The “Manly” Diet Soda: Pepsi Max
Women drink Diet Coke and Diet Pepsi; men drink Coke Zero and Pepsi Max, aka the diet sodas without the word “diet” in the name. Since diets are for girls!
Feminist blogs such as The Gender Bender Blog and I Blame the Patriarchy both talk about the dieting-is-for-girls sexism inherent in these ads, but I wonder about it from the size acceptance perspective as well. If we don’t like the word “diet” in the first place, but still enjoy low- or no-calorie cola, would we be more likely to drink the man-branded sodas like Coke Zero and Pepsi Max?
The only times I really drink soda are if I’m at the movies or eating a Subway sandwich, and in both cases my preference is Diet Coke with a splash of Cherry Coke or unsweetened iced tea with lemon. But of course, most places don’t have Pepsi Max or Coke Zero on tap anyway. Do you drink cola, diet or otherwise? Which one is your favorite? Is it based on taste, gender, flavor, availability…or something else?
Posted by mo pie
Filed under: Advertising, Advocacy, Diet Talk Warning, Feminism, Media, Personal
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I drink normal soda but not often, I will if out to eat and they don’t have tasty unsweetened iced tea (I add my own sugar to this too or if it is really tasty drink it without.) or if I have company over I buy it.
I get physically ill from artificial sweetners, not hospital sick but I can’t leave the house or comfort of my bathroom for the rest of the day after it sick so I avoid it at all costs.
My favorite soda is Coke. I like the flavor the way the caffeine in it saved my backside during long shifts when I was doing security work and the adorable commercials they had awhile back with the polar bears.
Seriously, who could say no to a soda with a cute animal on it?
OK, I would if it would if it made me live in my bathroom….but other than that, cute wins.
I don’t drink soda often but when I do, it’s coke. Or cherry coke. Or vanilla coke. If I keep soda in the house, it’s sprite, because I have a youngin’ that isn’t allowed caffeine.
I cannot drink diet soda. The artificial sweeteners taste like crap to me and do funny things to my belly.
I don’t drink it often either so when I do I make it a splurge and drink the full octane stuff. Coke is usually the only one I’ll drink.
I really like Coke Zero – regular sodas are too sweet for me since I switched to diet a long time ago. I had no idea Coke Zero was supposed to be geared towards men, though. I wonder if these ad agencies have considered that a lot of women aren’t into the “diet” word anymore either or that women (who are so inclined) might want to save some calories for bacon, or cupcakes, or whatever. That’s what gets me about the Pepsi ad – the fact that I can’t imagine an ad geared toward women that’s so free of guilt and acknowledges that you’re “allowed” to have stuff like bacon.
We don’t get the same advertising over here so i didn’t realize i was drinking the manly diet soda. Oops! I prefer Coke Zero because it tastes more like real coke. I’ll drink diet pepsi or diet coke at restaurants but at home it’s all coke zero.
I didn’t drink soda very often growing up and just never developed a taste for it, but if I’m eating in a restaurant I will sometimes have a Diet Coke with my meal (I don’t drink alcohol). I’m not keen on “diet” versions of foods as a rule, but ordinary Coke tastes uncomfortably sugary to me.
I drink a lot of soda, because I love that burn at the back of your throat when you gulp it down.
What I really love is carbonated water with a bit of fruit flavouring but no sweetener. Its widely available in the States, but not at all here in Canada.
I got used to diet soda back in the old days, and the sugared versions are less refreshing (sugar makes you thirsty). I also avoid caffeine in the evenings, which is when I drink soda, so Fresca, Diet A&W Root Beer and Caffeine Free Diet Coke are my poisons.
As for Pepsi Max, I think women ought to start referring to it as Pepsi Maxipads, just to kill the machismo.
I will never knock someone for drinking large amounts of soda, as Mt. Dew got me through some really tough times. I used to live in Mountain Dew. That was when I was commuting 1 1/2 hours (one way) to and from work. So I spent 3 hours in the car, on top of the 8-10 hours of my shift. On top of that, I was also in school at the time. Graduating and getting a job closer to home helped me kick my caffeine addiction. Now, I drink water or iced decaf green tea. Once in a great while, I will have a Diet Coke if out to eat, but I find it tastes like syrup. Ick!
