Can’t Beat the Real Thing: A Commentary

Photo: Publistagram.com

February 8, 2021

Commentary on Tim Murphy’s Article, New Coke Didn't Fail, It Was Murdered

Remember the days when you could just buy the world a coke and keep it company? 

For a product that once marketed itself on spreading peace and harmony, Coca Cola’s 1985 reformulation of its signature product did anything but. The infamous marketing debacle incited a cultural war, one seemingly rooted in the common theme of tradition vs. change over an American icon. 

Tim Murphy’s article, New Coke Didn’t Fail. It was Murdered, first published in Mother Jones, paints the picture of a nation fiercely divided by a seemingly banal, first-world generated problem. Looking back, it’s easy to wax nostalgicly over the strife caused by something so trivial, like siblings laughing about the absurdity of childhood fights over candy. Yet the grievances—claims of dispossession, of infringement on freedom, intrusion on tradition, and foreign interference, seized upon and amplified by the media—sound all too familiar some 36 years later.

But in true Mother Jones fashion, Murphy’s analysis runs much deeper. It’s a deft exposé of the roots of this particular culture war, formulated by a conflict-sowing opportunist using social influence to appeal to the disenfranchised. The platforms were all analog back in 1985, but as Murphy states, “dissent makes a good story”—and the news media were only too happy to oblige.

Quoting lines which have become catch phrases of the politically disenfranchised, Murphy spotlights Gay Mullins, founder of Old Cola Drinkers of America. “They have taken away my freedom of Choice. It’s un-American!”, he proclaims in indignation. Like similar movements with four letter acronyms, OCDA built up a vocal group of supporters through Mullins’ populist references to patriotism, independence, and revolution.

The author's socio-political analysis is revelatory and striking in its relevance to the culture wars that continue. The parallels and patterns are astoundingly similar, as are the player profiles. Leaders acting in self-interest, profiteering from sowing friction, deflecting blame, all bolstered by media eager to sensationalize—sound familiar?

But wait—this article made it into The Best American Food Writing of 2020, right? Well Murphy hits the mark on that, too—the New Coke saga was a war of tastes, after all. 

Describing the subtle differences in flavor between the colas would have been a limited exercise, boiling down to noting varying levels of sweetness. Instead, he frames Coke’s relevance in American food culture and history, describing the passion ignited by taste and induced by nostalgia. And he peppers the article with hyperbolic consumer declarations of love and allegiance to what is essentially sweetened, flavored soda water.

And really, if you’re going to feel that strongly about a beverage, think of the opinions you could tweet.