New Coke Conspiracy

# New Coke Conspiracy ## Overview When Coca-Cola introduced "New Coke" in 1985 and faced massive backlash, some believed it was all part of a marketing plan. ## Historical Background - On April 23, 1985, Coca-Cola changed its 99-year-old formula - Public backlash was immediate and intense - "Coca-Cola Classic" was reintroduced 79 days later - The incident is now studied in business schools ## Conspiracy Claims - The company intentionally introduced an inferior product - The goal was to: - Generate massive publicity - Drive up demand for the original - Switch to cheaper high-fructose corn syrup in the "Classic" ## Reality - Coca-Cola president Donald Keough explicitly denied the conspiracy - He stated: "We're not that dumb, and we're not that smart" - The company genuinely believed New Coke would succeed - Taste tests had favored the new formula ## Status Rebutted by company executives. While the switch to corn syrup did occur, the New Coke debacle was a genuine marketing mistake, not a planned conspiracy.