I can’t stand the aftertaste of regular diet soda, but Coke Zero isn’t bad at all. The first time I tried it was at a Wendy’s. It was a hot day and at that point, anything wet would have been good.
But if I want a soda, I’ll stick with the regular stuff, my favorite being cherry cola or the caffeine-free. I’ve been getting the Wal-Mart brand lately, because it’s cheap (78 cents for a 2 liter) and I can barely taste the difference between theirs and Coke/Pepsi.
If you’re not a dieter and you’re drinking diet soda, I guess you’d do it because you like the taste of artificial sweeteners? I can’t imagine that, as I think they taste nasty (and I don’t quite get why you’d want to drink a chemical in place of sugar for any reason other than dieting that places a higher premium on looks than health effects). The “save the calories for bacon” is dieting, with or without the word.
Like Trabb’s Boy, I like soda water/seltzer (carbonated water) with flavors but no sweetener at all.
I LOVE Coke Zero! If it’s not available, I’ll drink regular Coke, but never Diet Coke.
For the record, the only restaurant I have found that has Coke Zero on tap is Chick-Fil-A. Unfortunately, I’m so in love with their sweet tea that I never drink it.
Oh, well, being a man, I only drink the most manly of sodas. That’s why I drink ManSoda™, made from 100% man-friendly ingredients.
Peace,
Shannon
I recently stopped drinking soda because I’ve discovered it makes me feel like I drank battery acid. However, if I do, I’ll drink regular (preferably Dr. Pepper) because I also discovered I really HATE diet sodas and think they taste like chemicals and only drank them because I thought I was supposed to and it would make me thinner!
Pass the sweet tea, please (unsweetened tea doesn’t exist in the South).
I don’t drink soda anymore. But when I did, it was certainly not because of gender based advertising. It was always regular pepsi since both my mother and I have a sensitivity to aspartame.
Coke Zero fan. It’s available on tap at Five Guys burgers. OMGAWESOME. As in the ad above, I get the calorie-free pop so I can have more of their excellent fries. Water just doesn’t round out the burger-and-fries picture like something fizzy and sweet does.
Because their portions are huge, we look like dieters when we place our order: Two small burgers, one regular order of fries to split, one Coke Zero for me while he goes sans-drink. We’re not dieting, that’s just the right amount to be satisfied without feeling grossly over-full.
Diet Sprite is really my beverage of choice, but that’s on tap even less often than Cherry Coke; so usually I end up with Diet Coke (or ew Diet Pepsi).
I admit it’s for the zero calorie factor. Because “diet-ing” or not, we only get so many calories to use in a day and I’d rather not spend them on a can of coke!
My husband has type 2 diabetes and drinks diet coke. He hates coke zero, says it tastes crappy. I prefer diet dr pepper. Neither of us is dieting, but he doesn’t need the carbs from the HFCS in regular coke, and I don’t need it either (the artificial sweeteners don’t seem to bother me much). I’ve been drinking diet soda for the last 20 years and I’ve found that of all the ones I’ve tried, I like diet dr pepper the best (DH likes diet coke and diet mountain dew the best, but he drinks diet coke 99% of the time).
Ugh, Coke Zero is dire stuff. Maybe it’s because we actually get cola made with sugar across here, but it just tastes so flat and chemical and wrong. All diet drinks are pretty much spew-worthy, actually – come on folks, it’s soda pop, it’s not going to be good for you in any case; let’s not kid ourselves on here. So if I’m not drinking sparkling mineral water BECAUSE I LIKE IT, there’s a good chance I’ll be glugging down something caffeinated and sugary, Irn Bru being my bright orange poison of choice (made from girders! Ads take the piss out of High School Musical! Gotta love it.)
Diet coke advertising must be working on some subliminal level here though, because so many women order shorts of alcohol with a can of Diet Coke, like the Diet Coke somehow makes it more virtuous to get steamin’ drunk and pass out in someone’s window box. Oh, I am a grumpy old git these days…
If you’re not a dieter and you’re drinking diet soda, I guess you’d do it because you like the taste of artificial sweeteners? I can’t imagine that, as I think they taste nasty (and I don’t quite get why you’d want to drink a chemical in place of sugar for any reason other than dieting that places a higher premium on looks than health effects).
