Re:Why Coke beat Pepsi for the last 100+ years
by Gibbon on Tuesday July 28, 2009 @01:09PM
(#728288)
The graphic is complete and totally wrong. The coca-cola script logo has been refined and extended numerous times over the years and they also use the sans-serif "Coke" logo on many of their products.
Add in all the other brands, sub-brands and line extensions and you'll see that coke is just as much of a mess as pepsi is.
Re:Why Coke beat Pepsi for the last 100+ years
by ErrantX on Tuesday July 28, 2009 @01:17PM
(#728309)
Anyone got some commentary on the realistic reasons Coke have beaten Pepsi regularly?
Though actually here in the UK coke/pepsi seem to have different markets - Coke rules the shop shelves whilst Pepsi seems to be the pub/cafe soft drink choice (i.e. the ones in the pumps etc. it's all Pepsi here in the UK)
Re:Why Coke beat Pepsi for the last 100+ years
by philwelch on Tuesday July 28, 2009 @02:04PM
(#728417)
Distribution is a big part of it--Coke got some valuable partnerships early on (including McDonalds) and was among the first companies to use vending machines.
Re:Why Coke beat Pepsi for the last 100+ years
by hyperbovine on Tuesday July 28, 2009 @01:58PM
(#728407)
Actually, yes.
Pepsi is noticeably sweeter and has less carbonation.
I know it sounds silly to complain about soda being too sweet, but that's my knock against Pepsi. My favorite cola of all time is the Coke knockoff they sell in Cuba, which tastes like it has about half the sugar of the real thing--presumably because it is so scarce there. Real cane sugar too.
Re:Why Coke beat Pepsi for the last 100+ years
by philwelch on Tuesday July 28, 2009 @02:18PM
(#728462)
Ha. According to a story I read somewhere, we have none other than Che Guevara to thank for that:
Che once threatened managers of the Coca-Cola plant in Cuba, because its drinks tasted lousy after the plant was nationalized and its operators fled with the secret formula for the Real Thing.
The story goes that he was challenged about drinking Coke while sitting on a stack of several cases. Wasn’t the company a "capitalist octopus"?
"Yes," he supposedly replied. "But in a hot climate, the people must have their Coca-Cola.
Re:Why Coke beat Pepsi for the last 100+ years
by biohacker42 on Tuesday July 28, 2009 @01:23PM
(#728329)
I red somewhere that in England doing things "the french way" mean doing them backwards or opposite of usual. Switching games or sports rules was known as playing french. This was allegedly due to British vs French empire rivalry
Re:Why Coke beat Pepsi for the last 100+ years
by iron_ball on Tuesday July 28, 2009 @02:14PM
(#728447)
I think using exotic or rival nationalities to "reverse" something is a common linguistic device -- in grade school, giving someone "cuts" meant letting them in the line before you, giving "Chinese cuts" meant letting them in behind you.
Re:Why Coke beat Pepsi for the last 100+ years
by bmelton on Tuesday July 28, 2009 @01:30PM
(#728344)
If I am not mistaken, they quit using 'cocaine' in the recipe sometime in the VERY early 1900s, though I believe they're still using coca leaves in the product.
I suspect that there are no people who have tasted the original, cocaine-infused Coca-Cola that are still alive today, so I doubt it contributes to its market superiority.
Re:Why Coke beat Pepsi for the last 100+ years
by philwelch on Tuesday July 28, 2009 @02:12PM
(#728442)
Stepan Company, a Coca-Cola contractor, has I believe the only U.S. license to import coca leaves and extract all of the cocaine from them. The cocaine is then sold to Mallinckrodt Incorporated, the only American company permitted to supply cocaine or cocaine-derived pharmaceuticals.
Coca-Cola never had cocaine added as an ingredient, only whatever remained in the leaves.
http://www.namedevelopment.com/blog/archives/new-coke-1.gif
Add in all the other brands, sub-brands and line extensions and you'll see that coke is just as much of a mess as pepsi is.
In other words, Pepsi optimized for the benchmarks, Coke optimized for a real-world use case.
Though actually here in the UK coke/pepsi seem to have different markets - Coke rules the shop shelves whilst Pepsi seems to be the pub/cafe soft drink choice (i.e. the ones in the pumps etc. it's all Pepsi here in the UK)
Have you done a blind taste test?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wine_tasting#Blind_tasting
Pepsi is noticeably sweeter and has less carbonation.
I know it sounds silly to complain about soda being too sweet, but that's my knock against Pepsi. My favorite cola of all time is the Coke knockoff they sell in Cuba, which tastes like it has about half the sugar of the real thing--presumably because it is so scarce there. Real cane sugar too.
Che once threatened managers of the Coca-Cola plant in Cuba, because its drinks tasted lousy after the plant was nationalized and its operators fled with the secret formula for the Real Thing.
The story goes that he was challenged about drinking Coke while sitting on a stack of several cases. Wasn’t the company a "capitalist octopus"?
"Yes," he supposedly replied. "But in a hot climate, the people must have their Coca-Cola.
EDIT : 59.5% Pepsi for 25% Coke.
I suspect that there are no people who have tasted the original, cocaine-infused Coca-Cola that are still alive today, so I doubt it contributes to its market superiority.
Coca-Cola never had cocaine added as an ingredient, only whatever remained in the leaves.