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| New Coke Was a Debacle. It’s Coming Back. Blame Netflix. | New Coke Was a Debacle. It’s Coming Back. Blame Netflix. |
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| New Coke, the soft drink that drew a nationwide backlash in 1985, is back. And the credit, or blame, for the return of Coca-Cola’s greatest folly goes to Netflix. | New Coke, the soft drink that drew a nationwide backlash in 1985, is back. And the credit, or blame, for the return of Coca-Cola’s greatest folly goes to Netflix. |
| A limited supply of the vintage beverage will be available starting on Thursday as part of a robust promotional campaign related to the coming season of “Stranger Things,” the supernatural thriller set in the 1980s. New Coke will also appear in several episodes of the show. Representatives of both companies said no money changed hands in that product-placement deal. | A limited supply of the vintage beverage will be available starting on Thursday as part of a robust promotional campaign related to the coming season of “Stranger Things,” the supernatural thriller set in the 1980s. New Coke will also appear in several episodes of the show. Representatives of both companies said no money changed hands in that product-placement deal. |
| The return of the failed drink comes as Netflix ramps up its corporate partnerships and merchandising deals in an effort to recruit even more people to the streaming service, which has 149 million paid subscribers worldwide. Netflix said it had reached agreements with roughly 75 brands to spread the word about one of its biggest hits. | |
| Because of the new push, which rivals the campaigns for summertime blockbusters, “Stranger Things” may be hard to avoid in the coming weeks. H&M and other retailers will sell clothes that replicate what the show’s characters wear. Baskin-Robbins will serve new flavors referencing the program’s Scoops Ahoy ice cream parlor. | Because of the new push, which rivals the campaigns for summertime blockbusters, “Stranger Things” may be hard to avoid in the coming weeks. H&M and other retailers will sell clothes that replicate what the show’s characters wear. Baskin-Robbins will serve new flavors referencing the program’s Scoops Ahoy ice cream parlor. |
| The more aggressive promotional strategy gives the streaming service a way to market its wares and generate a new revenue stream that doesn’t involve interrupting its shows with commercials. Unlike its competitor Hulu, Netflix is commercial free, although it has included product placement — sometimes paid, sometimes not — on its series and films. | The more aggressive promotional strategy gives the streaming service a way to market its wares and generate a new revenue stream that doesn’t involve interrupting its shows with commercials. Unlike its competitor Hulu, Netflix is commercial free, although it has included product placement — sometimes paid, sometimes not — on its series and films. |
| Matt and Ross Duffer, the creators of the show, said the New Coke tie-in came about naturally, given that the third season, available July 4, takes place in summer 1985. That was when the Coca-Cola Company fended off the unexpected negative reaction to the sweeter, smoother version of its flagship beverage, a reaction that included boycotts, letter-writing campaigns and thousands of phone calls to its Atlanta headquarters. | Matt and Ross Duffer, the creators of the show, said the New Coke tie-in came about naturally, given that the third season, available July 4, takes place in summer 1985. That was when the Coca-Cola Company fended off the unexpected negative reaction to the sweeter, smoother version of its flagship beverage, a reaction that included boycotts, letter-writing campaigns and thousands of phone calls to its Atlanta headquarters. |
| “It was one of the first ideas in our Season 3 brainstorm,” the Duffer Brothers, as they are listed in the credits, said in a joint email interview. “It was the summer of ’85, and when you talk about pop culture moments, New Coke was a really big deal. It would have been more bizarre to not include it.” | “It was one of the first ideas in our Season 3 brainstorm,” the Duffer Brothers, as they are listed in the credits, said in a joint email interview. “It was the summer of ’85, and when you talk about pop culture moments, New Coke was a really big deal. It would have been more bizarre to not include it.” |
| Barry Smyth, Netflix’s head of partnership marketing, said the idea first came up during a meeting in 2017 between the show’s creators and Netflix executives. “We asked the question, ‘What would really blow it out of the water for this campaign?’” Mr. Smyth recalled. “They jokingly said, ‘Bring back New Coke.’ They thought it was a joke. We took it as a brief.” | Barry Smyth, Netflix’s head of partnership marketing, said the idea first came up during a meeting in 2017 between the show’s creators and Netflix executives. “We asked the question, ‘What would really blow it out of the water for this campaign?’” Mr. Smyth recalled. “They jokingly said, ‘Bring back New Coke.’ They thought it was a joke. We took it as a brief.” |
