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5 Uncomfortable Moments in Coca-Cola History
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5 Uncomfortable Moments In Coca-Cola History
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Could you be as patient as Buffett and hold Coca-Cola stock for 25 years? Don’t answer till after you’ve taken a closer look at the slide presentation below, which documents some of the more uncomfortable moments in Coke’s history -- including a new (and questionable) marketing strategy.
Transcript of 5 Uncomfortable Moments in Coca-Cola History
5 Uncomfortable Moments In Coca-Cola History
#1: Coke Marketed as Medicine
Coke … A cure-all for the ages!
In the 1880s, creator John Pemberton took out ads that claimed, among other things, that Coke could cure “all nervous afflictions,” including headaches, hysteria, and melancholy.
How Coke markets itself now: Not as differently as consumers and investors might expect. Read on ...
Source: Georgia Info.
#2: Wal-Mart Wants Splenda
Who wants “Coke Zero”? Not Wal-Mart!
In 2005, as the company was preparing to launch Coke Zero into stores, Wal-Mart executives asked for a Splenda-sweetened drink instead. They got Diet Coke Sweetened with Splenda, and Coke Zero found a home elsewhere.
Where it is now: Distributors began dropping the drink in 2009. Today, Coke’s brand directory no longer lists an entry for Diet Coke Sweetened with Splenda.
Source: The Coca-Cola Company
#3: Say Hello (And Goodbye) to TaB Clear
The drink that was born to die.
Introduced in 1992 as part of the “clear cola” movement, but gone within two years.
Losing to win: Only later would Coke’s former Chief Marketing Officer, Sergio Zyman, admit that the drink was a ploy to kill Crystal Pepsi.
The strategy? Drag down its rival by positioning both as diet drinks at a time when such low-cal alternatives were unpopular.
Source: The Coca-Cola Company
#4: Introducing New CokeTinkering with success has a price.
Coke replaced its original secret formula in 1985 only to unleash a tidal wave of bad publicity. Management would need just 79 days to reverse course.
The fallout: Loyalist and protest groups formed in response. Sales of what became known as “Coke Classic” soared, pushing Pepsi back into second place in the cola wars.
Source: Flickr.
#5: Coming Full Circle … Coke Is Healthy Again
Happiness is movement, especially if it means moving more Coke.
Following recent studies that find an increasingly troubling relationship between high sugar intake and diabetes, Coke has begun to implicitly market its products as part of a balanced, active lifestyle.
Savor the irony: Not only is the strategy reminiscent of Pemberton’s early claims, but the experts at BuzzFeed analyzed Coke’s ads and found similarities with Pepsi ads from the 1950s in which the drink is lauded as “lighter, less-filling” and contributing to a trimmer, slimmer America.
Source: The Coca-Cola Company
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