Can two marketers really tell the difference between Diet Coke from a can, bottle or McDonald’s fountain? In this bonus episode of The Flynn Effect, Katie Flynn and Heather Riexinger put their taste buds—and brand loyalties—to the test with a blind soda challenge, exploring how much of what we think we prefer comes down to actual taste versus the power of branding, packaging and perception.
View Transcript
[01:00:00:00 – 01:00:05:14]
(Music)
[01:00:05:14 – 01:00:17:20]
Speaker 1
foods anti-vaxxer pipeline is real.
[01:00:17:20 – 01:00:19:17]
Speaker 25
I know. Well, I’m not going down that.
[01:00:19:17 – 01:00:51:19]
Speaker 1
Craig knows I’m right. Vaccines. Good. Yes. Check. Check. We’re still on vaccines. Aspartame. Aspartame. Check. Oh, I felt bad. I made Bob feel bad this morning. Why? I was like, why would I care about the aspartame? I ate lean cuisines out of plastic for the first 10 years of my adolescence. You know what? No, you made him open his eyes. It’s so true. OK. All right, Heather, welcome back to The Flynn Effect. Today is just a fun bonus episode, OK? This is not going to be super long. Although, who knows? Who knows where we could go?
[01:00:52:20 – 01:01:15:15]
Speaker 1
Now, you have definitely seen the Diet Coke Challenge online. People are very good at it. It’s like Chick-fil-A versus Wendy’s versus McDonald’s, fountain sodas, plus cam, plus bottle, whatever. We’re going to do a slightly different tilt on it. And I’m not going to tell you all of the options, because I’m just interested to see. But there are cola-esque things.
[01:01:15:15 – 01:01:16:03]
Speaker 25
OK.
[01:01:16:03 – 01:01:20:07]
Speaker 1
OK, nothing. There’s no vinegar. There’s no crushed up peanuts. It’s fine.
[01:01:21:14 – 01:01:35:09]
Speaker 1
But the question really is, how much does marketing play into this? And even social media, right? In the last couple of years, it’s been like fountain soda is elite McDonald’s, has a different recipe. It’s totally different. Everyone would know.
[01:01:36:12 – 01:01:45:22]
Speaker 1
Or are we all just getting that into our head? And then our eyes are doing the shopping for us. And we say, no way. I don’t want that disgusting bottle. I need to have a fountain drink.
[01:01:46:23 – 01:01:50:07]
Speaker 1
So we’ll see how accurate you are here.
[01:01:52:05 – 01:02:07:05]
Speaker 1
And then we’re going to switch. And you’ll have to shuffle, because I can see yours right now. But I’m interested to see your reactions. I’m interested to see if you– and you’re less of a diet soda connoisseur than I am. But I also don’t want to talk myself up too much, because I just feel like I’m going to get them all wrong.
[01:02:07:05 – 01:02:18:20]
Speaker 25
I know. I want to win so bad. We also– I don’t know if I’m going to be good or bad at this. So I feel like it’s going to change it. I thought that too, when I saw the metal straws. I’m like, ooh. It’s all I had. I think some of it is like the McDonald’s straw is elite too.
[01:02:18:20 – 01:02:26:11]
Speaker 1
Right, but if I gave you a McDonald’s straw, you would know. I would know, yeah. So all right. Well, we’re going to get started. Probably move left to right.
[01:02:26:11 – 01:02:27:03]
Speaker 25
All right.
[01:02:27:03 – 01:02:33:12]
Speaker 1
You don’t have to lock in your guests right away. OK. OK? You can move through the phases of grief.
[01:02:33:12 – 01:02:36:12]
Speaker 25
Get real confident and then change. OK. OK.
[01:02:36:12 – 01:02:43:02]
(Laughter)
[01:02:43:02 – 01:02:44:05]
Speaker 25
OK. Your face.
[01:02:44:05 – 01:02:45:15]
(Laughter)
[01:02:45:15 – 01:02:51:16]
Speaker 25
I felt very certain at first and then not so much. Now I’m like, this is like the awkward.
[01:02:53:17 – 01:02:54:08]
(Laughter)
[01:02:58:12 – 01:02:58:19]
Speaker 25
Oh.