Pre-diabetes, and I guess I prefer the taste of chemicals – yum.
The “save the calories for bacon” is dieting, with or without the word.
Being aware of what you’re consuming and trading off one thing for another to avoid over-doing it is dieting? Not necessarily.
I used to drink tons of Diet Coke. The “diet” name never bothered me. Oddly enough, when I quit smoking I lost the taste for it.
Occasionally I have a club soda (or San Pellegrino) with a generous splash of orange juice when I feel like having some fizz.
I like diet soda, actually. I guess I like the taste of artificial sweeteners. Diet Dr. Pepper, Hansen’s sugar-free rootbeer, and diet Pepsi are my faves.
once i got used to diet sodas i love them…i live on diet mnt dew (i used to drink diet code red, but the red dye made me sick on an empty stomach and thats just wrong.) i also like diet 7 up in all its flavored forms (the cherry is good, so is the hoilday diet pomegranate) they have a diet cream soda, and almost all the diet rite stuff was excellent. I worked for a group home with prader willi clients, and due to their special diet we got to try ALL the diet sodas.
i need my caffiene though in diet dew. regular soda tastes like utter crapola to me, WAY too sweet…i like my pop slightly sweet and sour.
it’s all about the diet pepsi. it doesn’t have the bad aftertaste of diet coke. unfortunately, most places offer coke products. if I can serve myself, I also like diet coke with a splash of cherry coke or even orange fanta. mmm…
I actually prefer the taste of diet soda. I think I’ve just been drinking it for so long that I’ve gotten used to it and now regular tastes too sweet to me.
I don’t think there’s necessarily anything wrong with the idea of saving calories on one thing in order to enjoy something else.
The idea of a “manly” soda bothers me though. Is there testosterone in it or something? Will normal diet soda start making you crave dick? I mean, really, wtf?!
In a way it strikes me as more offensive to men though than women, this message of, “No, dude, really, you’re fat. Like, really fat and you don’t even know it. You should not only be ashamed of your fat self, but ashamed of feeling ashamed because that’s all girly.”
I usually drink regular Coke, but I do enjoy Diet Pepsi–although I cannot drink Diet Coke or regular Pepsi. So to me, it’s all about the flavors, and not about the diet part.
The other day I had dinner at a retro-themed diner, and had my Coke with cherry and vanilla syrups. Yum! The boy got a classic root beer float. Oh man, do I love root beer, but I really do prefer birch beer, if the restaurant carries it.
I am a Diet Pepsi girl. I don’t like Pepsi Max and Coke Zero because I think they either have more caffeine in them or something else because after I tried them, I felt like I was on speed lol! :)
Every now and then, I like a regular Coke but it has to be from the fountain. It tastes different–fresher maybe?
And I agree with Andrea…nothing better than a good root beer float (I like mine with chocolate ice cream)YUM!
I freakin LOVE Pepsi Max. I usually drink it instead of coffee. And with the addition of ginseng, it does not taste like diet soda at all. If I don’t need the caffeine, then it’s usually Diet A&W Rootbeer or Diet Dr. Pepper (both do pretty good justice to the taste of the original).
It’s interesting, I travel to Asia quite a bit and their diet sodas taste so much better. Diet Coke from Japan or Singapore simply rocks compared to the US version. The faux sugars they use are very different and probably either more expensive than nutrasweet or simply aren’t FDA approved.
I drink Coke Zero, and I’m trying to cut down (and eventually cut it out; it’s really not good for me!) I purposely avoid Pepsi Max, because I hate the advertising. Which, I know, doesn’t make much sense, given that I drink Coke Zero.
Yep I guess I am one of the weird ones that likes the taste of chemicals because I drink diet pepsi and I can’t handle the regular because it tastes too sweet for my preference. Coke leaves a weird aftertaste for me so places that don’t serve pepsi will have me either drinking iced tea or water cause I am loyal to my beloved pepsi lol. I also enjoy the diet voltage mountain dew (it’s blue!! ) like trabbs boy I really love carbonation, if a soda has gone flat or doesn’t have much of a fizz I can’t or won’t drink it which is why I like soda from a can or bottle more than I do from tap as that is often much flatter. When I am not in a fizz mood I am hooked on lipton mango mandarin green tea, you can’t taste the grassy taste of the green tea but it is not overly cloying sweet.
