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From: dragon@mit-eddie.MIT.EDU (Brad J. Sagarin)
Newsgroups: net.misc
Subject: Re: Old Coke and New Coke
Message-ID: <2896@mit-eddie.MIT.EDU>
Date: Wed, 13-Aug-86 17:38:30 EDT
Article-I.D.: mit-eddi.2896
Posted: Wed Aug 13 17:38:30 1986
Date-Received: Sat, 16-Aug-86 06:39:26 EDT
References: <155@gouldsd.UUCP> <405@hsi.UUCP>
Reply-To: dragon@mit-eddie.UUCP (Brad J. Sagarin)
Organization: MIT, EE/CS Computer Facilities, Cambridge, MA
Lines: 40

In article <405@hsi.UUCP> licsak@hsi.UUCP (Don Licsak) writes:
>					... I always had
>this gut feeling that Coke pulled off one of the greatest 
>marketing gimmicks of all time and never really intended to stop
>making the beverage by the original formula IF the new formula
>didn't catch on. 
>
>What did they lose? Nothing. I read in either Time or USA Today
>that sales have never been better, and the sales gap between
>Coke and Pepsi is wider than before the introduction of the new
>formula. Coke is still number one!
>
  Yes, in the eyes of the American public, Coke is number one.  But look
behind the facade, and you see the nasty manipulation of a rather malleable
audence, the American consumer:
  From the very beginning, I was convinced that we were witnessing the greatest
Machiavellian marketting scheme in the history of capitalism.  Think about it:
Old Coke is discontinued.  Panic ensues.  Protests are held !!!  Forget
politics or social injustice, here's an issue that gets the American public off
there posteriors.  So what is Coke's response?  Put out this awful stuff called
New Coke.  More protests.  "Bring back Old Coke".  Here comes Classic Coke.
Sales skyrocket.  What did Coke have to do?  Create a bad cola formula, produce
it for a little while, and then start producing the old stuff under a new
label.
  Sheer genius.  They got tons of free advertisement (all those TV and
newspaper articles), and Coke now enjoys the goodwill of a multitude of
faithful customers, whose "demand" led to Classic Coke.  My complements to
those in power at Coke for such a scheme, but don't think it was spur of the
moment.  The beaurocracy in large companies doesn't work that quickly.

					- Brad

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Brad Sagarin					________	________
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