Comparing Windows 8 to New Coke is Just Plain Mean

This was rough. In fact, it was so rough that Microsoft MSFT wrote a weekend blog post to respond to the comparison. When Windows 8 was compared to New Coke, everybody old enough to remember Coca-Cola’s KO biggest misstep thought the same thing: “Now that’s just mean!”

For those of you who aren’t in your late 30s and didn’t get to have a can or two of New Coke, here’s a small history lesson. Coca-Cola was facing stiff competition from rival, Pepsi PEP because it was a sweeter soda. Possibly more important, the cola category, in general, had become boring and needed something new to put it back in the forefront.

After Coca-Cola reformulated its flagship product, research revealed that a large percentage of customers preferred the taste.

Preliminary polling showed the new formula to be well accepted and in 1985, it was introduced as the replacement. The backlash was fierce. Something that had become an American staple was changed and for some reason, Coca-Cola didn't understand the overwhelming brand loyalty. New Coke was scrapped and Coca-Cola Classic was introduced. (You can read more about its history here.)

What does that have to do with Microsoft? Critics are pointing out the parallels between Windows 8 and its lack of a "start" button and the New Coke. Did Microsoft not know that users loved the start button? Did Microsoft think that a complete redesign of a product that had been basically the same for decades was a good idea?

Do companies want to adopt Windows 8 and pay for the learning curve that comes with what is largely a brand new operating system? This may be what is behind Windows 8.1—codenamed, Blue. Microsoft will reportedly bring back the Windows Start button as part of the large-scale update.

On Sunday, AllThingsD reported that Microsoft actually responded to this in a blog post. Frank Shaw, Corporate VP of Corporate Communications, (whose middle initial is listed as, “X”?) wrote a very literary response talking about how Windows 8 is different than a can of soda because it meets different needs for different people.

He went on to say that Windows 8 is a great product and the media, in an attempt to build up page views, has sensationalized Windows 8’s problems. (Any golf fans see an eerie parallel to Sergio Garcia blaming Tiger Woods for his bad shot over the weekend?)

Coca-Cola set out to make Coke something that people, once again, talked about. Regardless of the branding nightmare, it did just that. Maybe in 15 or 20 years, we’ll be able to say Microsoft did the same thing with Windows 8.

Disclosure: At the time of this writing, Tim Parker had no position in the mentioned companies and really wants to know what the “X” stands for.