Merchandise 7X-100

Posted by Miss Cellania in Food & Drinks on June 20, 2008 at 11:07 pm


The cola wars of the late 20th century were waged with as much strategy, secrecy, and technology as many conventional wars. When Coke was threatened by the Pepsi Challenge, they responded ten years later with Merchandise 7X-100, which we came to know as New Coke. It was the first major formula change since 1903, when cocaine was taken out of the recipe. Although tests showed that people liked the taste of New Coke, the product fell flat on its face. The original Coke formula, new relabeled Coke Classic, returned to the shelves only 79 days after New Coke was introduced.

Coca-Cola then became, and has since remained, the most profitable soft drink in the world. The “marketing blunder of the century” was so successful, in fact, that some people are convinced that New Coke Was an Inside Job– a delicately engineered gambit to revitalize the brand. As Coca-Cola president Donald Keough put it, “Some critics will say Coca-Cola made a marketing mistake. Some cynics will say we planned the whole thing. The truth is we are not that dumb and we are not that smart.” Coca-Cola truthers have also suggested that New Coke was a disposable facade intended to mask the transition from sugar to HFCS.

There are several psychological explanations for the failure of New Coke, which are explored in this article at Damn Interesting. Link



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COMMENT

9 comments to "Merchandise 7X-100"

  1. Pol x
    June 21st, 2008 at 9:25 am

    Happy to say that as a Scot I do happen to be from one if the few if not the only country that’s own home grown fizzy crap out sells Coke’s fizzy crap.

    Viva IRN BRU!!!!

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irn-Bru

    though sadly they are nearing qual sales…bnastards.

  2. Pol x
    June 21st, 2008 at 9:28 am

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXziWRCMalA

    this is the stuff!!

  3. Thomas
    June 21st, 2008 at 10:34 am

    I’ve always wondered what original coke tasted like, before they took out the cocaine.

  4. JP Carter
    June 21st, 2008 at 10:57 am

    If you go to the mexican food section of your grocery store, you can still get bottled Coke made with sugar cane instead of HFCS. It tastes like you remember it when you were a kid.

  5. JC
    June 21st, 2008 at 2:15 pm

    There was a very little percentage of cocaine in the drink. The taste is the same.

  6. "A.J."
    June 22nd, 2008 at 5:39 am

    I had a friend who’s addicted to coke(coca cola), possibly from personal issues. I wonder if his younger sister getting pregnant had any part to do with it or the fact that he settled with a career as a McDonald’s manager. Anyway, this guys teeth was damd yellow and at the time, looked as though they were wearing away.. by now his teeth are probably as soft as sponge, that or he’s dead. Three sides of his room (basement) were stacked with empty 24 or 12 can boxes that he drank all by himself. May he find peace.

  7. Tony LaRocca
    June 22nd, 2008 at 11:22 am

    There was one major difference - when they returned to “Classic Coke,” they switched from cane sugar to corn syrup - so it wasn’t really a return to the original recipe at all. (Cane sugar sodas are much sweeter)

  8. Thomas
    June 22nd, 2008 at 12:14 pm

    Also, cane sugar isn’t addictive like HFCS. It shuts down the nerve receptors that tell you when you’re full, so in essence, you never stop being hungry. Kind of like doing coke.

  9. James Tracy
    June 22nd, 2008 at 1:29 pm

    It is a shame that they removed the sugar when switching back. Sugar-based sodas are arguably healthier for you (sugar being more natural and easier to digest than HFCS) and as said above, they taste much better.

    As far as addiction goes, most likely the only addicting substance contained in coca cola is the caffeine.

    But if you ever want to clean rust off your bike, coke can certainly help you with that. Seriously.


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