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The jubilation affected people in virtually every age group and walk of life. The return of old Coke is "the best thing that ever happened since the wheel," said Randy Deaton, 32, a Michigan hotel manager. "I switched to water when they stopped making the old Coke." Exclaimed Gail Hilty, 16, a senior at Redwood High School in Larkspur, Calif.: "Thank God! I don't like the new stuff at all. Nobody likes it--at least nobody that I know." On Staten Island, N.Y., Tracy Collica, 11, and Michael, 8, feed their two-year-old brother Larry both kinds of Coke and are certain that he prefers the old. Said Michael: "He can tell the difference. He makes a face if we give him new Coke."
The introduction of new Coke flowed directly from a strategy that Coca-Cola has pursued in recent years. Since Goizueta's ascendancy to the top job, the company has been expanding in several directions. It acquired Columbia Pictures for more than $690 million in cash and stock in 1982, and has placed its once exclusive brand name on drinks ranging from cherry Coke to caffeine-free diet Coke. The addition of Coca-Cola Classic will bring the number of products bearing the Coke name to six, compared with the single Coke that Goizueta inherited. Pepsi, by contrast, has its name on five products.
The company this week is launching yet another new product. In partnership with Murjani International, a New York City clothing designer, Coke will be producing a line of men's and women's wear. The items will range from sweatshirts with the Coca-Cola logo emblazoned across the chest to stylish shirts, blouses and outerwear.
Coca-Cola may find that having two separate but equal Cokes can create severe headaches. The logistics alone will be a major problem. Even though they are overjoyed by the return of old Coke, many bottlers are already apprehensive. "This is not going to be easy," says Sandy Williams, president of Corinth Coca-Cola Bottling Works in Mississippi. "We're only set up to handle one finished syrup at a time."
Similar dilemmas are likely to crop up at soda fountains and groceries. "It's going to be a problem with so many brands," concedes Ralph Lucas, owner of Lucas Fine Food in Cincinnati. "We have to have more shelf space. We'll cram them in sideways, I guess." The overflow, he added, will pile up in stock rooms.
The battle for shelf space is only the beginning. Once they are displayed, the two Cokes are likely to present consumers with a confusing choice. Which should they buy, and which is the real Coke anyway? Says Bruce Farquhar, an associate professor at Carnegie-Mellon University: "The two products are too similar. They're going to cannibalize sales one way or the other."
Advertising could be another nightmare. Coca-Cola will have to decide whether to tout each Coke separately, or to launch a single unified campaign. "It's going to be very difficult and costly for the company to market two products with the same name," cautions one Madison Avenue insider. Some industry observers think that Coca-Cola may settle on a two-pronged strategy. It could focus on new Coke in its advertising, and let the triumphantly returned Classic Coke sell itself.