1985: New Coke is Put on Store Shelves

One of America’s products biggest flops arrived on store shelves on this day in 1985. After a long and successful run with its original formula, Coca-Cola decided to create “the new taste of Cola-Cola” with “New Coke.” Those old enough to remember, know that the marketing for the new product was a complete failure. Three months later, the red cans came back on the shelves re-branded as “Coca Cola Classic.” Many have speculated that the change in formula was just a big marketing stunt, but Coke has always maintained that the “new” Coke was just an attempt to replace the original product. However, the beverage did come back briefly in 2019 as part of a promotion of Netflix’s hit series, Stranger Things which storyline takes place in 1985. (Image: Wikipedia)