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May 25, 2012
Mark Clayton: Is Hillary's State Dept. hacking Al Qaeda? Not quite
Erika Bolstad: Temple cancels Wasserman Schultz speech
The Kosher Gourmet by Ethel G. Hofman: The former president of the International Association of Culinary Professionals, whose members included the likes of Julia Child, is back with contemporary Shavous cuisine: Ruby Fruit Soup, Sweet Noodle Kugel with Cheese, Key Lime Curd, Calsone Casserole Frittata with Wild Mushrooms, Sun-dried tomatoes and Olives, Baked Tilapia with Pepper Cheese Cream and Brown Sugar Shortbread
May 24, 2012
Jeff Jacoby: The peace process battered Israel's reputation
Michael Muskal: 'Pro-choice' position hits record low, according to poll
Chris Farrell: Are We in a Tech Bubble?
The Kosher Gourmet by Penelope Wall: PHILLY CHEESE STEAKS --- hold the steak!
May 23, 2012
Tony Pugh: More private colleges offering tuition discounts
Mary Beth Franklin: How to Choose the Right Annuity for You
Tina Susman: The wig wasn't enough: Man gets 13 years for posing as his dead mom
The Kosher Gourmet by Emma Christensen:A simple way to do fish right
May 22, 2012
Warren Richey: Can US group challenge overseas surveillance act? Supreme Court to decide
Thomas M. Anderson: Walking Away From a Mortgage
The Kosher Gourmet by Megan Gordon: Enjoy a celebration of the most rich and layered flavors: Black bean, sweet potato and quinoa chili
May 21, 2012
Mark Clayton: Cybersecurity: How US utilities passed up chance to protect their networks
Howard LaFranchi: NATO summit: Who will foot the bill for long-term Afghanistan security?
Chris Farrell : Earn Dividends in Emerging Markets with This WisdomTree ETF
Stephen Whiteside, Ph.D. : Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: Social anxiety disorder --- or just shy?
Guy Jackson : Victim's father regrets death of Lockerbie bomber
The Kosher Gourmet by Mario Batali: Famed chef's veal shoulder farsumagru: A festive meat course for late spring
May 18, 2012
Rabbi Berel Wein: Striving: The People of the Book's Book for (All of) the People
Steven Goldberg: 5 Great Stock Picks and the Exchange-Traded Fund that Owns Them
Mary Pickett, M.D.: Ask the Harvard Experts: Don't be forced into gluten-free lifestyle based merely on a doctor's false-positive test
The Kosher Gourmet by Carolyn Malcoun: DIY healthy lunchbox treats: HOMEMADE FRUIT BARS for kids and brown-bagging adults alike
May 17, 2012
Warren Richey: Teacher fired for being unwed and pregnant can sue religious school, court rules
Josh Mitnick: Netanyahu's 'centrist' coalition is already proving it's anything but
Steven Goldberg: Earn Dividends in Emerging Markets with This WisdomTree ETF
Amina Khan: Research links coffee to lower death rates
The Kosher Gourmet by Faith Duran : Cheesy Potato Breakfast Casserole with Cheddar and Sun-Dried Tomatoes
May 16, 2012
Carmen Terzic, M.D., Ph.D. : Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: A variety of exercises can help improve balance
Melissa Healy: National strategy on Alzheimer's disease aims to halt it by 2025
The Kosher Gourmet by Joyce White : GOODNESS GRACIOUS: GREENS! 4 winning recipes that are no longer just for down-home folks (Includes expert tips & techniques)
May 15, 2012
Kristen Chick: Obama administration resumes arms sales to Bahrain despite serious unresolved human rights issues. Activists feel abandoned
Pat Mertz Esswein: Homes are now affordable again and mortgage rates are low. What you need to know before you buy
Kathy Kristof: Our Practical Investor Fights Inflation with These 6 Investments
Sue Hubbard, M.D.: The Kid's Doctor: Lactose intolerant young child? Check again
The Kosher Gourmet by Kathy Hunt: Spread a Little Excitement with EXOTIC CONDIMENTS (4 RECIPES)
May 14, 2012
Lisa Gerstner: How to Protect Your Identity, Finances If You Lose Your Phone
Harvard Health Letters: Heart disease and dementia
The Kosher Gourmet by Megan Gordon: MANGO COCONUT OAT MORNING MUFFINS are a bright but hearty delight
May 11, 2012
Jessica L. Anderson: Get the Best Deal on a Used Car
Jett Stone: Forget face-lifts and fake knees. Scientists have seen the fountain of youth --- and it's broccoli
The Kosher Gourmet by Chef Mario Batali: The famed chef's vegetable dish that tastes true to the season: FAVAS AND SUGAR SNAP PEAS WITH POTATOES AND TARRAGON
May 10, 2012
Sergei L. Loiko: Putin sends warning to U.S., NATO in Victory Day speech at Red Square
Mary Rourke: How being a 'mentch' got Vidal Sasoon his start and fighting in Israel's War of Independence provided him with confidence and a strong sense of his own identity
Jeff Bertolucci: Get Home Phone Service for Less Than $10 a Month
The Kosher Gourmet by Betty Rosbottom: Gleaming with its golden, crimson, and snowy white hues, this silken smooth and creamy STRAWBERRY ORANGE TRIFLE looks impressive, but is easy to prepare
May 9, 2012
Sharon Palmer, R.D. How you can reduce your risk -- or delay -- chronic diseases associated with aging
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Jewish World Review
Dec. 6, 2011
/ 10 Kislev, 5772
A marketing caution for Republicans
By
Wesley Pruden
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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
Managing an international icon, profitable though it may be, is difficult, particularly if you can't resist temptations to tweak, change, adjust and otherwise bend, twist and knock it out of shape.
