Dear Coca-Cola, stop trying to make us think of Coke Zero as your flagship product

Has anybody else noticed this? Since the sugar-tax was introduced, Coca Cola have begun placing Coke Zero at the forefront of their ads and brand, in the same way they previously did with the real Coca Cola (containing sugar instead of artificial sweeteners). They have Santa drinking Coke Zero, people dancing around drinking Coke Zero, Coke Zero at the front of their advertising with Diet Coke and original Coca Cola to the side etc.

They have also changed the packaging of Coke Zero from being black and silver/white to looking almost the same as the packaging of the real Coca Cola (apart from a black ring around the top of the red can). They are orienting their marketing in such a way that people are gradually being made to feel bad or excessive if they drink the sugar-containing version. People are made to feel that if they want to drink the sugar version they need to "opt out" of drinking the diet version, whereas previously it was the the case that the sugar version was the standard and if you wanted to avoid sugar you then "opted in" to drinking the unsatisfying diet version. Coca-Cola's reaction to the sugar tax, consisting of price increases for sugar-containing drinks and shrinking of serving sizes relative to the size of the diet-drinks, reinforces the sense that you have to go out of your way to choose the sugar version and that you are therefore "behind the times" or gluttonous, making you feel bad.

My prediction is this: In the near-future the original Coca Cola will be sold in a different coloured can (my bet is on white) with the name being amended to something like Coca-Cola Sugar, with health warnings on the can like cigarette packaging has now. Meanwhile, Coke Zero will take up the mantel of the iconic all-red can, while it usurps from it's predecessor the more basic name "Coca-Cola". This would provide a seamless transition for the Coca-Cola company from the pre-internet days of people being ignorant of sugar content/such information not feeling real to them, to the current-age of everyone being an image-conscious know-it-all when it comes to these matters.

It just bugs me that all the comforting junk foods of my youth seem to be disappearing before my eyes. Cereals are having the sugar cut out of them, chocolate is like candle-wax and the only satisfying soft drinks left are Coca-cola, Pepsi and club orange. I miss the days we were all more ignorant and could enjoy junk food without caring about the sugar/calorie-content. I am not that bothered with debates about nanny-state vs letting people do what they want, and as an adult I can (and do) take responsibility for my diet and I expect others, as a rule, to do the same. However, whenever I do want to splash out and enjoy something sugary/satisfying, I want it to taste good and I rue the day the soft-drinks section contains nothing but diet-drinks/reduced-sugar drinks (it's not far off it now).

Larbre34

A) that doesn't come as a surprise to anyone who cares?

Fighting Tao

I’m sure the CEO of Coca-Cola is reading your post right now and going into panic mode.

Larbre34

Larbre34 wrote: »

A) that doesn't come as a surprise to anyone who cares?

A) Yeah exactly, because everyone now is an image conscious know-it-all and Coca Cola factor this into their future plans.

Me, obviously

RacoonQueen

Coke zero tastes nicer anyway.

Fiftyfilthy

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Has anybody else noticed this? Since the sugar-tax was introduced, Coca Cola have begun placing Coke Zero at the forefront of their ads and brand, in the same way they previously did with the real Coca Cola (containing sugar instead of artificial sweeteners). They have Santa drinking Coke Zero, people dancing around drinking Coke Zero, Coke Zero at the front of their advertising with Diet Coke and original Coca Cola to the side etc.

They have also changed the packaging of Coke Zero from being black and silver/white to looking almost the same as the packaging of the real Coca Cola (apart from a black ring around the top of the red can). They are orienting their marketing in such a way that people are gradually being made to feel bad or excessive if they drink the sugar-containing version. People are made to feel that if they want to drink the sugar version they need to "opt out" of drinking the diet version, whereas previously it was the the case that the sugar version was the standard and if you wanted to avoid sugar you then "opted in" to drinking the unsatisfying diet version. Coca-Cola's reaction to the sugar tax, consisting of price increases for sugar-containing drinks and shrinking of serving sizes relative to the size of the diet-drinks, reinforces the sense that you have to go out of your way to choose the sugar version and that you are therefore "behind the times" or gluttonous, making you feel bad.

My prediction is this: In the near-future the original Coca Cola will be sold in a different coloured can (my bet is on white) with the name being amended to something like Coca-Cola Sugar, with health warnings on the can like cigarette packaging has now. Meanwhile, Coke Zero will take up the mantel of the iconic all-red can, while it usurps from it's predecessor the more basic name "Coca-Cola". This would provide a seamless transition for the Coca-Cola company from the pre-internet days of people being ignorant of sugar content/such information not feeling real to them, to the current-age of everyone being an image-conscious know-it-all when it comes to these matters.

