The Parable of the New Coke

The New Coke has become something of a parable in the business world. But as Steve Portigal points out in this post to his Discovery list (can't seem to find the sign-up page see below) last week, the moral of the New Coke story is somewhat flexible:

It's funny - whenever I see the New Coke story, it's *always* to illustrate someone's point - just like Gladwell did in the presentation - yeah, a lot has been written, and a lot of things can fail but the REAL reason it failed is [insert story to support main thesis]

The anecdote that was shared with me a few years ago - and that has stuck with me - was that they asked the wrong question - they asked does this taste better than that, and (although Gladwell gets into HOW do you taste it) they did have a product that tasted better, but what they never asked is how people would feel about having Coke (as the product was then known) taken AWAY - and the response demonstrated the enormous cultural meaning that had been attached to Coke (thanks to all the work the company had done to establish that).

I don't know if it's true, of course, but it feels true and importantly it illustrates the most interesting point of the story TO ME (because as I said, it's all about leveraging this story to make whatever point you want :) that things have meaning (Red! America! History) as well as utility (sweet taste, refreshment)...

Update: Here's the Discovery sign-up page. Thanks, Steve!