Ha -- ok, valid point. But in the end, neither I nor you (unless you were on the Coca-Cola Board of Directors) truly made the final, official decision. Coke listened to their not-so-adoring public and their marketing department and dumped a losing business strategy for a more profitable plan. If they had chosen to stick with New Coke/Coke II, there wouldn't have been anything we could have done about it other than not buy it.
Oho, but
without the public uproar---which was exponentially broader and deeper than even Gouizueta's geniuses could
have expected (Mr. Oliver explains one and all in the book I referenced), they probably
would have stood fast with New
Coke/Coke II (there was that much hubris in the company over the idea that a new Coke just had to happen) . . . and Coca-Cola
would have gone the way of the Edsel. Once in a very blue moon a public uproar does result in exemplary action. (I grant that
often as not public uproar demanding certain things ends up producing drastically different results on the part of those who
succumb, but for once the booboisie had it right regarding Coke.)
There's a fine lesson there for the GOP,
wouldn't you say? They've been trying to sell us New Coke the past handful of elections. We don't like New Coke. Either provide us
with Coke Classic, or don't expect us to buy your product.
Perfect analogy!
Even if what they've really been trying to sell us couldn't even be classified as New Coke . . .
And this time---barring a miracle at the convention---the Republican'ts aren't even selling us snake oil.
This time, they're trying to sell us the snake.
