula had endured for nearly a century.
The decision triggered an unexpectedly intense consumer backlash. Loyal customers complained that Coca-Cola had taken away a familiar product with deep personal, regional, and cultural associations. Protest groups formed, consumers stockpiled remaining supplies of the original drink, and Coca-Cola’s telephone lines received thousands of complaints. The controversy demonstrated that the company’s research had measured taste preferences more successfully than consumers’ emotional attachment to the original Coca-Cola brand and formula.
Seventy-nine days after introducing the reformulated drink, Coca-Cola reversed course. On July 10, 1985, the company announced that the original formula would return as Coca-Cola Classic while the new formula would remain available. At a July 11 press conference, Coca-Cola President Donald R. Keough apologized for the discontent the change had caused, acknowledged that executives had underestimated consumers’ attachment to original Coca-Cola, and rejected claims that the controversy had been deliberately engineered as a publicity stunt. The return of the original formula became one of the most famous corporate reversals in modern marketing history and an enduring case study in the limits of market research and the power of brand loyalty.
Excerpt from Coca-Cola President Donald R. Keough’s July 11, 1985 press conference:
What on earth brought us to the decision to bring back the classic taste which we so calmly abandoned back in April? Well, there is a twist to this story which it seems to me will please every humanist and will probably have Harvard professors puzzling for years. The simple fact is that all of the time and money and skill poured into consumer research on the new Coca Cola could not measure or reveal the depth and abiding emotional attachment to original Coca Cola felt by so many people. They said that they wanted the original taste of Coca Cola back and they wanted it soon. Now we knew that we’d hear concerns from certain quarters, places where Coke is a is a vital part of the culture. And indeed, perhaps the greatest anguish did come out of the South where we live. But the passion for original Coke, and that’s the word for it really, it’s passion. That passion was something that just flat caught us by surprise. It is not only geographical, it occurs everywhere. It is not only a function of culture or upbringing or inherited brand loyalty. It’s a wonderful American mystery. It’s a it’s a lovely American enigma and you can’t measure it. You can’t measure it anymore than you can measure love or or patriotism or pride. There’s only one kind of primitive measure that you can take. You can answer your phones and you can read your mail. And did we answer our phones? And did we read our mail?And we also watched television news and we listened to the radio and we read newspapers and magazines which kept us nicely up to date on the human side of the news. People who hoarded original coke or sold it privately at scalpers’ prices. People who had cases shipped across the country or were considering an ocean voyage to pick up a supply in foreign ports. People who formed loyalist clubs and protest groups. Members of the media were wonderful in keeping us informed.
But you, the press, didn’t open up our mail. Now, I didn’t say that you would not open it. I just don’t think you got there before we did. And therefore I’d like to share a little of it. Now I’m not going to read the positive mail. Roberto and Brian and I have passed those letters back and forth so often that they’re tattered and dog eared. But now for a bit of a humility lesson. Let me read you a few letters. Here’s one from Michigan. A nurse writes, “My history with Coke covers a lifetime. I cut my teeth drinking Coke. I went to the drive in restaurants and ordered Coke. I drank Coke for morning sickness while pregnant. I drank Coke, not coffee, studying for the final exams at nursing school. I still drink Coke for pickups and enjoyment of taste. We have brought Coke at our home by three cases at a time to be sure we don’t run out.” And here’s another: “Changing Coke is like God making the grass purple or putting toes on our ears. Or teeth on our knees.” And here’s one, “Dear sir, you have fouled up by changing the only perfect thing in the world. Before the courts fouled up by breaking the phone company, there were two perfect things. And now that you’ve changed coke, there none.” Here’s one that starts, “Dear Chief Dodo…” Well I passed that one on to Roberto unopened, but he told me what it said: “What ignoramus decided to change the formula of Coke? The new formula is unexciting and it’s as bad as Pepsi. Burn it!” Here’s a letter from California: “I don’t think I’d be more upset if you were to burn the flag in our front yard. ” And a real patriot writes, “Changing the flavor of Coca-Cola would be like tearing down the White House.” Here’s one: “Dear sir, Coke has always been like apple pie and mom. Something you could count on. I’m glad the person who came up with this dumb idea wasn’t around when the Mona Lisa was painted. He probably would have said that her smile wasn’t big enough.”
Well these people and thousands like them have gone public with their love affair for Coca-Cola. Well what we want them to know is it’s mutual. We want them to know that we’re really sorry for any discontent that we may have caused for almost three months. And Coca-Cola Classic is truly a celebration of their loyalty and a vindication of their cause. By the way, after the initial reaction, the consumer reaction since the announcement at 3:18 yesterday was incredible. Yesterday afternoon, after Coca-Cola Classic was announced, we received over 6,000 telephone calls. Overnight, another 7,600 were received. And by this morning, in the first hour of business, we’d received over 1,300 calls. The overwhelming reaction of consumers is one of excitement. Most of them are emotional and honestly, many in tears. But the message is the same. We’re glad to have our old friend back. But what does all this really mean? It only means what we say that our boss is the consumer. Some critics will say Coca-Cola has made a marketing mistake. And some cynics say that we planned the whole thing. The truth is that we aren’t that dumb. And we’re not that smart.
