The Pepsi vs. Cola-Cola Experiment

What tastes better in a blind test? Pepsi or Coke?

Did you know in the 1970s, Pepsi ran blind taste tests to promote its products? This was a marketing campaign led by the infamous marketing man John Sculley, who was later hired by Steve Jobs to become Apple CEO.

The goal here was to prove that Pepsi tastes better than its rival Coke in a blind taste test.?

The setup was simple. Every participant was given two unmarked cups, one containing Pepsi and Coke in the other. So, nobody can see what brand they’re tasting.?

Unsurprisingly though, in these tests, most participants preferred the taste of Pepsi over Coca-Cola.?

These test results gave birth to a taste-based challenge against Coke’s supremacy called The Pepsi Challenge.?

This wasn’t a one-time event.?

Pepsi ran these tests for commercials featuring real people taking real tests. The tests weren’t staged & set up in public spaces like shopping malls, both showing its honesty and making it interactive to the public.?

The commercials were aired under its iconic tagline ‘Take The Pepsi Challenge’ making the Pepsi fans feel like rebels. ?

Ultimately, The Pepsi Challenge became the cornerstone of Pepsi’s marketing for years to come.?

However, research done in 2004 by a couple of neurologists revealed a fascinating twist.

This time, participants were given two samples of the same cola beverage, but one was labeled Pepsi & the other was labeled Coke. While they drink, researchers studied their brain activities through fMRI scans.?

Remember, these two samples were just the same, and the labels were fake.

What they discovered here is that even though it was the exact same beverage, the vast majority of participants preferred the ‘Coke’ labeled sample over the other.

Researchers explain that the Coke brand label triggered the medial prefrontal cortex of participants' brains, a region associated with memory, reward & emotion more than Pepsi.?

This phenomenon happens because of the ‘perception bias’. This is where someone’s preconceptions shape how they see a product?—?regardless of its ‘actual’ qualities.?

The thing is in real life, most people aren’t blind. When they drink a Coke they know it's a Coke before they drink ‘em.

You don’t market to blind people or logical beings who don’t have any biases in their minds. That’s why the exact same product marketed under different brands could have vastly different results.?

This is why the thing called ‘brand’ is critical in business.

In this case, the Coke brand has a great emotional appeal in the market. It’s the most recognizable brand in the whole wide world.

They built that appeal by carefully crafting their brand storytelling revolving around emotions like happiness. Iconic campaigns like ‘Share A Coke’ & ‘Open Happiness’ are great examples of that.

The Coca-Cola Company made Coke something bigger than soda.?

You don’t pay $2.60 just for a generic bottle of soda, you pay that for a bottle of Coke. Coca-Cola doesn’t sell soda. They sell a feeling.?

You don’t pay extra just for a commodity, you pay extra for an emotional experience you get.?

Even when you get to know that the taste isn’t much different from all cola brands, you would still pay a premium for a cola that has a better brand appeal.?

That’s why even though Pepsi tastes better than Coke, Coke is in an enviable position still dominating the entire soda market.?

So remember, no matter what level your business is at, prioritize your brand over everything.?

That’s what you truly own in the long term.