Coke vs. Pepsi

I have never taken the Pepsi challenge. Why? Because I never needed to. I am a Coke fan, through and through. I've always liked Coke, and I always will like Coke. Taking the Pepsi challenge would only confirm what I already know. Coke is the right choice for me.

This past March I took the Newman-O's challenge. Newman-O's is the Organic response to the Oreo. I know what you're thinking, "What?!" And that's what I thought. I mean really, an Organic Oreo? What were they thinking? Still, I humored the person who offered it to me. Needless to say, I won that challenge. As predicted, there still is and can only be one Oreo.

So out of sheer know-it-all-ness, I've never done a blind test with Coke and Pepsi. I have however done a sighted test and I do notice a distinct difference in taste between the two colas. Pepsi is good, don't get me wrong. Its nice and refreshing... if there are no other alternatives. But Coke... Oh man, Coke has that extra something. You know? Slightly richer in taste. More carbonated. Just better. I can't quite put my finger on it. I just know it tastes better.


Today I had to read an academic paper for my Behavioral Economics class that reported the results of a Coke-Pepsi blind taste test experiment. Of course I knew where this was headed but I read on, mainly because it was for class and I had to.

As it turns out, the die-hard Coke fans, such as myself, couldn't really tell the difference. When I finished the paper, I got to thinking...


Do we do experiments to see if kids can tell the difference when you replace their favorite stuffed animal Binky with another one that looks just like it? And then once they've played with the impostor for a few weeks we go, "HAH! That's not Binky! You idiot! That's Binky's twin from Toys R Us!! Had you going there for a minute didn't we?!"

No, we don't do that. Why? Aside from the obvious - It would be really mean and possibly psychologically damaging - We don't do that because if a child wants to form a deep connection with a stuffed animal and assign it a persona, who the heck are we to dictate otherwise?

My point being, these futile attempts to convince me that there is no difference between Coke and Pepsi are not going to work. I've made up my mind. I made it up when I was seven and saw cute little polar bears with red scarves drinking it in the snow. You can blind test me all you want. But when that blindfold comes off, there's only one cola I'm going to reach for, and it sure as heck won't be Pepsi.