Bill Cosby introduces the new Coke (1985)

[GWhiz99]

I was a middle school student in the rural South when Bill Cosby shilled for the Texas Instruments TI-99 home computer in TV ads. Never athletic or romance love-machine material in school, I gravitated toward technology and tried desperately to find peers to share that interest. You couldn’t pay them! Instead of a Texas Instruments TI-99, my first was an Atari 800XL with a whopping 64 kilobytes of RAM—laughable by today's standards since wristwatches have more. Jersey Girl got a Commodore 64

[milkmanv1]

IT'LL BE AROUND FOREVER HEHEHEH

[balios1]

Funny guy, but really bad at making predictions.

[65kowalski]

The Coca-Cola company was dumb as a fox when it "switched" to "new" Coke back in 1985. You don't need a marketing degree to understand that cola-drinkers are either Coke fans or Pepsi fans (apologies to RC.) So, what, did they think people who liked Pepsi would switch to "new" Coke and Coke drinkers would keep drinking it out of loyalty? BS! They knew damned well it would cause a backlash and they they could "save the day" by bringing back real Coke.

[hootyhaha]

Im so glad this is on here. People kept saying it was Max Headroom that introduced New Coke, but it was Bill Cosby. Max Headroom just made general ads for Coke. When he said, "The new taste of coke, I THINK, but could be wrong, that was for when Coke brought it's original flavor back. It being new from "New Coke." Wikipedia completely screws all this information up. I wouldn't trust that site for ANY information. I have the contacts to COKE under my Max Videos. Type in HootyHaHa Max Headroom.

[MontrealMan1970]

It tasted like cosby's ass.

[titandown]

@MontrealMan1970 cosby shouldnt sell.

[WebVManReturns]

@MontrealMan1970 Really? I thought it was more like one of his sweaters.

[stuvo1977]

New Coke was crap. It tasted just like Poopsi.

[BoogsterSU2]

New Coke sucked. It tasted too much like Pepsi.

[dragonbreathstinks]

@BoogsterSU2 Because they tried to make their soda taste like the superior cola.

[hawjhawj68]

"New Coke" was awesome! I just wish that Coca Cola would make it available again. It was the best dark cola ever made. Nothing against classic Coca Cola. It is great, especially the real kind made with sugar from Mexico, but let's be honest here, people. "New Coke" was even better than the so-called "real thing". I understand that people get attached to a certain flavor, and they don't want change. I am the same way myself, but I cannot deny that New Coke was awesome!

[bigal2k643]

@hawjhawj68 coke 2 came afew years after new coke and tasted the same and lasted to 2003 and you can still import it from other coutrys

[samdoofy]

AHH gii Gii Gii gii goo you know you're reading this in my voice because you put the jello puddin pops in the freezer and ya throw the new coke in the trash.

[chadberry75]

oh..wrong coke..it is 1985.

[gejyspa]

I was a college student during the New Coke fiasco, and yeah, that's just what it was -- a fiasco. Sorry, conspiracy fans, but the fact is it was just a colossal screwup. They were losing the cola wars, with market share eroding to Pepsi. And indeed, in blind taste tests, people were preferring the taste of Pepsi. But with the cans UNcovered, they preferred Coke. And this is fact that they neglected when they decided to change formulas. Fierce loyalty to tradition.

[CainmosniMirrored]

@TheArizonaicetea nothing.

[Saintnick90]

It'll be around forever.

[Monitor1CC]

"And-ah, tha' best part of New Coke's terrible taste was it made it harder for all them young women I molested back in tha' day to tell there was roofies in the drinks I gave 'em! Now ah'm gonna sell some of them Jello puddin' pops and preach old fashioned values to troubled African American families!"

[Smartboy8877]

@Monitor1CC

I feel pretty confident that the main purpose of your post was to present humor and shock value to the other viewers. Believe me, if that was your goal, you have succeeded! There is only one thing that you wrote that I take issue with. I have never heard of roofies before. Care to explain what they are?

