A Curious Anniversary

Today is the 20th Anniversary of the launch of New Coke. As this MSNBC article notes, It seemed like a good idea at the time. Clearly, one of the greatest marketing disasters of all time in the sense of a product launch, despite the boastful claim from this ad. Less well known, however, is that sales of the rebranded Coca-Cola Classic were higher than the original Coke prior to the launch of New Coke.

Cnd all was not lost for New Coke. The product was rebranded as "Coke II" and held a small share of the market in the midwest for a time, and may still actually be sold there today.