[01:02:58:19 – 01:03:07:23]
(Laughter)
[01:03:07:23 – 01:03:09:02]
Speaker 25
They taste different.
[01:03:10:12 – 01:03:10:12]
(Laughter)
[01:03:10:12 – 01:03:15:21]
Speaker 25
This is so hard. OK, Craig, I’m moving the mic here. Yeah, you got to find your way to
[01:03:15:21 – 01:03:16:08]
Speaker 1
the front.
[01:03:24:01 – 01:03:24:06]
Speaker 25
Yeah.
[01:03:25:23 – 01:03:26:12]
(Laughter)
[01:03:26:12 – 01:03:28:07]
Speaker 1
Walk us through what you’re thinking.
[01:03:30:12 – 01:03:31:21]
Speaker 25
OK, so that one’s totally different.
[01:03:33:23 – 01:03:39:10]
Speaker 25
So this is like a Diet Dr. Pepper or something like that. Delicious.
[01:03:39:10 – 01:03:48:06]
Speaker 1
I do love– by the way, I’m a Diet Coke person, generally speaking. But Diet Dr. Pepper is really– it’s rivaling now for me.
[01:03:48:06 – 01:03:55:02]
Speaker 25
It’s either Diet Dr. Pepper. It’s like a different type of Diet Cola, but it’s delicious. Maybe like a–
[01:03:56:05 – 01:03:58:13]
Speaker 25
not Diet Dr. Pepper, like a Diet Pepsi
[01:04:00:12 – 01:04:00:21]
Speaker 25
with
[01:04:02:04 – 01:04:05:23]
Speaker 25
cherry. OK. It tastes like it has a little cherry or something in it. OK.
[01:04:08:21 – 01:04:13:16]
Speaker 25
That is bottled or canned of some sort, because I feel like it’s more fizzy.
[01:04:15:02 – 01:04:15:13]
Speaker 25
I don’t know.
[01:04:15:13 – 01:04:25:12]
(Laughter)
[01:04:26:18 – 01:04:51:02]
Speaker 25
This one is not Diet Coke. It’s like a different diet something. OK. So it’s either like– I don’t know. It doesn’t taste like Diet Coke to me. It tastes like a diet soda of some other kind. OK. But I don’t know that I can definitively other than that I don’t think that this first one’s fountain. OK. But that’s like my– All right, make a guess. OK, let’s try.
[01:04:53:08 – 01:04:59:04]
Speaker 25
I’m trying to watch Craig’s face to see if I can– No. No, because now the more that I drink that one, then I think that
[01:05:02:14 – 01:05:07:01]
Speaker 25
it’s still fizzing. So that one’s like a can. I think this one’s like Diet Coke in a can. OK.
[01:05:07:01 – 01:05:11:23]
(Music Playing)
[01:05:11:23 – 01:05:15:12]
Speaker 25
That one might be Coke Zero or something like that.
[01:05:20:15 – 01:05:26:05]
Speaker 25
That one just tastes flat. OK. Maybe it kind of tastes like McDonald’s. So–
[01:05:30:21 – 01:05:33:01]
(Laughter)
[01:05:33:01 – 01:05:34:13]
Speaker 1
Craig, what does that sound like?
[01:05:35:21 – 01:05:38:05]
Speaker 25
And then this one is like a bottle or something.
[01:05:38:05 – 01:05:40:21]
Speaker 1
OK. You ready for– How bad am I? Very bad.
[01:05:40:21 – 01:05:46:08]
Speaker 25
OK. Ready for the big reveal? The big reveal is the one that I said tasted flat as McDonald’s. What did you say? Which one’s the favorite?
[01:05:46:08 – 01:05:47:21]
Speaker 1
Yeah, what is your favorite?
[01:05:47:21 – 01:05:49:20]
Speaker 25
I think this one’s my favorite.
[01:05:49:20 – 01:05:51:10]
Speaker 1
Well, OK, take that one out of it.
[01:05:51:10 – 01:05:53:10]
Speaker 25
Take that one out because it is different. Because it is different.
[01:05:55:02 – 01:06:00:20]
Speaker 25
I would say probably this middle one is the one that I would favor. The flat one.
[01:06:00:20 – 01:06:01:11]
Speaker 1
The flat one.