[Monitor1CC]

@Smartboy8877

I assure you my post, while scornful and sarcastic is not just a joke. A roofie is slang for a sedative used by date rapists put into the drinks of their victims. What does this have to do with Mr. Cosby? He's date raped many women this way! Don't believe me? Just google "Bill Cosby rape," one of the first results you'll get is a People Magazine article from 2006 all about this. Latest incident was 2004. The plaintiff's lawyer had TWELVE women lined up to testify against him!

[Smartboy8877]

@Monitor1CC

This information is really facinating! Thank you very much for sharing! I will be sure to do the research and see how many more juicy little tib bits I can find!

[Monitor1CC]

@Smartboy8877

Yeah, it's depressing when you think about it. I still love the Cosby Show and his standup but the man himself is an immoral hypocrite and a sexual predator which is mind blowing when you consider how wholesome his public image is. Of course the mass media would never dig into this, there are certain celebrities they protect for as long as they can.

[Smartboy8877]

@Monitor1CC

While we are on the topic of wholesomeness, let us give honorable mention to Helen Hunt. She strikes me as the model of decency! I wonder how many skeletons she has in her closet!

[eternity00000]

but the fact is that people didn't drank for taste!

[Smartboy8877]

@eternity00000

If people did not drink this stuff for taste, what did they drink it for?

[hootyhaha]

Go to COKESUBMIT dawt cawn and tell them to bring back COKE LIME or other COKE products you miss.  And not the diet flavors. I hate "THUMBS UP" comments, but for the sake of Coke Varieties thumbs this idea up so other fans will see it. Either that or just get that link and repost this idea. I don't care about my comment getting thumbs up, I just want Coke Varieties back. It's so irritating when companies build up a fan base then take the flavor away.. like Crystal Pepsi, or SURGE.

[10Tuxedo]

Still waiting for that moment bill

[DoubleVisionandco]

Coke was winning the "pepsi challenge" and they knew it so why would they change it? They changed it knowing people wouldn`t like it, they knew it would make them want the original back even more. So when they brought back the original it flew off the shelves and sales doubled. It was a masterful marketing move, and it worked. Notice that afterwards, Pepsi stopped challenging Coke, and stopped making commericals slamming Coke. Whoever thought that move up was a genius.

[WarshipAngelus]

@DoubleVisionandco

The CEO of Coca Cola came up with the idea of new Coke as a way to bring back customers and make people want classic coke more. So yes it was plan that way to make up sales later on down the road. The Ceo knew new Coke was crap and he knew people would want classic Coke more when it came back. I really doubt most companies today have the balls to do something like that today.

[Clay3613]

@WarshipAngelus They're aren't that smart, if they were...all of their other products wouldn't be inferior to Pepsi.

[marter2006]

i miss commercials like this....classic

[courtney359]

if it ain't broke do try and fix it!!!!!!!!!

[ksteiger]

Very expensive commercial, cost $150,00.00

$149,990.00 for Bill and $10 for the set.

[biped19]

I heard Cosby doing another coke commercial for the new jello-pudding-coke.

[chalklounge]

If I'm not mistaken the New Coke had a sweeter taste than the Classic. I do remember being disappointed with it, even as an 8-year-old.

[TheFireball100]

i wish i couldn't known what it tasted like

[lionelfan1994]

you lied Bill Cosby

[biped19]

Is this Coke's transition from sugar to the deadly High Fructose Corp Syrup? LOL.

[gamewizard]

@biped19

From what I have read all they did was take Diet Coke and substitute sugar for the artificial sweeteners so they could make two products using the same base formula because Diet Coke was coming on like gangbusters at that time moving to number 3 in the cola wars and was actually shrinking the sugar sweetened cola market which hurt both Coke and Pepsi. Diet Coke already tasted sweeter than regular Coke so it was logical to use real sugar in it in an attempt to compete with Pepsi.

