I’ve been involved in some lively discussions lately about New York City mayor Mike Bloomberg’s insane and completely un-American ban on sugary drinks over 16 ounces.

Don’t worry, I’m not here to ramble and rant about

that anymore. That’s done.

But it got me thinking about Coca-Cola and how they’ve managed to pull the wool over everyone’s eyes.

Now what I’m about to say is true as far as I know, but it’s not gospel, so feel free to correct me if I am wrong about this.

The Genius of New CokeBack in 1985, the Coca-Cola Company came

out with what turned out to be a great marketing ploy. It was a new soda, original called the new taste of Coca-Cola, but was better known as New Coke or Coke II. This new soda replaced the “old” version of Coca-Cola–the one everyone grew to love.

Negative ResponseThe response to this new Coke was strong. But it wasn’t the positive response Coca-Cola might have been hoping for. Needless to say, people were upset.

Negative ResponseNow, it wasn’t that they disliked New Coke, but more that they had developed an emotional attachment to old Coke…and they weren’t ready to let that go.

The Triumphant Comeback of Old CokeSo, just three months after they came out with

New Coke, the Coca-Cola Company came back out with old Coke, under the new label “Coca-Cola Classic.” (Can’t beat the real thing)

The Triumphant Comeback of Old CokePeople were thrilled. ABC News’ Peter Jennings interrupted

General Hospital to share the news with viewers. On the floor of the U.S. Senate, David Pryor called the reintroduction “a meaningful moment in U.S. history.” The company hotline received 31,600 calls in the two days after the announcement. (Courtesy: Wikipedia)

Sales then went through the roof.

For two main reasons:

• People were happy they got their “original” Coke back.

• They stocked up in case Coca-Cola pulled these shenanigans again–trying to take their coke away.

Because of this Coca-Cola, was able to accomplish three major victories: •raising sales, •building more brand loyalty, •and most sneakily, lowering costs.

The Fleecing of the Public

Here’s the sneaky, pulling the wool-over-the-eyes, cost lowering part:

Coca-Cola Classic wasn’t really Old Coke at all. All Coca-Cola Classics contained high fructose corn syrup after this, whereas it previously contained cane sugar.

The Fleecing of the Public

People were so happy they got their “Old Coke” back, they failed to realize the difference, and Coca-Cola has been profiting from the lower cost (and worse tasting, in my opinion) HFCS ever since.

Pretty sneaky, huh?

There are some deeper issues working behind the scenes on this that we’ll explore another day.

Until next time…

Kevin Oefelein

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