1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:01,920 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of I 2 00:00:02,040 --> 00:00:07,840 Speaker 1: Heart Radio. Hey I'm Eves and Welcome to This Day 3 00:00:07,840 --> 00:00:11,719 Speaker 1: in History Class, a show that uncovers history one day 4 00:00:11,800 --> 00:00:25,280 Speaker 1: at a time. Today is at The day was April, 5 00:00:28,360 --> 00:00:32,640 Speaker 1: the Coca Cola Company introduced New Coke, a reformulated version 6 00:00:32,640 --> 00:00:36,400 Speaker 1: of its world famous soft drink Coke. It was the 7 00:00:36,479 --> 00:00:39,720 Speaker 1: first time in the company's nearly century long history that 8 00:00:39,800 --> 00:00:43,920 Speaker 1: the drink was reformulated. People did not like the taste, 9 00:00:44,200 --> 00:00:47,800 Speaker 1: and the change became a whole debacle. In the early 10 00:00:47,880 --> 00:00:51,040 Speaker 1: nineteen eighties, Coca Cola needed to do something to boost 11 00:00:51,040 --> 00:00:55,840 Speaker 1: their sales. Coke's market share was declining, Pepsi was becoming 12 00:00:55,840 --> 00:00:58,800 Speaker 1: the cola of choice in supermarkets, and other types of 13 00:00:58,840 --> 00:01:02,720 Speaker 1: sodas like die it in citrus ones were gaining popularity. 14 00:01:03,600 --> 00:01:07,040 Speaker 1: Pepsi began an ad campaign called the Pepsi Challenge, where 15 00:01:07,040 --> 00:01:10,560 Speaker 1: participants would choose pepsi over coke and blind taste tests. 16 00:01:11,480 --> 00:01:14,520 Speaker 1: When Coca Cola did their own internal taste tests, they 17 00:01:14,600 --> 00:01:18,520 Speaker 1: also picked pepsi over coke. So executives decided that the 18 00:01:18,600 --> 00:01:21,919 Speaker 1: key to increasing coke sales was to change the SODA's taste. 19 00:01:23,280 --> 00:01:27,120 Speaker 1: The coke formula have been through changes before. Notably, the 20 00:01:27,200 --> 00:01:30,800 Speaker 1: drink once had cocaine in it, and it changed sweeteners 21 00:01:30,800 --> 00:01:33,720 Speaker 1: from cane sugar to beat sugar to corn syrup, but 22 00:01:33,800 --> 00:01:35,959 Speaker 1: the taste of the drink had always been the same. 23 00:01:36,959 --> 00:01:39,440 Speaker 1: Fearful they were about to lose their hold on the market, 24 00:01:39,840 --> 00:01:43,000 Speaker 1: Coke decided to introduce a new sweeter formula for their 25 00:01:43,040 --> 00:01:47,960 Speaker 1: flagship drink, Diet Coke, which Coca Cola introduced in nineteen two, 26 00:01:48,240 --> 00:01:50,240 Speaker 1: had become one of the most popular drinks in the 27 00:01:50,320 --> 00:01:54,480 Speaker 1: United States. The company made the Diet Coke formula sweeter 28 00:01:54,560 --> 00:01:57,080 Speaker 1: with high fruit toast corn syrup, and after a lot 29 00:01:57,120 --> 00:02:00,960 Speaker 1: of testing, it launched that reformulated version of coke on April. 30 00:02:03,760 --> 00:02:06,720 Speaker 1: The new drink's official name was just Coke, but the 31 00:02:06,760 --> 00:02:10,080 Speaker 1: word knew was added to the bottles and cans, and 32 00:02:10,120 --> 00:02:14,960 Speaker 1: it became known as New Coke. The original formula was discontinued. 33 00:02:16,240 --> 00:02:19,120 Speaker 1: Even though New Coke tasted better than the original formula 34 00:02:19,160 --> 00:02:22,040 Speaker 1: to consumers and more than two hundred thousand taste tests, 35 00:02:22,560 --> 00:02:26,360 Speaker 1: new Coke failed. People hoarded original Coke and sold it 36 00:02:26,400 --> 00:02:30,280 Speaker 1: at exorbitant prices. In a dramatic show, New Coke was 37 00:02:30,360 --> 00:02:34,680 Speaker 1: dumped into the sewers in Seattle. People formed protest groups 38 00:02:34,720 --> 00:02:37,280 Speaker 1: like the Society for the Preservation of the Real Thing 39 00:02:37,600 --> 00:02:42,560 Speaker 1: and Old Cola Drinkers of America. Gay Mullins, founder of 40 00:02:42,639 --> 00:02:48,079 Speaker 1: Old Cola Drinkers of America, called Coke un American. By June, 41 00:02:48,240 --> 00:02:51,440 Speaker 1: Coca Cola was getting fifteen hundred calls each day on 42 00:02:51,480 --> 00:02:54,680 Speaker 1: the consumer hotline, compared to four hundred a day before 43 00:02:54,720 --> 00:02:59,000 Speaker 1: the change. After all the complaints, Coca Cola realized it 44 00:02:59,120 --> 00:03:02,720 Speaker 1: needed to bring back the old formula. At a July 45 00:03:02,800 --> 00:03:06,760 Speaker 1: eleventh press conference, Coca Cola executives announced the return of 46 00:03:06,800 --> 00:03:10,880 Speaker 1: the original recipe. The Coca Cola President and Chief operating 47 00:03:10,880 --> 00:03:14,360 Speaker 1: officer said, the simple fact is that all the time 48 00:03:14,440 --> 00:03:17,160 Speaker 1: and money and skill poured into consumer research on the 49 00:03:17,200 --> 00:03:21,240 Speaker 1: new Coca Cola could not measure or reveal the deep 50 00:03:21,280 --> 00:03:25,120 Speaker 1: and abiding emotional attachment to original Coca Cola felt by 51 00:03:25,160 --> 00:03:28,800 Speaker 1: so many people. Cans and bottles with the new formula 52 00:03:28,840 --> 00:03:32,280 Speaker 1: were labeled Coca Cola Classic. New Coke went with an 53 00:03:32,280 --> 00:03:35,600 Speaker 1: ad campaign slogan of catch the Wave, and Coca Cola 54 00:03:35,640 --> 00:03:40,480 Speaker 1: Classic had the slogan red, White and You. New Coke 55 00:03:40,640 --> 00:03:44,000 Speaker 1: stayed on the market for years and in n was 56 00:03:44,080 --> 00:03:49,200 Speaker 1: renamed Coke two. It wasn't discontinued until two thousand two. 57 00:03:50,280 --> 00:03:52,880 Speaker 1: The word classic was dropped from Coke's name in two 58 00:03:52,920 --> 00:03:56,560 Speaker 1: thousand nine, after Coke went back to the original formula. 59 00:03:57,120 --> 00:03:59,640 Speaker 1: There were rumors that the whole fiasco had been a 60 00:03:59,680 --> 00:04:04,320 Speaker 1: clever marketing employ all along. I'm Eve Steph Coote and 61 00:04:04,360 --> 00:04:07,240 Speaker 1: hopefully you know a little more about history today than 62 00:04:07,320 --> 00:04:11,440 Speaker 1: you did yesterday. You can learn more about history by 63 00:04:11,480 --> 00:04:16,680 Speaker 1: following us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at t d 64 00:04:16,720 --> 00:04:21,560 Speaker 1: i h C Podcast. Thanks for joining me on this 65 00:04:21,600 --> 00:04:25,160 Speaker 1: trip through history. See you here, same place tomorrow.