[NU Sports] re: leaders/legends

[Mike Nolan]

> Even Coca-Cola cut their losses and gave up on New Coke, but Delaney and Co. seem to be bullheaded enough to try and force their idiotic decision to work.

You know, it's been nearly 26 years since 'New Coke', and people are still talking about it.  The
only other ad campaign I can think of that achieved that much 'buzz' was the Apple 1984 commercial.
(Which, incidentally, Apple paid to run just once, though I've probably seen the entire ad 50 times
and portions of it many more times than that.)  

Most Coke Super Bowl commercials are forgotten quickly, with the exception of Mean Joe Green.
("I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing" was not a Super Bowl ad, it started running in July of 1971.)

In other words, maybe it wasn't such a bad idea after all!  I know the marketing profs like
to talk it up as a big failure, but some strategic planning professors have a different
view of it.  (One theory is that it allowed Coke to renegotiate a number of key franchise
arrangements, since 'Classic Coke' was a different product legally.)

I've also been told that Diet Coke has the 'New Coke' flavor, which may explain why I prefer
the taste of Coke Zero.  Oddly enough, these days I prefer the taste of Coke Zero over
the taste of Coke Classic aka 'real' Coke.  

None of that plays on the inanity of Legends and Leaders, but maybe talking about the Big
Ten, even somewhat derisively, is better than everybody talking only about the SEC.
--
Mike Nolan