As for advertising for men, I figure they have to target something I guess that is one way to go though pepsi max was first targeted to caffeine/energy drink/overworked people because it has more caffeine in it then the regular version does. personally to me the pepsi max tastes like it has prune juice in it it leaves a pruney aftertaste which is not my fave lol
If you’re not a dieter and you’re drinking diet soda, I guess you’d do it because you like the taste of artificial sweeteners? I can’t imagine that, as I think they taste nasty (and I don’t quite get why you’d want to drink a chemical in place of sugar for any reason other than dieting that places a higher premium on looks than health effects). The “save the calories for bacon” is dieting, with or without the word.
As a couple of people said, diabetes can be a factor in this, or if you just like to drink soda in large amounts and don’t want what are essentially empty calories- it’s fine if you’re having some once in a while but a few hundred calories as a beverage can be a bit much.
As for me, I usually drink plain iced tea sweetened with my own sweetnlow, and if I’m craving a soda at the grocery I’ll pick up a Sprite or something similar, or a Goya strawberry or coconut soda. I don’t really notice that much of a difference with diet soda and regular, and one of my favorite carbonated beverages is Fresca.
As to why I go for the “no cal” option, it’s because I drink a *lot* of liquids (mostly water at home) and frankly I just don’t want those calories. They do nothing for me nutritionally, and for me soda is more about the carbonation than anything; if I do get the “real stuff” then it’s usually one bottle of it from the grocery store during my weekly shopping trip.
I hate the weird aftertaste and the “extra carbonation” of diet sodas. I usually don’t drink a lot of soda, but now I do a little more often (at most twice a week) since my boyfriend loves the stuff. Dr. pepper, root beer, ginger ale – as long as it’s the non-diet stuff, all good.
Maybe someone needs to invest bacon soda if they’re so worried about calories.
I mean, bacon salt is pretty damn good, so maybe…
I drink about about 1-2 cans of diet soda a day. My favorites are normally coke zero (reg, cherry or vanilla). I have noticed that I have been seeing Coke Zero out a little bit more. Like at Sam’s club, chick-a-filet to name a few.
I do wanna say that the whole Pepsi Max thing is really dumb how they advertise it. My husband doesn’t care if he drinks diet soda.
Dr Browns Black Cherry is about a sweet as it gets with me. Don’t like Coke, not into Pepsi, don’t do diet ANYTHING. Ginger Ale when I want soda, Seltzer when I’m thirsty, and 7up / Sierra Mist if I HAVE to. Everything else just strikes me as over sugared kids stuff. Even when I WAS a kid.
Now, Canada Dry’s Green Tea Ginger Ale? Liquid Crack. I could drink that stuff all day long. . . Have done a time or two now that think about it.
I forgot to mention the advertising in my earlier post lol. But my roommates were actually watching television when that commercial and at first we thought it was funny (a bunch of men falling off ladders and getting injured is amusing) but then at the end after we saw what it was for, we immediately decided it was the dumbest thing ever. So men “can handle anything” and women can’t?
So dumb.
I live in Korea and Coke Zero is much more popular with everyone than diet. However, waitresses here will check several times to confirm that I really want Coke and not the diet version.
I don’t like and don’t drink any kind of soft drink (soda), and never have. This does not, however, prevent my normally reasonable dentist from looking at my teeth and my weight and asking if I drink “a lot” of soft drink. Just after I told him that my thyroid medication affects the surface of my teeth. Yay for assumptions.
I like Diet Coke. Coke is too sweet and Coke Zero has this…aftertaste. Of course, I sometimes get people telling me that Diet Coke won’t make me thin. Thanks. I clearly didn’t know that and obviously that must be my aim, amirite?
[i]Maybe someone needs to invest bacon soda if they’re so worried about calories.[/i]
Jones Soda, makers of holiday-flavored sodas such as Turkey & Gravy, would be all over this.
