DEADPOOL Writers Developing a Movie about 1985's "New Coke" Disaster
Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, the writing team behind films like Zombieland and the upcoming Deadpool movie, are now developing a feature film based on 1985’s “New Coke,” which was a complete marketing disaster for the company. The news comes from Deadline, who reports that the pair have acquired the big screen rights to the 1987 nonfiction account of the story, The Real Coke, The Real Story, which was written by Thomas Oliver.
In 1985, the Coca-Cola Company did the unthinkable; they destroyed an American institution; they changed the taste of Coke. This is the story of how the Coca-Cola Company failed to realize the value of its own product and how they turned the mistake into a marketing triumph.
According to the book’s official description, the story takes us "inside the Coca-Cola Company to examine one of the most fascinating episodes in the history of American business in this cautionary tale of corporate decision making.”
I knew a little bit about this dark point in history, but it wasn't until this movie was announced that I took the time to do a little digging to learn a little more. The Coca Cola Company has published a brief account of their infamous product reboot on their official site,
“The Coca-Cola Company took arguably the biggest risk in consumer goods history, announcing that it was changing the formula for the world’s most popular soft drink, and spawning consumer angst the likes of which no business has ever seen.”
The Coke site goes on to explain:
“Protest groups — such as the Society for the Preservation of the Real Thing and Old Cola Drinkers of America (which claimed to have recruited 100,000 in a drive to bring back 'old' Coke) — popped up around the country. Songs were written to honor the old taste. Protesters at a Coca-Cola event in downtown Atlanta in May carried signs with ‘We want the real thing’ and ‘Our children will never know refreshment.'”
According to the report, the duo will write the script and produce the period piece, and it "will convey how a perceived threat by No. 2 rival Pepsi driven home by a clever 'Pepsi Challenge' marketing campaign led to corporate panic, even though Coke was outselling its rival 2-to-1."
This is truly a fascinating story, and I'm sure it will make for a great movie, especially with Reese and Wernick behind its development. Here are some commercials that were made for the product starring Bill Cosby. I also included a brief video that offers some additional background on the terrible decision that Coke made.