| Although Coca-Cola executives have acknowledged that New Coke was a debacle, they said yes. The company had to dig up the recipe from its archives and said it would make 500,000 cans of New Coke available on its website and in some vending machines. | Although Coca-Cola executives have acknowledged that New Coke was a debacle, they said yes. The company had to dig up the recipe from its archives and said it would make 500,000 cans of New Coke available on its website and in some vending machines. |
| The association with an oddity of ’80s consumer culture is on-brand for a show known for stirring nostalgia among viewers who grew up in the Reagan years. Its visual language owes a debt to Steven Spielberg’s “E. T. the Extra-Terrestrial” and other ’80s films, while the story and mood bear the influence of Stephen King, who has defended the practice of including brand names in his fiction. And the show’s title sequence has a look inspired by the King paperbacks that were all but inescapable during the decade. | The association with an oddity of ’80s consumer culture is on-brand for a show known for stirring nostalgia among viewers who grew up in the Reagan years. Its visual language owes a debt to Steven Spielberg’s “E. T. the Extra-Terrestrial” and other ’80s films, while the story and mood bear the influence of Stephen King, who has defended the practice of including brand names in his fiction. And the show’s title sequence has a look inspired by the King paperbacks that were all but inescapable during the decade. |
| The props on “Stranger Things” recall the era, too. One of its young protagonists carries a Trapper Keeper notebook, a onetime status symbol of school hallways; another character keeps a He-Man action figure, a popular ’80s toy, in his room. The throwback mood has been heightened by the soundtrack’s inclusions of Toto’s “Africa” and the Clash’s “Should I Stay or Should I Go.” | The props on “Stranger Things” recall the era, too. One of its young protagonists carries a Trapper Keeper notebook, a onetime status symbol of school hallways; another character keeps a He-Man action figure, a popular ’80s toy, in his room. The throwback mood has been heightened by the soundtrack’s inclusions of Toto’s “Africa” and the Clash’s “Should I Stay or Should I Go.” |
| H&M’s “Stranger Things” collection includes a line of ’80s-style T-shirts, swimsuits, visors and flip-flops. Some are branded with the “Stranger Things” logo; others replicate things worn by the show’s characters. The collection will be accompanied by an ad campaign featuring Dacre Montgomery, who plays the villainous Billy Hargrove on the show. | H&M’s “Stranger Things” collection includes a line of ’80s-style T-shirts, swimsuits, visors and flip-flops. Some are branded with the “Stranger Things” logo; others replicate things worn by the show’s characters. The collection will be accompanied by an ad campaign featuring Dacre Montgomery, who plays the villainous Billy Hargrove on the show. |
| The return of New Coke is perhaps the most surprising and nostalgia-inducing element of the broader publicity effort. The almost forgotten artifact belonged to a predigital time of fewer entertainment options, with network TV still dominant, and fewer soda varieties, too. | The return of New Coke is perhaps the most surprising and nostalgia-inducing element of the broader publicity effort. The almost forgotten artifact belonged to a predigital time of fewer entertainment options, with network TV still dominant, and fewer soda varieties, too. |
| Nowadays, Coca-Cola has many spinoffs, including obscurities like Coca-Cola Zero Sugar Vanilla and Diet Coke Blueberry Acai. In 1985, there was Cherry Coke, introduced that year to a positive reaction, and Diet Coke. From late April into July, New Coke was the only drink to go under the name Coca-Cola or Coke. (The official name was Coca-Cola or Coke, and the word “new” was featured on cans.) | Nowadays, Coca-Cola has many spinoffs, including obscurities like Coca-Cola Zero Sugar Vanilla and Diet Coke Blueberry Acai. In 1985, there was Cherry Coke, introduced that year to a positive reaction, and Diet Coke. From late April into July, New Coke was the only drink to go under the name Coca-Cola or Coke. (The official name was Coca-Cola or Coke, and the word “new” was featured on cans.) |
