Snow White Turtle Doves

I would not necessarily describe myself as being of the Coca-Cola generation but that product has been one of those constant presences in my life like a favourite song or cherished belonging.

I may, of course, have just succumbed to the slick marketing campaigns such as the 1970's  "I'd like to buy the world a Coke", seduced by the distinctive liveried packaging or become addicted to something in the top secret recipe.

It is understandable that I like many others over the last almost 90 years have contributed financially to establishing Coca Cola as the single, most widely distributed soft, fizzy drink on the planet. Not at all bad for what is essentially a 99% solution of sugar water.

In business terms it is a perfect product. Cheap to produce with maximum mark up and profitability.

So why in the summer of 1985 did the executives of the company meddle and tamper with the recipe and by doing so commit what has been regarded as one of the biggest marketing blunders ever?

It was a case of blind panic that prompted the strange decision of Coca Cola.

In spite of the hype of advertising, universal distribution and aggressive behaviour the company was losing market share to its arch rivals Pepsi.

The Chief Executive Officer had made it clear that the pride and history associated with the product was sacred and yet would have no qualms on playing with and tampering with the secret recipe in order to maintain dominance over Pepsi.

In house flavour scientists and test panels were confronted with a new flavour coca cola reporting that in blind tests it was preferred to other cola drinks and of course Pepsi. The new coca cola was less fizzy than the original and a bit fruitier. In fact it was more Pepsi than Pepsi.

The launch of the beverage was slick and appealing in an attempt to win over the public, the American public who regarded Coca Cola as an integral part of the American Lifestyle, a symbol of good old values, a reminder of first dates and family cook-outs.

Workers at the Statue of Liberty on Ellis Island, New York were targeted as recipients of the product along with marching majorettes and razzamatazz in Atlanta, Georgia, where the Coke headquarters were based.

It was soon evident to the loyal consumers that this variation was just not the real thing.

What was behind the logo was something different and the reaction was one of outrage.

The switchboard of the company was bombarded with 8000 calls a day in complaint. A Seattle man founded the "Old Cola Drinkers Campaign" and the media and comedians had a topic to expand upon and secure sales and attention. Fidel Castro, the leader of Cuba, suggested that the chaos and controversy was a symptom of a wider national malaise.

A low point was the booing by the crowd attending the Houston Astrodome when the Coke advert was aired in a time out period. Protests continued nationwide on a daily basis and gallons were poured into drains in a very public show of disaffection.

In the face of so much animosity the only thing that the company could do was to backtrack.

The old Coke, now called Classic was returned to the shelves and the stocks of new coke were gradually run down.

The reprieve was huge news making the front pages of national newspapers and a speaker in the US Senate described the event as a meaningful moment in the history of the country.

The company had teetered on the edge of a PR disaster and yet with a return to normal trading it's market share surged ahead and Pepsi ran flat. Coke Classic the rebranded original again became the leading soft drink so much so that many began to think that the whole scenario had been an intentional ruse by the company, a true conspiracy theory.