This GOP rebranding campaign reminds me of the "NEW COKE" campaign in the 80's.

[muntrv]

Both flopped.

[baldguy]

1. But "New Coke" was actually a different formula than Old Coke.

This is more like slapping a big star burst sign on the old elephant's ass saying "NOW! WITH NEW SIGNAGE!"

[opihimoimoi]

2. No Matter the Trick, the Lipstick, and/or the camoflage...Still a PIG

Polishing Turds into Diamonds has not yet been achieved....No one gave the GOP the memo....

[Elwood P Dowd]

3. What about the Elcaset from the 1970s.

It was going to replace the cassette and the reel to reel.

[Lint Head]

4. Looks the same but tastes like shit.

[Atman]

5. "New Coke" was actually a pretty clever campaign

If you know how supermarket shelf space is allocated -- or bought and sold -- you'd understand the genius of New Coke. It was about gaining more shelf space. If NC succeeded, great. If it flopped, oh well...The Coca Cola Company would still "own" that supermarket shelf space. Which would mean Pepsi wouldn't, RC wouldn't, Polar wouldn't, etc.

The GOP isn't anywhere near as clever or forward-thinking as Coca Cola was. Coke still has the shelf space won in their 80's strategic gambit. What's the GOP got? And what new "shelf space" will they gain? The best they can hope to do is gain back a bit of the shelf space already lost. Meanwhile, people are likin' this Obama stuff.

Sorry, I can't even grant you the "both flopped" angle. The GOP genuinely flopped. They took a huge, worldwide positive image and a big bankroll with which to buy shelf space, and instead they fucked it all up royally. Historically. Like, as big a chapter as any in the books. OTOH, Coke parlayed a positive brand name and a big bankroll and bought up 60-70% of the aisle space in most major supermarket chains.

The GOP can only wish for that kind of long-range, strategic thinking.

.

[bluestateguy]

6. I was one of the few people who actually liked the New Coke

Not that the old Coke was bad, but I remember thinking what was all the ruckus about? Why did people get so uptight about it?

[tridim]

7. Wasn't the new coke thing all about switching from cane sugar to HFCS?

Republicans used to be pretty good at slight of hand, but not now, not after Bush.

[Berry Cool]

8. Nah, it was all about trying to taste more like Pepsi, essentially trying to copy a competitor.

Either that or it really was just a big scheme to get more shelf space AND get people to remember how much they always loved Coke as it was, and then provoke them into beginning a campaign to get the original stuff returned to the market. Not exactly astroturfing, but a kind of predecessor in which you sow the seeds onto the grass roots by your behavior, knowing they will then grow on their own without any further assistance from you. :tinfoilhat: