There are two kinds of people in this world: thosewho love Diet Coke and thosewho don’t. It’s a real “if you know, you know” situation—it’s impossible to describe to those who find it flavorlesswhat makes the drink so enjoyable, but if you’re a part of the DC cult, you don’t have to explain a thing to your brethren. And it’s because of that all-in fandom that the drink has喜欢40 years of consistent success.
My taste for Diet Coke didn’t come until later in life, and the cravings came at a strange time. Seven years ago while going through chemotherapy, I suddenly felt a twinge in my tongue, one that was yearning for a sharp and metallic drink. I had never been a fan of diet sodas and in fact preferred an ice-cold regular Coca-Colafrom a glass bottle over everything. But there in my moment of medical distress, the only thing that could satisfy me was Diet Coke straight out of the can. While my health has far improved since then, my Diet Coke lust has only gotten worse.
I know that“sharp and metallic” isn’t anappetizing description of its flavor. I know that soda, even the diet kind,is “bad”for me. I know that The Coca-Cola Companyhas likely done somevery distasteful things. YetI sip on the stuff any chance I get, and I am far from alone.
The origins of diet soda
The first diet soda hit the market in 1952, a beverage called No-Cal that was created as an alternative for people with diabetes or cardiovascular problems,Fast Company explains. But once Kim Novak stepped in as the celebrity spokesperson, it became seen as the drink of dieters. By 1958, Diet-Rite Cola was released byRoyal Crown,and soon diet sodas were all the rage.
Coca-Cola had尝试to enter this growing销售几个不同的时间before landing on Diet Coke. That’s partially because it took a while for executives to allow the brandname to be “tainted” with a potentially less popular, less tasty drink. In 1963,Tab, which mimicked the flavor of cola, was released, then in 1966 Fresca hit the marketand rose to popularity as a low-cal grapefruit soda. It wasn’t until 1982 that Diet Coke arrived onthe scene.BuzzFeed notesthat the introduction of this productmarked one major difference in the diet soda space: Suddenly thedrink was no longer exclusivelyfor women on diets.This soda was for everyone, and the marketing skewed heavily toward getting men on the diet soda train.
The stars who helped popularize Diet Coke
Previous Coca-Cola advertising focused on abstract characters, like the Christmas polar bears, to sell the product. Butaccording to BuzzFeed, with Diet Coke came the company’s full force push into celebrity endorsements. Hoping to appeal to men, theCoca-Cola Company tapped the likes ofJudd Hirsch, Phil Esposito, and Evander Holyfield to rep the brand. This approach caused the soda to infiltrate Hollywood, and by 1988The New York Timeswas calling Diet Cokethe film industry’s “drink of choice,” reporting that, among others,Jeffrey Katzenberg,chairman of Walt Disney Pictures, wasdrinking 12 cans of Diet Coke a day.
In 1996, Diet Coke tapped the stars ofFriendsto reach a new generation of soda drinkers,who had more or less fallen off the diet soda trend. It surged once again,and by 2011 Diet Coke beat out regular Pepsi as the #2 soda in the country.
While Diet Coke might now be up against thepopularityLa Croix和公众的起泡水品牌increasingdistaste forthe word “diet,”the beveragestill seems to dominate the pop culture conversation. Over the years plenty of famous people have gushed about their love for Diet Coke—fashion designerKarl Lagerfeld admittedto drinking 10 cans of Diet Coke a day,The Real Housewives of Salt Lake Citycast member Lisa Barlow israrely shown on screen without a Diet Coke在她的手中，今年早些时候discovered that Ben Affleck has a Diet Coke soda fountainin his home.
This year,in honor of its 40th anniversary,Diet Coke挖了Kate Mossas creative director of the brand, and Moss has drawn从她自己的时尚档案中的灵感来设计一系列限量版罐头. It feels like an attempt to return Diet Coke to its roots as somethingthat’s seenmore as a trendyaccessory than a drink. But for those who love it, Diet Coke doesn’t need to do anything flashy to keep us coming back for more. Even as the drink’s global popularity ebbs and flows, theDiet Coke diehardswill always keep drinking it, no matter what the can looks like or who’S鹰。为了我们，Diet Coke is forever.