[01:06:03:12 – 01:06:08:19]
Speaker 1
Diet Coke cherry. OK. So you knew. Yeah. Diet Coke can.
[01:06:08:19 – 01:06:10:14]
Speaker 25
OK. That one I–
[01:06:10:14 – 01:06:12:11]
Speaker 1
McDonald’s. OK.
[01:06:13:15 – 01:06:22:02]
Speaker 1
Diet Pepsi. Oh. You didn’t even differentiate between those for a sale. No, I didn’t. And the last one is Diet Coke and a bottle. OK.
[01:06:23:09 – 01:06:29:05]
Speaker 1
All right. So you figured out McDonald’s eventually. Yeah, I did figure out McDonald’s. Which one was the worst?
[01:06:31:11 – 01:06:33:00]
Speaker 25
I would say probably this one.
[01:06:33:00 – 01:06:34:16]
Speaker 1
That Diet Coke and a can.
[01:06:34:16 – 01:06:40:09]
Speaker 1
rank them if just asked, bottle is worse in my eyes.
[01:06:40:09 – 01:06:40:20]
Speaker 25
Yeah.
[01:06:42:14 – 01:06:52:15]
Speaker 25
So it is funny because on the first taste of the McDonald’s, I was like, hmm. And then as I tasted them all more, I kind of like the flatter one.
[01:06:54:02 – 01:07:01:14]
Speaker 25
But that’s part of why I don’t– I wonder if I’m going to be able to tell now. But the thing is, I don’t like– I’m not a bottled soda to me.
[01:07:01:14 – 01:07:05:12]
Speaker 1
Is the lowest? Yeah. I think those go flat so fast. Yeah.
[01:07:05:12 – 01:07:08:12]
Speaker 25
So what– yeah, Pepsi. I’m not– but that’s the thing.
[01:07:08:12 – 01:07:10:15]
Speaker 1
You can’t tell between Diet Coke and Diet Pepsi?
[01:07:10:15 – 01:07:12:07]
Speaker 25
Diet Coke and Pepsi, I don’t have–
[01:07:13:07 – 01:07:18:19]
Speaker 25
if I’m at a restaurant and they say, no, it’s Diet Pepsi, that doesn’t matter to me. Where I know a lot of people, that actually matters.
[01:07:18:19 – 01:07:23:08]
Speaker 1
It does matter to me. To me, it doesn’t. I could tell yesterday I went to New York Beer Project. I asked for a Diet Coke with a lime.
[01:07:24:12 – 01:07:38:23]
Speaker 1
No, it was a Pepsi. Mm-mm. Mm-mm. Now, actually, I’m going to have to go look on the menu. It probably is Coke products, but– That’s fine. All right, lady, we’re going to reset. All right. I know what the options are, so I’ll probably be better than you. But let’s do it.
[01:07:39:06 – 01:07:40:12]
Speaker 25
All right. OK.
[01:07:40:12 – 01:07:45:23]
Speaker 1
It’s your turn, girl. Let me go. We’re just going to dive right in. Right. Hopefully you do better than I did.
[01:07:51:02 – 01:07:54:04]
Speaker 25
Shit. It’s harder than it seems, right?
[01:08:01:06 – 01:08:02:05]
Speaker 1
That tastes like Pepsi.
[01:08:10:05 – 01:08:11:08]
Speaker 1
I think that’s McDonald’s.
[01:08:14:16 – 01:08:16:16]
Speaker 1
In
[01:08:22:07 – 01:08:23:19]
Speaker 1
fact, that might be Diet Coke in a can.
[01:08:29:08 – 01:08:36:05]
Speaker 25
Cherry. Yeah. I just kept it in the same spot. I was like, just we weren’t even going to try and move this one. So I said, Cherry.
[01:08:37:11 – 01:08:40:17]
Speaker 25
Can. McDonald’s. McDonald’s. You said can.
[01:08:40:17 – 01:08:45:08]
Speaker 1
Can. Pepsi. So that would make this bottle. Hold on. Let me distinguish the name bottle and can.
[01:08:50:21 – 01:08:54:14]
Speaker 1
I think that’s bottle. It’s either bottle or can, but
[01:08:54:14 – 01:08:57:12]
Speaker 25
I’m going bottle. What’s your favorite?
