I recently came across a youtube video from the 80's about the new Coke formula that Coca-Cola tried out after a century of success. Why did Coke ever try to change its formula after so much success? This may be the worst marketing campaign of all time. People all over the world loved coke just the way it was. They did not get any complaints and business was a good as it could get. I always thought everyone went by the old saying "If its not broke, don't fix it", but I guess not. Coke eventually noticed the drop in sales and quickly went back to the old formula that we know and love today. Does anyone else know of any bad marketing campaigns as bad as Coke's?
Here is the video...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRglPEkiwIs
I definitely agree "if it's not broke, don't fix it". With such an iconic and well know brand like Coke, sometimes staying classic is what works. It would be like if McDonalds started campaigning the "Happy Meal" as the "Sad Meal". Just doesn't work. Your blog topic interested me so I decided to do some research myself and found some pretty bad ad campaigns:
ReplyDeletehttp://listverse.com/2009/06/08/top-10-worst-marketing-gaffs-ever/
I've looked into the New Coke case several times through different classes. Unbelievably bad move by Coke on the surface. I have also heard rumors, that some people think the New Coke idea was simply a ploy to boost sales, taking away what people love and then making them want it more. Im not sure that I give Coke that much credit, but a huge company like that is able to recruit some of the most creative people in the world, so it wouldn't completely shock me if they admitted to it.
ReplyDeleteConsidering Coke could easily have test marketed New Coke or simply marketed it as a separate flavor. So maybe theres some truth to those rumors.
One funny marketing thing that always makes me laugh although very few people know about it is still going on with Cadillac. Its less of a mistake and more a case of myopia in branding. Cadillac revamped their sedan lines and changed over to shorter catchier names. The Deville became the DTS, the Seville became the STS, the Catera became the CTS. All standing for "Blank" Touring Sedan. Naming the car the Catera Touring Sedan kind of limits options, the car became wildly popular, and now has a coupe and wagon version. No one really realizes it, but people drive around in the "Catera Touring Sedan Coupe". Cadillac had so heavily and successfully branded the CTS, they couldn't change it, even though the name was now a contradiction.