Maddison Sullivan-Thorpe

People are still having like two, three coffees a day.

It is surprising when you think about the facts of the fact they're both zero calories, they're both sugar-free, that the higher caffeine is not the one that is more warmly regarded.

Look, we've spoken about dethroning a lot, so let's actually get into it.

Ironically, Diet Coke has been dethroned by Coke Zero with very similar consumer behavior going around.

And we don't want to get into a history lesson, so to speak.

But I do think a few tidbits on the background of kind of how it came to be.

And it was, ironically, the original disruptor before its little sister came and knocked it off its pedestal.

But in 1982, Diet Coke launched and was really revolutionary because it was one of the first drinks marketed around taste, not weight loss, which is ironic given the naming convention.

But Diet Coke's greatest marketing achievement was really attaching itself to the word diet, but broadly in the category still focused so heavily on taste.

I absolutely love that rec and I haven't read it, so I definitely will.

But I think what's so funny about this division for me is that while Diet Coke has undeniably been knocked off by Coke Zero,

This is ultimately the best possible case for their parent company, Coca-Cola, because as we were saying earlier, the debate for such a long time was are you Coca-Cola or are you Pepsi?

And now they have honed in their market so well that we are now debating whether you're Diet Coke or Coke Zero.

And what a beautiful place to be in because guess what?

No matter where your purse strings go, it's all going to Coke.

Yeah, but to challenge that a little bit, I do think so much of what is anchoring us culturally at the moment is a throwback to nostalgia.

Like, even if you look at cigarettes at the moment, we're seeing them everywhere.

It's like Jewelry, but Kylie Jenner, Charlie XCX.

These were things that were very uncool.

We've spent 20, 30 years going, these are terribly bad for you.