New Coke: the cola that won Coca-Cola's biggest taste test and lost America
The New Coke backlash: why people filled their basements with old Coke in 1985
In the spring of 1985, Americans filled their basements with cases of old Coke and wrote furious letters to Coca-Cola's boss. Many had never even tasted the new drink. A soft drink had touched something much bigger than a taste.
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1
Meet Rono, a Coke drinker in Texas, in May 1985. After work, he drives from shop to shop and buys every case of old Coke he can still find. His basement fills up. He is not alone: one man in San Antonio buys $1,000 worth in one go.
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2
In Beverly Hills, a wine shop buys 500 cases of old Coke. It sells them for $30 a case, nearly three times the usual price, and people wait in line in the street to buy them.
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