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Everyone says that but does anyone actually try it? At 30 years old I already have my beverage preferences, if I never saw a Pepsi ad again Coke would still be

Everyone says that but does anyone actually try it? At 30 years old I already have my beverage preferences, if I never saw a Pepsi ad again Coke would still be too sweet for me. Who are these people who are swayed by this? Who hasn't tried both and determined a preference already?

tgb 6y ago
My pet conspiracy theory is that the tobacco industry tried this in the US by getting the government to ban advertising of tobacco.
- daniel-cussen 6y ago
  This is a form of collusion with which I have no problem.
  - disgruntledphd2 6y ago
    Its not true though, as if it was then they wouldn't spend loads of money where they can still advertise. But they do (and they sponsored F1 for a long time after most advertising was banned) so advertising must have some impact on their sales.
    - tgb 6y ago
      I think my "theory" is false for other reasons, but that they advertise where allowed doesn't contradict any of the theory. They just haven't successfully colluded to get the prisoner's dilemma solved by the local government in those regions and so all still have to defect.
taeric 6y ago
Famously, Coke tried it.
KingMachiavelli 6y ago
Last I checked Pepsi is sweeter than Coke.
- ThalesX 6y ago
  I wanted to answer with an angry reply but I decided against it, I would however love a little more context to your comment so I can understand. What does it mean? Do you think this person is lying about the taste for some nefarious reason? Do you think they have some condition where they feel sweeter drinks as more bitter? Where and when did you last check? What are the differences between the last check and the previous one?
  - lukeschlather 6y ago
    From the Coke and Pepsi websites a 12oz can of Pepsi has 41g of sugars while a 12oz can of Coke has 39g of sugars, so the Pepsi is, objectively, sweeter. Interestingly Pepsi includes both HFCS and sugar, so what the OP describes as "too sweet" might actually be a flavor palate that lacks that bit of sugar in addition to HFCS. (The exact mix is not clear, though Pepsi contains more "CARAMEL COLOR" than sugar so it seems suspiciously like the Pepsi is nutritionally the same as Coke with an extra 2g of sugar in addition to 39g of HFCS.)
    - twic 6y ago
      > objectively, sweeter qualia BTFO
      - ImprobableTruth 6y ago
        The fact that this is downvoted tells me that people here still don't understand qualia.
  - Mountain_Skies 6y ago
    I too was surprised to see the post that Coke is too sweet compared to Pepsi as I've never heard anyone say or write that before. I've always heard people say Pepsi is sweeter than Coke. Apparently that was one of the main drivers of "New" Coke back in the 80s, to make a sweeter version of Coke to compete with Pepsi, especially the Pepsi Challenge, which rewarded sweetness due to the small sipping size. The person you're responding to may have had a similar lifetime experience and that's why they commented on it. Likely not nefarious, simply an observation on something unexpected.
bluGill 6y ago
What about your kids? There is a long game.
toast0 6y ago
Yeah, Pepsi tried it. They spent their superbowl ad budget one year on charitable causes instead, and maybe reduced their ad budget overall, and they had significantly reduced sales for the year. Restoring their superbowl ads restored their sales.
- usrusr 6y ago
  On this level of brand awareness advertising, the core message is basically "yes, the lights are still on, we still exist". People get used to the ambient level of ads supporting a brand and if it suddenly drops it will negatively affect the product. "They used to be everywhere, have they become sick or what?". A decline in brand awareness advertising will be worse than having never started. The nominal content of the ads is almost irrelevant, to do this job it can be anything from simple "our product is good!" to something benettonesquely edgy.

tgb 6y ago

My pet conspiracy theory is that the tobacco industry tried this in the US by getting the government to ban advertising of tobacco.

daniel-cussen 6y ago
This is a form of collusion with which I have no problem.
- disgruntledphd2 6y ago
  Its not true though, as if it was then they wouldn't spend loads of money where they can still advertise. But they do (and they sponsored F1 for a long time after most advertising was banned) so advertising must have some impact on their sales.
  - tgb 6y ago
    I think my "theory" is false for other reasons, but that they advertise where allowed doesn't contradict any of the theory. They just haven't successfully colluded to get the prisoner's dilemma solved by the local government in those regions and so all still have to defect.

taeric 6y ago

Famously, Coke tried it.

KingMachiavelli 6y ago

Last I checked Pepsi is sweeter than Coke.

ThalesX 6y ago
I wanted to answer with an angry reply but I decided against it, I would however love a little more context to your comment so I can understand. What does it mean? Do you think this person is lying about the taste for some nefarious reason? Do you think they have some condition where they feel sweeter drinks as more bitter? Where and when did you last check? What are the differences between the last check and the previous one?
- lukeschlather 6y ago
  From the Coke and Pepsi websites a 12oz can of Pepsi has 41g of sugars while a 12oz can of Coke has 39g of sugars, so the Pepsi is, objectively, sweeter. Interestingly Pepsi includes both HFCS and sugar, so what the OP describes as "too sweet" might actually be a flavor palate that lacks that bit of sugar in addition to HFCS. (The exact mix is not clear, though Pepsi contains more "CARAMEL COLOR" than sugar so it seems suspiciously like the Pepsi is nutritionally the same as Coke with an extra 2g of sugar in addition to 39g of HFCS.)
  - twic 6y ago
    > objectively, sweeter qualia BTFO
    - ImprobableTruth 6y ago
      The fact that this is downvoted tells me that people here still don't understand qualia.
- Mountain_Skies 6y ago
  I too was surprised to see the post that Coke is too sweet compared to Pepsi as I've never heard anyone say or write that before. I've always heard people say Pepsi is sweeter than Coke. Apparently that was one of the main drivers of "New" Coke back in the 80s, to make a sweeter version of Coke to compete with Pepsi, especially the Pepsi Challenge, which rewarded sweetness due to the small sipping size. The person you're responding to may have had a similar lifetime experience and that's why they commented on it. Likely not nefarious, simply an observation on something unexpected.

bluGill 6y ago

What about your kids? There is a long game.

toast0 6y ago

Yeah, Pepsi tried it. They spent their superbowl ad budget one year on charitable causes instead, and maybe reduced their ad budget overall, and they had significantly reduced sales for the year. Restoring their superbowl ads restored their sales.

usrusr 6y ago
On this level of brand awareness advertising, the core message is basically "yes, the lights are still on, we still exist". People get used to the ambient level of ads supporting a brand and if it suddenly drops it will negatively affect the product. "They used to be everywhere, have they become sick or what?". A decline in brand awareness advertising will be worse than having never started. The nominal content of the ads is almost irrelevant, to do this job it can be anything from simple "our product is good!" to something benettonesquely edgy.