allynh@ucbvax.ARPA (Allyn Hardyck) (07/09/85)
(yet another New Coke article) Cubans cite Coke change as sign of moral collapse (UPI) MIAMI - Coca-Cola's decision to change its taste is just another sign of the moral collapse of US capitalism, Cuban radio said yesterday. The first change in the soft drink's secret recipe in 99 years is being heralded throughout the United States in an intense ad campaign linking Coca-Cola to historic and patriotic moments in US history, the editorial said. "Seemingly tired of looking for patriotism in the backpacks of Marines, North Americans have now elevated the taste of Coca-Cola to the level of a national emblem," a commentator said in a Cuban Radio Rebelde broadcast monitored in Miami. The lengthy editorial was broadcast on a Ministry of Defense program that is required listening for the armed forces. The commentator said the new ad campaign shows a bottle of Coke on the desk of former President John F. Kennedy and another aboard a spacecraft. It detailed how loyalists to the old flavor have demonstrated in several American cities. "The controversy has transcended the limits of the palate, and converted itself into a sentimental battle for those who each day find fewer agreeable things to list in the United States," the radio said. "Many North Americans view Coca-Cola as something inherent in the national grandeur and only comparable to the symbolic Statue of Liberty or the skyscrapers of New York," it said.