[obieonepc]

"Best tasting Coca-Cola ever". - You're full of shit Bill Cosby.

[Diskoboy1974]

Fortunately. Cherry Coke had come out around the same time. I was totally addicted to it. And even though I mainly drank Cherry Cokes, when I wanted a regular cola, I drank Pepsi, that summer.

[giratinatamer6579]

I always thought Coke had a kind-of bitter taste.

[lacerationtechnician]

dang it. i wish i were born in the '80s. oh to know what new coke tasted like! argggh!

[GESSO217]

@lacerationtechnician, It wasn't very good from what I recall. Wikipedia has a page on it if you want to check it out.

[SeamusMoore1000]

@lacerationtechnician you didn't miss much, trust me. As for being a marketing ploy, hardly it ruined some careers at Coca-Cola.

[pigeontoucher]

Come on, this just reeks of marketing ploy. Very thinly veiled.

[skye26er]

Wish Coke still had cocaine in it. Would have been a much better commercial. Just picture it, Bill runs on screen jabbers a bunch of fuckin' nonsence, throws the crystal ball at the camera man then fucks off screaming something about Jello.

[TheBlackStar999]

@skye26er Heh heh heh.

[groovyray]

Drinking my can of coke while watching this.The rest of you do it to come on.

[hisarrow]

I remember the introduction of New Coke like it was yesterday. Like anyone who was a Coca-Cola fan already, I was h-o-r-r-i-f-i-e-d! You don't mess with perfection and tradition. My reaction was, "If you don't love the taste of the original Coca-cola, then go and f'ing drink SOMETHING ELSE.

[luke19631963]

The "new coke" ad campaign was a ploy to fool consumers to the fact coke started subing cheaper corn syrup for cane sugar. New coke didn't taste like old coke so who knew it was sweetened with corn syrup? Later they bring back old coke as "coke classic" with the corn syrup in place and tell us its exactly the same as the old original coke which it wasn't. sad

[hisarrow]

@luke19631963 - you're absolutely right. Around here we can get bottled Coca-Cola imported from Mexico, and made with cane sugar. What a difference.

[TimFrith24]

R.I.P. New Coke

[cathasaigh]

How ironic.

[mrmuffer69]

Notice he does not even drink it. Coke Classic rules.

[HeroricAura]

Zip zob zoobity bop, nuff said

[TheRealityRocks]

why was this a failure?

[inkey2]

@TheRealityRocks as a LONG time coke drinker.....here is why it failed. When they did taste tests many of the random people tested where pepsi drinkers so of course they would like the new more Pepsi tasting Coke. What they should have done is ask ONLY coke drinkers what they though of it.....because exclusive coke drinkers thought it was trash

[luke19631963]

@inkey2 When I heard coke was changing the formula I went down to my corner store and bought three bottles of original coke, a 16 ounce bottle, a 12 ounce bottle and the baby 6 ouncer, or is it 8? I still have those bottles!

[TheAidz64]

Im a Pepsi fan lool

[acceptthis01]

It'll NOT be around forever.

[littledebbie187]

Happy Birthday, Bill Cosby! And may your Coke and Jello live on forever!

[preservethe80s]

Now that Google has control over youtube, you can't post links in your comments anymore. This saddens me a bit though I remain underterred in my efforts to promote my pathetic excuse for a website. Go to preserve the 80s dot com and read my review of this commercial in my post entitled "Then and Now: 80s Commercials vs Contemporary Commercials"

[AdamCartwrightMyLove]

new coke sucked so much that I stopped drinking coke untill they switched back

[Uberskull]

Soooo... its kind'a like jazz then?

[TimFrith24]

Back in '85 when I was 2, my mom went shopping to buy New Coke. She tried to taste it but it tasted awful. She was unable to drink New Coke ever again.