[01:08:57:12 – 01:09:02:05]
Speaker 1
Well, this one is the most effervescent. OK.
[01:09:04:18 – 01:09:07:04]
Speaker 1
But I don’t dislike this.
[01:09:07:04 – 01:09:08:00]
Speaker 3
OK.
[01:09:08:00 – 01:09:14:01]
Speaker 25
Interesting. OK. Tell me what it is. So the first one is the McDonald’s. Really? Yeah.
[01:09:15:06 – 01:09:16:15]
Speaker 25
And the middle one
[01:09:16:15 – 01:09:21:12]
Speaker 1
is the can. The can. OK. I drink cans a lot. So that would make sense that I like that.
[01:09:21:12 – 01:09:27:04]
Speaker 25
Pepsi you obviously got right. And then bottle is the one. So that’s actually the bottle.
[01:09:27:04 – 01:09:28:11]
Speaker 3
Wow.
[01:09:28:11 – 01:09:29:07]
Speaker 25
You liked it.
[01:09:29:07 – 01:09:33:12]
Speaker 1
Whoa. Yeah, this didn’t taste good. Yeah, McDonald’s.
[01:09:33:12 – 01:09:35:06]
Speaker 25
It’s kind of flat today.
[01:09:39:17 – 01:09:45:23]
Speaker 25
I’ll still drink it. Yeah. I feel like the McDonald’s, the situation might be like some of the ice melted.
[01:09:45:23 – 01:09:49:22]
Speaker 1
It got watered down. But this one tastes– what was this one? That’s the can.
[01:09:53:02 – 01:09:56:20]
Speaker 1
Yeah, that one’s really bubbly. It’s definitely– it hasn’t gotten flat at all.
[01:09:56:20 – 01:09:57:01]
Speaker 3
Yeah.
[01:09:57:01 – 01:10:10:19]
Speaker 25
No. OK. You got Pepsi though. The face immediately. Well, I can tell you something. I don’t like Pepsi. So that is true. Because I could not distinguish– I could not distinguish between Pepsi and Coke. So you instantly disliked it. It’s sweeter.
[01:10:12:08 – 01:10:21:06]
Speaker 25
Well, it’s a different sweetener. It is? Yeah. It’s not aspartame. It’s like super loose or something. Trash. I like–
[01:10:21:06 – 01:10:22:17]
(Laughter)
[01:10:23:17 – 01:10:38:09]
Speaker 1
I like aspartame. I like Diet Coke, Diet Dr. Pepper. Yeah, delicious. And Dr. Pepper Zero. But also, have you tried the Canada Dry Ginger Ale Fruit Splash Zero Sugar Cherry? No, I have not.
[01:10:39:11 – 01:10:57:10]
Speaker 1
Well, you’re missing out. I’ll bring you one in. They are so good. But you have to buy the Zero Sugar because when I was freshly postpartum, I accidentally bought a case of the non-Sugar Zero Sugar version. It’s like 37 grams of sugar per can. It was so good. It’s like a Shirley Temple.
[01:10:57:10 – 01:11:01:18]
Speaker 25
That’s what it tastes like. They do make a 7-Up Shirley Temple.
[01:11:01:18 – 01:11:11:05]
Speaker 1
Yes, I don’t like that. It was terrible. No, no, no. This is much more accurate. It tastes like actual grenadine, in my opinion. So I mean, moral of the story,
[01:11:14:13 – 01:11:23:08]
Speaker 1
there is some real truth to the difference in the brand. But medium to medium, in terms of container, that’s a taffer game.
[01:11:23:08 – 01:11:42:09]
Speaker 25
That’s a way tougher game. And I think what would be really interesting is if you started to pull in the store brands and stuff– Right, like a cola. Like a diet cola. Like Shasta. Can we tell the difference? What’s a Shasta? I don’t know. It’s one of the brands. Oh, all right. Well, next time. Next time, we’re going to have great value in Shasta.
[01:11:44:16 – 01:11:55:04]
Speaker 1
All right, Haber. Well, thank you. Thank you for this fun little game. We will continue– oh, by the way, somebody from the Coke creative team responded to our clip last time we were
[01:11:55:04 – 01:12:01:00]
(Music)