It just bugs me that all the comforting junk foods of my youth seem to be disappearing before my eyes. Cereals are having the sugar cut out of them, chocolate is like candle-wax and the only satisfying soft drinks left are Coca-cola, Pepsi and club orange. I miss the days we were all more ignorant and could enjoy junk food without caring about the sugar/calorie-content. I am not that bothered with debates about nanny-state vs letting people do what they want, and as an adult I can (and do) take responsibility for my diet and I expect others, as a rule, to do the same. However, whenever I do want to splash out and enjoy something sugary/satisfying, I want it to taste good and I rue the day the soft-drinks section contains nothing but diet-drinks/reduced-sugar drinks (it's not far off it now).

I’ve noticed this too and share your deepest concerns and worries over this, especially the red can and black ring

Oasis1974

Pretty sure there's still plenty of hardcore junk food still on supermarket shelves. I'm still seeing the crap everywhere. And all the fatties buying it you starting to feel guilty?

branie2

I like Coke Zero

daheff

My bets are in 20+ years time there will be a rake of health scandals around all the artificial sweeteners that replacing sugar in foods caused.

While there is too much sugar(and salt) in today’s foods, just switching to artificial sweeteners isn’t necessarily the right solution

Oasis1974

Oasis1974 wrote: »

Pretty sure there's still plenty of hardcore junk food still on supermarket shelves. I'm still seeing the crap everywhere. And all the fatties buying it you starting to feel guilty?

I see far fewer fat people around nowadays than before, especially among younger people. In fact, I noticed this years before the sugar tax (since around 2013 I'd say); was the tax really necessary? It doesn't even generate that much revenue (€30-40 million per year). Back in the 2000s when I was a teenager, many of my peers were sort of chubby because we drank a lot of sugar, ate a lot of sweets and junk, bread and chips etc. Something changed in the early 2010s that everyone sort of improved their nutrition and it's far less common nowadays to see obviously overweight people these days. I think one factor is an increase in availability of good nutrition from Lidl and Aldi, weening people off frozen beige food. Most teenage/ early 20s lads in particular are gangly and thin now, or else well built. Even if the shelves were full of junk people would be less inclined to eat it now than they once were, in my opinion.

OldMrBrennan83

Just buy the one you want and calm down. It's not like they're putting Zero in the regular cans.

vectorvictor

RacoonQueen wrote: »

Coke zero tastes nicer anyway.

Have to disagree here. It's almost as bad as Fanta i.e. synthetic tasting rubbish

OldMrBrennan83 wrote: »

Just buy the one you want and calm down. It's not like they're putting Zero in the regular cans.

Or are they? #tinfoilhat

freshpopcorn

vectorvictor wrote: »

Have to disagree here. It's almost as bad as Fanta i.e. synthetic tasting rubbish



Or are they? #tinfoilhat

I have no idea how some people think coke and coke zero taste the same.

OldMrBrennan83

freshpopcorn wrote: »

I have no idea how some people think coke and coke zero taste the same.

They don't. It's still ok to prefer either one though.

JohnnyFlash

Club Rock Shandy is the best of the Zero drinks. What they’ve gone and done to Lucozade though is nothing short of a fücking disgrace.

Oasis1974

[Deleted User] wrote: »

I see far fewer fat people around nowadays than before, especially among younger people. In fact, I noticed this years before the sugar tax (since around 2013 I'd say); was the tax really necessary? It doesn't even generate that much revenue (€30-40 million per year). Back in the 2000s when I was a teenager, many of my peers were sort of chubby because we drank a lot of sugar, ate a lot of sweets and junk, bread and chips etc. Something changed in the early 2010s that everyone sort of improved their nutrition and it's far less common nowadays to see obviously overweight people these days. I think one factor is an increase in availability of good nutrition from Lidl and Aldi, weening people off frozen beige food. Most teenage/ early 20s lads in particular are gangly and thin now, or else well built. Even if the shelves were full of junk people would be less inclined to eat it now than they once were, in my opinion.

Another in denial post sorry everything you write is the complete opposite to the truth. I see so many overweight young people now its scary. Kids diets they have now some of them will be lucky to see 50.

freshpopcorn

OldMrBrennan83 wrote: »

They don't. It's still ok to prefer either one though.

I never said it wasn't okay to prefer either.
They ran all these ad campaigns with people in cinema's a few years ago with them ordering a normal coke and then finding out the has coke zero and they were all saying they couldn't tell the difference.

dhaughton99

Can’t say I noticed but I do support your right to a rant.