[ballssofsteel9898]

hey a black man who sells coke

[Jakeallen86]

@ballssofsteel9898 LMAO

[RbVDK]

youtube 2010 layout = "new coke"

[FreedomGotAnAK]

It'll be around forever, heh heh heh heh.

[Ramirezoid]

Coke 2 is still sold in South America and Mexico. It's basically New Coke, relaunched under a different name during the early 1990's.

[Luigi84289]

@Ramirezoid how is it?

[Ramirezoid]

I intend to find out within the next 20 years.

[jorgebarbajr]

What did it taste like. Is it like the ones we have today?

[raezer]

New Coke is the best tasting Coke ever and you will like it? HA , HA , HA , HA! Yeah right! Try telling that to those who were spitting it out! I'm curious now as to what it would taste like to me today. Because I remember when I was a kid , I hated it.

[catolog96]

I wonder wat he did 2 da pepsi drinkers...

[Joe402]

I read that New Coke had mostly positive acceptance and most of the complaints for New Coke was from the South so they changed it back which if true is just another instance of the South imposing it's tyrannical rule on the rest of the country.

[hannahsmom35]

Oh brother..

[RockyTeya]

Actually , the new coke is a classic disastero failure when it comes to brand failures

and what drove that attack on new coke , that Coke stopped producing the classic coke at that time

[cyphrinfinity]

not right now, thx, i need an arch deluxe first, then maybe i'll try it. i don't drink a lot of soda. root beer once in awhile, that's about it, lol.

[thedragonscave]

Coca-Cola Cherry is New Coke with a cherry flavor. Always has been.

[Earthfart]

Which is why it tastes terrible.

[skingerskanger]

Jazz iz like the new Coke...it'll be around forever heh-heh-heh...

[EnigmaHood]

I have still never tasted this stuff. I want to.

[catclaw357]

@EnigmaHood my dad has tried it in the 1980's and he loved it (he's always hated Coke) he says it was Coke without the after-taste

[EnigmaHood]

I need to find a place that still sells the stuff. Apparently it's still sold under the name Coca Cola 2.

[a8865686]

Hilarious... Just for one minute, just one, can this guy ever NOT be funny?

[Yourwolf1976]

I remember it. It was sweeter and had a flatter taste... It was still better than Pepsi.

[theflairflopper]

@Yourwolf1976 "flatter taste" ? that's not how I remember it. In fact, I'd say it was much crisper than regular Coke. It made the entire inside of my mouth tingle with awesomeness. It had such a great flavor. I'd pay good money for a fresh can of it! Mmmmm, just thinking about it makes me want to march down to Atlanta and demand that they start making it again.

[WebVManReturns]

@theflairflopper Coke can't make New Coke again. If they tried, it would be old Coke. Or just pain Coke since it's not that old. If you had an old can of New Coke, then you would have Old Coke. If you have an old can of Coca-Cola Classic, then you would have Old Old Coke.

[fromthesidelines]

"New Coke" hung around as long as Roberto Goizueta was chairman of The Coca-Cola Company [he ended up virtually the only one in the firm who believed "New Coke" had a future]- when he died in October 1997, so did the distribution of "New Coke".

[5XxAnonymousxX5]

The new coke = tasted like pepsi, thats why diehard fans of Original were like, BAD. I say this, because i remember... lol

[Jesseontheweb]

I thought new Coke tasted pretty good. - kinda like Pepsi Throwback!

[debrajl529]

Im a 90's boy so idk what new coke tasted like. Was it sweeter? More bitter? More or less caffeine?

[BorkGonsam]

Drinking a can of Coca Cola right now... I can only say, from what people tell me. New Coke was the worse thing to ever be invented by human kind for the sole purpose of destroying eachother since the atom bomb.... I can't vouch it was THAT bad, but I assume it was... I like Coca Cola Classic though :D

[JmanRBS]

This should've been considered false advertising.