Coca-Cola, perhaps the most recognizable icon anywhere in the world, demonstrates once more that the consumer isn't always the most docile sheep in the barnyard. Coke's latest misjudgment of the market should make an interesting object lesson for the business schools, whence come so many political consultants, advisers and other campaign blowhards.
There may even be lessons here for the political parties and the voters who make the final judgment of politicians. The Democrats have a particularly sorry record of tweaking ineffective "brands," sending the likes of Michael Dukakis, Al Gore and John Kerry into the November marketplace. The Republicans have a sorry record, too, tweaking the likes of Bob Dole and John McCain, and now seem to be flirting with sending Newt Gingrich into the highest-stakes game in town. You can't always freshen up the label, no matter how hard you try.
Coca-Cola has for years decorated its cans of Coke with holiday themes, a Santa Claus, an elf, or a bough of holly, but always with its trademark bold, bright red background. Easily thrilled Coke drinkers, according to the marketing men, look forward to this expression of the season, contrived jollity as it is. One Coke addict told Coca-Cola that the annual arrival of holiday cans brought "the same inexplicable winter-goodness vibe" as Christmas carols.
This year Coca-Cola couldn't leave the winter-goodness vibe alone. They withdrew the red cans and replaced them with snow-white cans as antiseptic as a bedpan.
The white cans are decorated with shadowy images of polar bears, commemorating Coke's contribution of $3 million to the World Wildlife Fund's campaign to "save the polar bears." Many consumers bought the white cans thinking they were silvery cans of Diet Coke. "I purchased three six-packs because I thought they were [Diet Coke]," one Coke drinker tells ABC News. "I drank one and wondered why it tasted so good. I am a diabetic and can only drink diet sodas."
Others complained that they only wanted something cold to drink, not a tired sermon about global warming or the melting of polar ice and the plight of the polar bear, a beast that is a favorite of children who know nothing of its reputation as a predator of baby seals and a predator willing enough to eat children when they find a plump and juicy specimen floating on an ice floe. Outrage in the supermarket aisles grew apace.
The wise men at Coca-Cola insist that the emergency-room white was chosen not because it reminded them of snowy wintry days, but to raise "awareness" of the polar bears and to focus attention on the $3 million Coke took from the petty cash drawer to send to the bears (none of whom could be reached for comment.) "The white can resonated with us because it was bold and attention-grabbing," a Coca-Cola spokesman told the Wall Street Journal. Soon the white cans, which were not "resonating" anywhere else, were withdrawn, and Coca-Cola in the traditional red regalia was on its way back to the shelves.
You might think Coca-Cola would have learned a lesson from its earlier debacle with so-called "New Coke," which it introduced in 1985 as a sweetened Pepsi killer. New Coke upset not only taste but the carefully cultivated story, probably invented by an earlier marketing man, that the Coca-Cola formula invented at a drugstore soda fountain in Atlanta in a previous century was so closely held that it was locked in a vault and known only to a tiny few. New Coke was soon derided as Crap Coke, withdrawn, and replaced by Classic Coke. Sales zoomed. This led to widespread speculation that New Coke was a clever scam from the beginning, never meant to be permanent. But of course we know that marketing folk would never dream of doing anything like that. The true original genuine authentic Coke, as a matter of fact, is still formulated in Mexico with cane sugar and not the less expensive high-fructose corn syrup that changed the taste of Coke in the United States. The so-called "Mexican Coke," still sold in once-familiar green bottles vaguely reminiscent of the female form, has a growing market in Southern California.
The lesson here for the Republican pols, as the pundit primaries draw to a close and the real primary season begins, is to beware of the noisy, empty, same old blah-blah just because it seems "new" and "improved." Eventually the consumer will taste it.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
JWR contributor Wesley Pruden is editor emeritus of The Washington Times. Comment by clicking here.
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