Donald Keough, the Coca-Cola president that gained fame from launching the "New Coke" brand, has passed away. The North Jersey revealed that Mr. Keough died yesterday from pneumonia in Atlanta's Emory Saint Joseph's Hospital. He was 88 years old.
Keough revolutionized Coca-Cola's global boom as the soda manufacturer's president in 1981-1993. Coca-Cola's average revenues within that decade rose to its peak of $14 billion. Many have never forgotten, though, Keough's struggle with branding challenges in response to the campaigns of its competitor, Pepsi, Co., Incorporated.
Keough long left the legacy of quickie rebranding switch. The New York Times reported that in 1985, Keough launched a sweeter Coca-Cola taste. 10 weeks thereafter, he decided to revert back to the brand's original taste. Many have voiced out their preferences over the neutrally sweet Coca-Cola sodas. The original taste came close to the sodas from Coca-Cola's competitor, Pepsi, Co. Inc., with headquarters in Purchase, New York.
Mr. Keough was born in 1926 in Maurice, Iowa. As World War II came to near end, he was one of soldiers that served. Keough was a former student at The Creighton University in Omaha. As a student in this university, he was a host of the in-campus TV talk show, "The Coffee Counter."
The former Coca-Cola executive left behind a wife, Marilyn, daughters Kathleen Soto, Shayla Rumely and Eileen Millard, sons Michael, Patrick and Clarke, and a couple of grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Keough expressed his desire for his tombstone to exhibit this message:
"He's not that dumb and he's not that smart."