[WarioBarker88]

Poor Bill...great comedian and an all-around nice guy, but he just couldn't predict how much New Coke would royally suck...

[Petanator101]

I Like Dr. Pepper the best, it's got less fizz, more cherry flavor, more sugar, just simply amazing!

[Hervorragend604]

I don't agree with the "less fizz" part, but I will agree that Dr. Pepper beats Coke hands down. It is perhaps "the best," as you say. I find Dr. Pepper to be one of the fizziest pops out there, which one big reason I like it so much. Anyway, just my opinion.

[isaachaaze3]

check the sweater...classic

[fanofalice2]

ya see! jazz is like jello pudding pops, no wait, jazz is like kodak film, no wait, jazz is like the new coke it'll be around forever- from the simpsons

[SofaKingWeTodEd666]

@fanofalice2 actually it was family guy

[CruxisFire]

It'll be around forever. Heheheh

[DavidYakima]

New Coke was a joke. I turned to Pepsi after that. Now I don't drink any soda's at all...

David

[peestandingup]

"Next time that mother fucker calls, tell him I said suck MY dick."

-Richard Pryor talking about when Bill called Eddie Murphy

[gaypokemon]

is he dead yet?

[jdrothrock]

No but he looks it!

[mojorisen74]

Talk about a bad business decision! How long was it around for like 6 months until they took it off the market?

[hendrixonlsd]

actually.. it was genuis. they came out with it. and it only made me people want the classic Coke even more. so they actually increased sales. Im not sure if it was a marketing stunt or not.. but it had to of been. from what i hear it actually tasted pretty terrible and theres no way they would of just replaced it with that.

[Hervorragend604]

Actually, just a little less than 3 months. But you're right, it was a horrible business decicision. During that time, some Coke bottlers actually mixed up special batches of 'Old' Coke just so that they could sell *something* to local consumers. Whole viallages and cities simply refused to support New Coke.

[PhuckHue2]

New Coke flopped becuase they replaced real vanilla with artificial.

[themanwithnonose]

what vanilla?

[PhuckHue2]

real vanilla is one of the ingredients

[Hervorragend604]

That's not exactly true. New Coke had much less real vanilla in it than Old Coke did, but there was still some. New Coke also tasted 'bad' or strange because Coke decided to greatly reduce the amount of the special (and expensive) flavour oils that go into Coke. The result was a more artificial, more flat taste that lacked complexity and didn't last long in the mouth compared to Old Coke. Basically, Coke saw New Coke as a opportunity to cut costs by making a cheap drink even cheaper.

[supersporkspank]

@Hervorragend604 I thought that New Coke tasted like flat Pepsi with extra sugar and a squirt or two of liquid dishwashing detergent.

[inkey2]

@supersporkspank no, the new coke tasted like pepsi with a dead rat in it

[supersporkspank]

@inkey2 LOL! You liked it that much, eh?

[myunclesnephew]

WRONG

[newguy90]

"Tell Bill I said have a Coke and a smile, and shut the f%@# up!"

[kashthewarrior]

far out thats so cheap!

u'd think they'd be a bit more subtle but nah they're just like PEPSI IS SHIT! DRINK OUR DIABETIS INCURRING, BLOOD PRESSURE RISING BANE OF ALL TEETH! COKE!

[blumonkeyboy]

Dont forget to mix it with the jello pudding for extra flavor....

JK i love the commercials

[SnowKid32]

ROFL.

[POWERSAW1980]

Even Cosby thought New Coke tasted like Pepsi. I don't think Coke drinkers want their favorite soda tasting like the competitors.

[bobowayney]

I actually liked New Coke (not enough to get rid od the orginal mind you) but I did like it and despite saying otherwise MILLIONS of people love the taste of New Coke, because DIET COKE is/was/always has been the diet version of new Coke and Vanilla Coke and Cherry Coke are NEW coke with vanilla or cherry

[locust76]

New Coke... now THERE's a success story...