What I do notice is that Tesco push those smaller 250 ml coke cans a lot. It’s a scam if you ask me.

McMurphy

RacoonQueen wrote: »

Coke zero tastes nicer anyway.

It does, and it replaced original (or classic) Coke in our house years ago, not because of sugar, but because it tastes nicer - period.

My only low point with drinking it came a few years back, and it's something I'll always remember.

I was minding my own business in subway in Portlaoise and ordered a Coke zero with it, when some do gooder nosey fcuk who was behind me began to tell me that I'd be better off with the regular stuff as the zero coke was full of aspartame which could have potentially carcinogenic stuff in it (in his South African accent).

I smiled politely at him, while telling him to go fcuk himself in my mind.

TheValeyard

Now I want coke

















































Nahhhh























Better.

branie2

Coke Zero is my mineral of choice at the cinema this days

Always Tired

RacoonQueen wrote: »

Coke zero tastes nicer anyway.

you're better off drinking it for taste rather than any slimming benefits. the chemicals in zero cause bloating and gas because our bodies can't break them down properly. if you can see coke zero being filled up at a fast food restaurant watch the cup you will see it fizzes and foams up until it overflows while coke will fizz up but not go overflowing.

also it tastes like the backwash of a real Coke.

RacoonQueen

Always Tired wrote: »

you're better off drinking it for taste rather than any slimming benefits. the chemicals in zero cause bloating and gas because our bodies can't break them down properly. if you can see coke zero being filled up at a fast food restaurant watch the cup you will see it fizzes and foams up until it overflows while coke will fizz up but not go overflowing.

also it tastes like the backwash of a real Coke.

I said it tastes nicer. So obviously I'd be drinking it for taste. Why sort of dumbass drinks a soft drink for 'slimming benefits'???

Beechwoodspark

Cadet cola for the win

OldMrBrennan83

RacoonQueen wrote: »

I said it tastes nicer. So obviously I'd be drinking it for taste. Why sort of dumbass drinks a soft drink for 'slimming benefits'???

They took it as a loose opening to give their sermon. When Coke is mentioned you can always be assured a windbag won't be far away to tell us all that like nobody has ever heard it before.

scamalert

my bigger issue is that bottles used to be 2l then it went down to 1.75, 1.5, 1.25 its pure pi$$ take it costs the same and yet i do sort of agree with OP with this nanny state approach it wont be soon before they will put crack head teeth photos on drinks.


government should really fckoff from deciding what people want to eat drink or take.


last night watched short documentary on how in Australia black cigs making market since government charges almost 30$ for packet and their approach was to up the age limit to 25 :cool:
unrelated but this approach of taxation and banning just seems to pocket few up the top who dont give a fck about actual people.

paw patrol

JohnnyFlash wrote: »

What they’ve gone and done to Lucozade though is nothing short of a fücking disgrace.

it should be a crime what they've done.

hopefully this crowd take off

https://www.enerzaid.co.uk/

seem to be remaking old classic drinks.

razorblunt

I actually prefer Coke Zero to any of their other products. They’ve made the cans too similar though

Signore Fancy Pants

Cokers are jokers.

iamwhoiam

Are people honestly influenced by cans and their colours ? I am influenced by my own taste buds .

sk8erboii

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Has anybody else noticed this? Since the sugar-tax was introduced, Coca Cola have begun placing Coke Zero at the forefront of their ads and brand, in the same way they previously did with the real Coca Cola (containing sugar instead of artificial sweeteners). They have Santa drinking Coke Zero, people dancing around drinking Coke Zero, Coke Zero at the front of their advertising with Diet Coke and original Coca Cola to the side etc.

They have also changed the packaging of Coke Zero from being black and silver/white to looking almost the same as the packaging of the real Coca Cola (apart from a black ring around the top of the red can). They are orienting their marketing in such a way that people are gradually being made to feel bad or excessive if they drink the sugar-containing version. People are made to feel that if they want to drink the sugar version they need to "opt out" of drinking the diet version, whereas previously it was the the case that the sugar version was the standard and if you wanted to avoid sugar you then "opted in" to drinking the unsatisfying diet version. Coca-Cola's reaction to the sugar tax, consisting of price increases for sugar-containing drinks and shrinking of serving sizes relative to the size of the diet-drinks, reinforces the sense that you have to go out of your way to choose the sugar version and that you are therefore "behind the times" or gluttonous, making you feel bad.

