Coca-Cola launched 'New Coke', a famous marketing misstep
On this day · 23 April 1985
On April 23, 1985, Coca-Cola changed its 99-year-old formula, then watched a furious public force the old recipe back in 79 days.
On April 23, 1985, the Coca-Cola Company announced it was replacing its flagship soft drink with a sweeter, reformulated version soon nicknamed New Coke, the first change to the secret formula in 99 years. Executives, rattled by Pepsi’s gains, believed taste tests pointed the way: nearly 200,000 people had preferred the new flavor in trials.
The public had other ideas. Coca-Cola was swamped with up to 8,000 calls a day and some 40,000 complaint letters, as drinkers mourned the loss of a brand they felt belonged to them.
Consumer research measured taste, but missed the emotional attachment people felt to the original.
The retreat was fast. Just 79 days after launch, the company brought back the old recipe as Coca-Cola Classic on July 11, 1985. It quickly outsold New Coke, and the episode became a textbook lesson in how brand loyalty can defy market research.
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