2 ms·

This is weird--I remember Pepsi commercials with a blind taste test on TV when I was a kid. Oddly, I distinctly remember them framing it as people not being abl

by pluto9 8y ago

This is weird--I remember Pepsi commercials with a blind taste test on TV when I was a kid. Oddly, I distinctly remember them framing it as people not being able to tell the difference, and that being seen as a good thing. But now I can't find any reference to those commercials or that marketing angle anywhere. Now you've got me wondering if I misunderstood the commercial as a child and have had a tainted perception of Pepsi's marketing my whole life because of it.

TylerE 8y ago
Yes, the whole point was they were given two unlabeled samples, and they preferred the one that ended up being Pepsi. This is not surprising as Pepsi is much, much sweeter so in small doses it does tend to be preferred. However, when given a full glass, many go back to preferring Coke. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghMYzo0rgrw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghMYzo0rgrw (1983) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRQxzQGwEcI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRQxzQGwEcI (1977) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QK26LU5ZhmE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QK26LU5ZhmE (1982) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YHFJB72vi8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YHFJB72vi8 (2003)
- stephenhuey 8y ago
  The story of what went wrong with New Coke was that Coca Cola's research was based entirely on sip tests and people preferred the slightly sweeter taste. I read in Malcolm Gladwell's "Blink" and people ultimately didn't want to drink an entire can of the stuff. This went down as one of the most famous blunders in market research history. https://www.printrunner.com/blog/sip-testing-potential-employees-new-cokes-marketing-blunder/ https://www.printrunner.com/blog/sip-testing-potential-emplo... https://www.coca-colacompany.com/stories/what-new-coke-continues-to-teach-us-30-years-later https://www.coca-colacompany.com/stories/what-new-coke-conti...
  - TylerE 8y ago
    One aside that might bear mentioning: Coca-Cola Classic wasn't. It was when they slipped in the change from cane sugar to corn syrup in the US market.
rectang 8y ago
That's a fascinating (and probably harmless) misperception. :)

by pluto9 8y ago

TylerE 8y ago

Yes, the whole point was they were given two unlabeled samples, and they preferred the one that ended up being Pepsi. This is not surprising as Pepsi is much, much sweeter so in small doses it does tend to be preferred. However, when given a full glass, many go back to preferring Coke. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghMYzo0rgrw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghMYzo0rgrw (1983) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRQxzQGwEcI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRQxzQGwEcI (1977) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QK26LU5ZhmE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QK26LU5ZhmE (1982) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YHFJB72vi8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YHFJB72vi8 (2003)

stephenhuey 8y ago
The story of what went wrong with New Coke was that Coca Cola's research was based entirely on sip tests and people preferred the slightly sweeter taste. I read in Malcolm Gladwell's "Blink" and people ultimately didn't want to drink an entire can of the stuff. This went down as one of the most famous blunders in market research history. https://www.printrunner.com/blog/sip-testing-potential-employees-new-cokes-marketing-blunder/ https://www.printrunner.com/blog/sip-testing-potential-emplo... https://www.coca-colacompany.com/stories/what-new-coke-continues-to-teach-us-30-years-later https://www.coca-colacompany.com/stories/what-new-coke-conti...
- TylerE 8y ago
  One aside that might bear mentioning: Coca-Cola Classic wasn't. It was when they slipped in the change from cane sugar to corn syrup in the US market.

rectang 8y ago

That's a fascinating (and probably harmless) misperception. :)