The Cola War
I always assumed that the world was divided into two silent sides of a war. You know: The Coke Drinkers vs. The Pepsi Drinkers. I am a staunch Coke drinker. When I go to a restaurant and they serve Pepsi, I drink water or iced tea. We go to AMC theaters as opposed to Harkins because they have Coke. I have never once bought Pepsi in the store. And when I’m at my parents’ house (Pepsi drinkers!) I choose to drink Mesa tap water instead, mysterious floating things and all. I don’t have anything against Pepsi drinkers, mind you, I just don’t understand them.
I thought everyone was like me. Turns out they’re not. For my Strategy in Business class last night we did a case study (oh the dreaded case studies!) on the Cola Wars. To get us to be interactive, the teacher had us take a taste challenge reminiscent of the Pepsi Challenge. There were three to taste: Coke, Pepsi, and a generic. I got them right without using a single brain cell. I was one of FOUR out of fifty who got it right. How can that be?
When I raised my hand to point out the obvious that there are Coke Drinkers, and there are Pepsi Drinkers, and we all feel strongly about our drinks, the whole class looked at me like I was crazy. For the rest of the discussion people kept referring to me in this context: “For the most part consumers, except Amanda, do ”
So who’s with me? Who out there can’t live without their Diet Coke in the morning? Who chooses McDonald’s for a hangover because you can get a syrupy fountain Coke at 6 in the morning? Who else thinks Pepsi rots your teeth by the end of the can? Anyone?