| The backlash to the sweeter concoction was as intense as it was unexpected. “It’s a taste tragedy,” a Florida man named Robert Hester told The New York Times, summing up the mood of cola purists of the day. In Beverly Hills, Calif., a wine shop sold the former version of Coca-Cola at triple the usual price. | The backlash to the sweeter concoction was as intense as it was unexpected. “It’s a taste tragedy,” a Florida man named Robert Hester told The New York Times, summing up the mood of cola purists of the day. In Beverly Hills, Calif., a wine shop sold the former version of Coca-Cola at triple the usual price. |
| In an about-face, the company brought back the original under the name Coca-Cola Classic, and the two types existed side by side for the remainder of the decade. After taking on the name Coke II, the reformulated drink lasted until 2002, when it was quietly pulled from shelves. The original formula had won out, but the “Classic” tag didn’t fall away from cans and bottles until 2009. | In an about-face, the company brought back the original under the name Coca-Cola Classic, and the two types existed side by side for the remainder of the decade. After taking on the name Coke II, the reformulated drink lasted until 2002, when it was quietly pulled from shelves. The original formula had won out, but the “Classic” tag didn’t fall away from cans and bottles until 2009. |
| The Duffers featured brand-name products in the first two seasons of “Stranger Things,” with Kellogg’s Eggo waffles and Kentucky Fried Chicken having prominent roles. Netflix said the two companies did not pay anything to appear on the program. | The Duffers featured brand-name products in the first two seasons of “Stranger Things,” with Kellogg’s Eggo waffles and Kentucky Fried Chicken having prominent roles. Netflix said the two companies did not pay anything to appear on the program. |
| The company added that many of its other corporate partnerships, including with Baskin-Robbins, would not generate revenue, although the streaming service will get a cut of “Stranger Things”-branded clothing and other merchandise. Any money the company brings in from the arrangements isn’t as important as “fueling the fandom,” said Christie Fleischer, Netflix’s vice president for consumer products. | The company added that many of its other corporate partnerships, including with Baskin-Robbins, would not generate revenue, although the streaming service will get a cut of “Stranger Things”-branded clothing and other merchandise. Any money the company brings in from the arrangements isn’t as important as “fueling the fandom,” said Christie Fleischer, Netflix’s vice president for consumer products. |
| For the show’s creators, the association with brand-name products lends a touch of their favorite ’80s movies to the show. “When we were kids, we were obsessed with those self-lacing Nikes in ‘Back to the Future Part II,’ and, of course, we loved that Elliott baited E. T. with Reese’s Pieces!” the Duffers, who are 35-year-old twins, said. “When we were kids, that simply made Elliott more relatable, more ordinary, more like us.” | For the show’s creators, the association with brand-name products lends a touch of their favorite ’80s movies to the show. “When we were kids, we were obsessed with those self-lacing Nikes in ‘Back to the Future Part II,’ and, of course, we loved that Elliott baited E. T. with Reese’s Pieces!” the Duffers, who are 35-year-old twins, said. “When we were kids, that simply made Elliott more relatable, more ordinary, more like us.” |
| Relationships with outside companies seem likely to become a trend for Netflix. The producer Shonda Rhimes, who has a nine-figure, multiyear contract with the service, expressed an interest in “product integration” during an interview with The Times last year. | Relationships with outside companies seem likely to become a trend for Netflix. The producer Shonda Rhimes, who has a nine-figure, multiyear contract with the service, expressed an interest in “product integration” during an interview with The Times last year. |
| The Duffers said none of the marketing deals meant to hype their show would add to their bank accounts. “We’re not getting a revenue cut from any of this,” they said. “The hope is that it just gets the show more exposure.” | The Duffers said none of the marketing deals meant to hype their show would add to their bank accounts. “We’re not getting a revenue cut from any of this,” they said. “The hope is that it just gets the show more exposure.” |
| The arrangement did lead to a paid side gig, though: The Duffers directed a Coke commercial to be shown in movie theaters starting this weekend. And they said their show would stay true to the brand, saying, “We did tell our production designer to make sure we never saw any Pepsi!” | The arrangement did lead to a paid side gig, though: The Duffers directed a Coke commercial to be shown in movie theaters starting this weekend. And they said their show would stay true to the brand, saying, “We did tell our production designer to make sure we never saw any Pepsi!” |