Tag: business

On the Open Secret

This October, the Open Secret of Harvey Weinstein’s reprehensible behavior broke open. Namely, his harassment, assault, rape, and silencing of an astounding number of women. But as we follow this story, I did want to draw attention to the struggles of those women who do not face the camera: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/hollywoods-female-crew-members-suffer-harassment-platform-stardom-1049766 It’s easy to forget just … Continue reading “On the Open Secret”

This October, the Open Secret of Harvey Weinstein’s reprehensible behavior broke open. Namely, his harassment, assault, rape, and silencing of an astounding number of women.

But as we follow this story, I did want to draw attention to the struggles of those women who do not face the camera: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/hollywoods-female-crew-members-suffer-harassment-platform-stardom-1049766

It’s easy to forget just how many hands make the product of film. Like any industry, it has its own culture, traditions, policies, vocabulary, and so on. Does it matter if, for example, your favorite director is accused of statutory rape? Does it matter if, on the set of your favorite movie, a grip was a victim of sexual assault? How about an actress?

Part of analyzing film is, and should be, outside the frame. If you don’t like what you see outside that frame, how do you square that with a work of art that you love? Can you?

It’s a tough question. One to think about and live with, perhaps, rather than to answer.

After 30 years, New Coke is still a black mark in marketing history

from Coca-Cola: The Real Story Behind the Real Thing Thirty years ago today, Coca-Cola unveiled New Coke, a Pepsi-like formula that replaced the original Coca-Cola in stores. In retrospect, this is regarded as one of the worst marketing decisions in history. Fans considered the change a betrayal and stockpiled the classic Coke in an act … Continue reading “After 30 years, New Coke is still a black mark in marketing history”

from Coca-Cola: The Real Story Behind the Real Thing

Thirty years ago today, Coca-Cola unveiled New Coke, a Pepsi-like formula that replaced the original Coca-Cola in stores. In retrospect, this is regarded as one of the worst marketing decisions in history. Fans considered the change a betrayal and stockpiled the classic Coke in an act of consumer protest. The Coca-Cola Company relented and re-introduced the original formula within three months, saving Coke from long-term brand damage.

If you were born after the 80s, you probably never encountered New Coke (or Coke II, as it was later named). Luckily, the frantic media coverage of the Coke switch-up ensures that we have some documentation of the fallout. We found a good segment from Films on Demand about the release of New Coke and its competition with Pepsi; it’s short, but it gets to the point and shows the extreme value of the Coca-Cola brand.

It might also be useful to catch up a bit on the importance of branding and image – and why Coca-Cola frantically moved to maintain them. To this end, we offer three streaming documentaries that specifically discuss Coca-Cola iconography: Power of Brands, Understanding Brands, and In Brands We Trust. Each runs under an hour and can be viewed from your choice of device as long as you long in with your AU library account.

The New Coke debacle will likely be discussed for decades in business courses as a prime example of well-intentioned marketing gone awry. We’re glad there’s video evidence of this calamity, and today is a great time to revisit it through our streaming collections