[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).
Larbre34 wrote: » A) that doesn't come as a surprise to anyone who cares?
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