On this day in 1985 the Coca-Cola Company announced it would be changing the formula of its namesake drink. The new Coca-Cola formula, then-chairman and CEO Roberto Goizueta said, was "smoother, rounder, yet bolder." Determined to move along this new course, the company even locked up the classic recipe in a literal bank vault. This "New Coke" would be one of the biggest marketing failures in history, prompting thousands of complaint calls a day and tens of thousands of letters pleading with the company to bring the original Coke back. People were so livid they held full-on demonstrations, where they poured the new soda into sewer drains.
All the research done by the Coca-Cola Company had indicated that New Coke would be a hit. In testing that included nearly 200,000 consumers, most liked it more than the original formula or Pepsi. But customers' emotional attachment meant the new strategy never got off the ground.
In under three months, the original Coke was back on the market as Coca-Cola Classic. New Coke became Coke II before it was discontinued in 2002 (though it was revived for a short stint in 2019).
You can read more about the launch of New Coke at the Coca-Cola Company website.
