Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, May 8, 1990 TAG: 9005080534
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A5 EDITION: EVENING
SOURCE: Cox News Service
DATELINE: SPOKANE, WASH. LENGTH: Short
The Coca-Cola Co. is getting a chilly reception from retailers and customers in Spokane, where the firm is giving its failed reformulated brand another chance in a new can with fresh paint job and a new name: Coke II.
But the sequel is apparently as unpopular as the original new Coke. Retailers participating in the test marketing say the company doesn't appear to have its heart in the effort, and consumers are doubly confused by Coke II.
To them, it's Coke III.
"I quit drinking Coke 10 years ago when they changed the recipe," said Vic McKey, a 21-year-old student, shortly after fetching a six-pack of Pepsi from a grocery shelf.
McKey bespeaks the consumer confusion - and, at times, ill will - that has attended new Coke ever since its introduction, which was actually five years ago. New Coke - introduced to replace original Coca-Cola - caused such a furor in 1985 that the company brought back the old stuff as Coca-Cola Classic.
New Coke has languished ever since. Last year, it dropped out of the top 10 soft drinks with a 1.4 percent share of the nationwide market. The old, once-discarded Coke has since reclaimed No. 1 with a 20 percent share of the market. Second-place Pepsi has an 18.3 share.
No Coke II billboards were spotted in Spokane, and, as of this week, the company had run only one free-standing ad in the local newspaper to announce the brand, according to a spokesman for the Spokane Spokesman-Review newspaper.
by CNB