This is Hidden Brain.
I'm Shankar vedanta.
In the mid-1980s, Coca Cola was feeling threatened by the growing popularity of its rival Pepsi.
Executives at Coca Cola decided to shake things up.
In April 1985, they launched a new product.
The supermarket shelves throughout America will have the new Coke by Memorial Day weekend, summer's kickoff, and the soft drink season.
New Coke promised to be sweeter and smoother.
Rounder, yet bolder, is a more harmonious flavor.
You're a pretty good copywriter, Roberto.
Sounds great, right?
But not everyone was happy.
Consumers took to the streets to protest New Coke, pouring out the beverage in defiance.
The Coca Cola company received over 40,000 calls and letters from angry, dissatisfied customers.
That starts, Dear Chief Dodo, what ignoramus decided to change the formula of Coke?
The new formula is unexciting, and it's as bad as Pepsi.
Burn it.
People didn't just take the change seriously, they took it personally.
That's un American, because we fought wars to have a choice, to have freedom.
New Coke was a disaster.
Customers boycotted it.