Coca-Colas major marketing flop in 1985 [Video]

When Coca-Cola attempted to revolutionize the multi-billion soft drink industry in 1985, no one predicted the failure and backlash that was to come. 

Coca-Cola announced on April 23 that year that the world’s favorite soft drink, Coke, was going to change. 

A new, improved formula had been concocted by accident during experiments for Diet Coke, the company said, and it was apparently so good that it warranted change after 99 years.

“To my mind, it is the most significant development in our business, some may say in the soft drink industry, since the formulation of the first days for Coca-Cola and the decision to bottle that taste,” Robert Goizueta, chairman of Coca-Cola at the time, said during a New York news conference that was televised nationwide by satellite.  

Behind the scenes, market shares for Coca-Cola had been slowly slipping over the years. 

Rumors that people were beginning to prefer the sweeter taste of Pepsi were all but confirmed by the …