Now, we all know how brands leverage the feeling of scarcity to sell their products faster.

“Limited Time Offer”

“Offer open till stocks last”

“Clearance Sale”

“Black Friday Sale”

“Exclusive Dhanteras Offer”

Not just that, many brands like Apple exploit the psychology of scarcity to make people queue up all night for their new phone launches.

But do you know there was a famous brand in US that got doomed due to this same psychology of scarcity.

In 1985, one of the top companies in the world began a historic blunder that Time magazine called the Marketing fiasco of the decade.

The name of the company – Coca Cola.

After years of researching on a new “better tasting” formula, on April 23, the company decided to pull their traditional formula of coke off the market. They replaced it with New Coke. But the company failed to predict the sheer frustration and fury its action would create. Right across the length and breadth of America, tens of thousands of Coke lovers rose up to revile the taste of New Coke and demand the return of their beloved old Coke back.

Their was even a society that got created – Old Coca Cola Drinkers of America – a widespread group of people who worked tirelessly to get the traditional formula back on the market by using any means necessary – civil, judicial, legislative…

The protests were of a level that made Coca Cola kill the New Coke and reinstate the old Coke.

What caused this outrage?

Even though blind taste tests clearly pointed to the new flavour as the hands down winner, the company failed to take into account something important. The taste tests were done with both flavours being made available to the participants. But when the Coke drinkers realised that the drink they grew up with will no longer be available, it created a psyche of scarcity, leading to an uprising, not unlike the bubbles of a well shaken coke bottle.