My prediction is this: In the near-future the original Coca Cola will be sold in a different coloured can (my bet is on white) with the name being amended to something like Coca-Cola Sugar, with health warnings on the can like cigarette packaging has now. Meanwhile, Coke Zero will take up the mantel of the iconic all-red can, while it usurps from it's predecessor the more basic name "Coca-Cola". This would provide a seamless transition for the Coca-Cola company from the pre-internet days of people being ignorant of sugar content/such information not feeling real to them, to the current-age of everyone being an image-conscious know-it-all when it comes to these matters.

It just bugs me that all the comforting junk foods of my youth seem to be disappearing before my eyes. Cereals are having the sugar cut out of them, chocolate is like candle-wax and the only satisfying soft drinks left are Coca-cola, Pepsi and club orange. I miss the days we were all more ignorant and could enjoy junk food without caring about the sugar/calorie-content. I am not that bothered with debates about nanny-state vs letting people do what they want, and as an adult I can (and do) take responsibility for my diet and I expect others, as a rule, to do the same. However, whenever I do want to splash out and enjoy something sugary/satisfying, I want it to taste good and I rue the day the soft-drinks section contains nothing but diet-drinks/reduced-sugar drinks (it's not far off it now).

Jesus christ. Mate you need to see a psychologist ASAP

dark crystal

My taste buds must be dead, as Coke & Coke Zero taste the same to me, as does Lucozade and Lucozade Zero. I like them all, but only drink the zero versions nowadays.


I also have a busybody crystal dangling, salad eating, health freak in work, who yammers on about the evils of sugar and how it's all poison, but especially the fake aspartame sugar. Same miserable witch is the first one up to the table whenever there's free cakes going in the office.


I asked her once which study it was she read that found aspartame to be 'dangerous', but funnily enough, she just muttered something about her faith healer friend saying so.

Capt'n Midnight

Deleted User wrote: »

My prediction is this: In the near-future the original Coca Cola will be sold in a different coloured can (my bet is on white) with the name being amended to something like Coca-Cola Sugar,

You do realise you are predicting the past ?

I can remember "New Coke"

Coca-Cola management was unprepared for the public's nostalgia for the old drink, leading to a backlash. The company gave in to protests and returned to the old formula under the name Coca-Cola Classic, on July 10, 1985.

Except what they returned didn't taste the same. And they lost more than one life long customer.

Today's Coca Cola is one of man fizzy drinks that have caffeine. It's like what happened to Cadbury's a while back. Something that tasted special is now a generic not worth paying a premium for.

ceadaoin.

No nanny state about sugar where I live, classic coke is the main one still. Just had a can of it there, lovely stuff.

I haven't had a diet drink in years, they taste disgusting. And yes, I drink water most of the time, for the couple of times a week that I have a fizzy drink I want sugar! All the nice drinks are ruined in Ireland. Even stuff that isn't labelled as "diet" has sweeteners

Potential-Monke

When I started to live on my own in my early to mid-20s, you could say I was addicted to Coca-Cola. I was drinking anywhere between 2 and 6 litres of the stuff a day. All cans, I'd clean out a 24 pack of cans in a couple of days. Especially on days off. So inevitably, I piled on the weight (along with a simply horrendous diet). Years later and i'm 5 stone overweight. I tried a lot and eventually found a PT that worked with me rather than tell me what to do. I was fairly sick of the weight at this stage, and the PT cost €1500 for 3 months, which was part of the reason I actually kept at it as it was so expensive.

One thing he asked me to do, knowing that I was addicted to it and giving it up wouldn't work, he asked me to change to Coke Zero instead. He didn't ask me to cut back, but suggested it would be a good idea. So I changed. Initially, I hated the stuff, and used to always laugh at the people who would go into a chipper and order a large chip, battered burger and a can of diet coke, as if the diet coke would make a difference. Well, it does. To some degree in that specific situation, but in general it makes a massive difference.

I started to like the taste, and while still nothing could beat an ice-cold can of regular Coca-Cola, the Diet was enough while I was on this 3 months course. At the end of it, I said I'd treat myself to a can of regular coke. I couldn't drink it. It was too syrupy. To this day, I can no longer drink a can of regular coke, and if I somehow manage to get some, it leaves a horrible coating of sugar in my mouth, and tastes horrible in comparison. But, I've also changed from Zero to Diet, and it's actually nicer once you're used to it. Can't drink the Zero or regular now. And considering how much sugar is in the regular, I think Coca-Cola pushing the Diet/Zero is nothing but a positive step.

Yeah, it's got aspartame in it, and maybe there are unknown effects from that yet to be discovered. But taking in moderation, it's a definite improvement over the regular stuff.

AllForIt

OP the whole point of the sugar tax is to force the companies to do something about promoting and selling highly calorific drinks and from what you said that is exactly what they are doing.