I don’t drink fizzy drinks in any habitual way – tea or coffee for me, please. But when I was younger, I liked the taste of Diet Coke better than proper Coke. I’m in the UK, so our Coke has sugar in it rather than corn syrup – don’t know if that makes a difference…
They are too sweet for my adult palate. If I’m going to have a soft drink, it will probably be bitter lemon or ginger beer. Mmm, ginger.
My absolute favorite is a tall ice-cold Coke, but it’s really not good for my teeth, my bones, or my family tendency to diabetes. So I usually settle for a short ice-cold Coke knocked back first thing in the morning or saved to enjoy at a party in the evening. Sometimes I vary my daily habit with a Diet Coke, Caffeine Free Diet Coke, Cherry Coke, Diet Cherry Coke, or just for giggles a Dr. Pepper/Mr. Pibb or a Diet Dr. Pepper. However, while I do enjoy a 20-ounce diet cola, I’ve noticed that after about two weeks of one a day, I start tasting Nutrasweet for hours afterward and I get more headaches.
Why not a Pepsi? To me, Coke (and Dr. Pepper/Mr. Pibb) taste less sweet than Pepsi and have more of an interesting bite, plus a complex herbal/floral taste. I think I’ve narrowed down one of the unique notes in Coke to rosewater or a reasonable chemical facsimile thereof.
Seems like there’s a lot of people judging others by what they prefer to drink… what the hell? Just because YOU don’t like the taste of chemicals (by the way, even if it’s regular soda, it’s ALL chemicals!)/the syrupy taste/the fact it’s marketed as “diet”/whatever… someone else DOES like that. And asking them to justify it (” (and I don’t quite get why you’d want to drink a chemical in place of sugar for any reason other than dieting that places a higher premium on looks than health effects).”) is rude and intrusive as well as assuming.
I like diet soda because the sugar (HFCS, actually, at least in the US) makes me feel like crap as it interacts with my health conditions and medications. Have I been approved? Is that a sufficient reason to like diet soda? Please let me in the “cool people clique”!
Correction: There’s at least one person judging others for their drink choices. Sorry, didn’t mean to paint with such a wide brush there.
Another mark in the “drinks diet to help control blood-sugar” column.
I can barely force myself to choke down any diet cola.
But that’s because all artificial sweeteners taste like grapefruit to me, So I can only tolerate the flavor of diet citrusy things. Live on Diet Dew and Peach Fresca. Live in hope of Diet Ginger Beer. (not wimpy ginger ale)
And Diet Root Beer? aka Grapefruit Root Beer?
I used to drink LOTS of Coke when I was about 20. I couldn’t figure out why my stomach was feeling bad until I realized I was drinking as much as 2L a day. I cut back drastically and my stomach discomfort went away. I still drink it, but no where near as much.
Personally, I don’t like any of the Pepsis. They burn my throat. Still, if I’m at a restaurant that doesn’t serve Coke, I’ll drink Pepsi, because I find the clear drinks disgusting.
I’ve never liked the Diet Cokes, but whe Zero came out, I found I like it. My husband, who’s diabetic, will drink Coke Zero, so that’s what we’re likely to buy. We tend to go through jags – if it’s on sale, we’ll get a fair amount and drink a couple of cans a day, then not drink it at all for months except when eating out. I find Coke is one of the few things to satisfy that “I’m thirsty for anything but water” feeling I sometimes get.
My favorite is Diet Coke. I only drink diet soda because the regular sodas always taste too sweet and syrupy to me. I’ll drink what I like and if someone happens to see me drinking it and thinks I’m dieting or looks down on me for it then that’s their problem not mine. I enjoy my soda too much to care what anyone thinks. :D
Vanilla Coke Zero is heavenly. And not sold anywhere, virtually.
I have noticed that diet drinks tend to be marketed to women – diet soda, light beers, etc. I have only really noticed Pepsi try to market a diet cola specifically for men. Otherwise, I think the market is branching out to men more because our culture is excusing male obesity less than before. Its still not equal – women experience more discrimination than men for their weight – but society is starting to become more bigoted against weight, no matter what gender its paired with.