n April 1985 the Company took the ultimate risk. It removed market-leading Coca-Cola from the US market and introduced New Coke. The decision was made after extensive marketing - for example by canvassing 190,000 consumer opinions and taste-tests of various Coke formulations. The launch was spectacular in that within 24 hours more Americans were aware of the birth of New Coke than had known about man's first steps on the moon in 1969. However, the market reaction did not match the research. Within days, several opinion poll showed that consumers overwelmingly preferred the original taste Coca-Cola to the new Coke. There were floods of complaints across America.