Why Was New Coke Discontinued And When Did The Original Recipe Return?

In the mid-1980s, soft drink behemoth Coca-Cola announced it was switching things up and introducing the public to a new and improved soda recipe, aptly named New Coke. The freshly formulated concoction received high praise in taste tests, but as soon as the beverage replaced the original product on April 23, 1985, the pitchforks came out. Fewer than three months later, Coca-Cola brought back its initial recipe, relegating now-discontinued New Coke to "Coke II" in hopes the product might still be salvageable. Spoiler alert: it wasn't.

The spectacular manner in which this product failed will be taught in marketing classes for years to come. Even the discontinued Pepsi Blue fiasco doesn't compare to the disaster that was Coca-Cola's switcheroo. People made impassioned phone calls and wrote tens of thousands of testy letters to the soda company, exclaiming their disappointment over the replacement of their beloved sweet beverage.

One irritated customer was so enraged by the change that they filed a lawsuit against Coca-Cola to get the old formula back on the shelves. New Coke was viewed as little more than a cruel joke. Rival soda competitor Pepsi took advantage of the catastrophe by paying for a full-page advertisement in newspapers declaring it had won the Cola Wars. When the original recipe returned as "Coca-Cola Classic" just 79 days after New Coke's release, Coca-Cola was still doing damage control and trying to win back disgruntled fans.

Coca-Cola's decision to replace its classic fizzy drink stemmed from rival Pepsi's aggressive marketing strategy. In the 1980s, the "Pepsi Challenge" attempted to convince long-time Coke drinkers via a blind taste test that their long-adored soda wasn't actually the best on the market. Coca-Cola tested this phenomenon within its own ranks and was dismayed to find there might have been some truth to the claim. That knowledge sent company executives into a frenzy, and they ultimately decided to alter the entire recipe of their then-99-year-old classic.

After the debacle, New Coke needed to disappear like the now-discontinued TaB soda, and so the decision was revealed to the nation as breaking news. News anchor Peter Jennings told television viewers that the failed beverage was being replaced with the original recipe as the network paused the airing of the daytime soap opera "General Hospital."

Sometimes, food and beverage products are discontinued for good reason. Yet, while thinking outside the box, Coca-Cola seemingly panicked and went a step too far by discontinuing a tried-and-true beverage in favor of the shiny new thing. The company tried to fix something that wasn't broken, finding out the hard way that you don't mess with a classic.