◆ THE 1985 BULLETIN ◆

IT WAS THE REAL THING.
THEN THEY FIXED IT.

A totally rad bulletin of bold moves that bombed — sourced, cited, and built to last (unlike the formula).

◆ Bold Moves That Bombed

Coca-Cola Improves a Drink Nobody Asked to Be Improved; Un-Improves It 79 Days Later

The fix: Rattled by the 'Pepsi Challenge' taste tests and a slipping lead, Coke spent some $4 million and ran nearly 200,000 consumer taste tests, then on April 23, 1985 scrapped the old recipe for a sweeter 'New Coke.'

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What Wasn’t Broken

We start with the thing that was working fine — boring, dependable, doing its job.

The "Fix"

Then the improvement: bold, expensive, announced with confidence. Usually unrequested.

The Result

And the receipts — what it cost, what broke, and the citations to prove it.