As Sales Dwindle, Coke Experiments With Universal Branding: But Isn't That Missing the Point?

OK, let's be sure we have this right: Coca-Cola sales are declining while sales of the various Diet-Coke alternatives are in free-fall.

So the answer is to play with the packaging?

This seems like classic Titanic deck-chair re-arranging while the engine room is flooding. Or, to put it in a more contemporary context: we have no idea what to do about customers' rejection of our core product due to its unhealthy, fattening content (in which even the diet alternatives have been proven to be really bad for you) therefore we will change the colors on the cans in hopes that consumers will change their minds and they'll buy more.

Um, yeah, sure. Why not...cuz who would want to invest in something radical like try to innovate and come up with a healthy, natural alternative under the Coke brand? But then who are we to question people who are paid so handsomely to intuit our needs and desires?  JL

Mark Wilson reports in Fast Company:

Now, as sugary Coke sales slow, and fake-sugary Coke sales plummet, it looks like the company wants to consolidate the troops under one red banner, to make every can of Coke-stuff scream "Merry Christmas!" like it’s 1969 all over again.
Coca-Cola Spain is launching a new look that unites Coca-Cola, Coke Zero, Diet Coke, and Coke Zero Zero (caffeine-free Coke Zero) under one unifying design based upon Coca-Cola's iconic red packaging. From what we can make out in a translated FAQ, this new branding strategy should roll out globally later this summer.

As the company explains in a roughly translated FAQ, "The new strategy of ‘single brand’ communication will also unify the various products: if before a different kind of advertising and merchandising [differentiated] the three sub-brands, now [we] see the Coca-Cola brand supporting all variants."

For Coca-Cola, this rebranding is nothing short of seismic. Ever since Diet Coke launched in 1982, it has been branded as a reversal of the Coca-Cola flagship (the branding of which was solidified in 1969). Coke was red with a white ribbon and white lettering. Diet Coke was was white (then later, silver) with red lettering. Coke Zero was black with red lettering. Each spinoff was recognizable in its own right.
Now, as sugary Coke sales slow, and fake-sugary Coke sales plummet, it looks like the company wants to consolidate the troops under one red banner, to make every can of Coke-stuff scream "Merry Christmas!" like it’s 1969 all over again. Add in a splash of silver, black, and copper to distinguish the alchemy of sweetness inside, and watch those sales pour in through one giant, red funnel.
Well, maybe. It's still unclear if this is a universal strategy, or if Coca-Cola is dipping its toe in Spain to test the waters before going global with it. Hell, Coca-Cola might even abandon the unification idea entirely. We've reached out to Coca-Cola Spain for clarification and we'll update the story if and when we hear back.