It seemed like a great idea - at first.
Thirty-three years ago today, Coca-Cola announced the launch of “New Coke” and retirement of its tried and true original formula.
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Consumers, though, didn’t much care for the taste and the Atlanta-based brand, one of the most recognized in the world, found itself backpeddling in what has become known as one of the biggest corporate snafus ever.
So much so, that the debacle even became fodder for university business courses.
Within months, the company brought back its classic version.
In a 2005 article in The Atlanta-Journal Constitution, Coke’s top brass announced the creation of Coke Classic.
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“The bottom-line lesson: Coke’s exhaustive-yet-flawed marking research showed people would prefer the taste of New Coke,” according to the article. “Problem was, researchers didn’t ask how they’d react if old Coke disappeared.”
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