Nostalgia is Soda's Biggest Weapon

every new generation yearns for the past

Next month Coca-Cola is dropping a LTO for the 40th anniversary of Cherry Coke (introduced back in 1985) and of course the social media response to it has been incredible for the brand. There’s a reason Coca-Cola is the number one soda in the US, Dr. Pepper is close second, another brand that has also found success in intertwining nostalgia and it was recently announced that Sprite has stolen number three spot from Pepsi. While brands like Pepsi have tried to bring back their cultural relevancy by doing brand upgrades no one asked for, Coca-Cola and Dr. Pepper have leveraged nostalgia to keep the new generations attention.

Both Olipop and Poppi know just how much nostalgia can pull in Millennials and GenZ alike, consider their popular flavors like cream soda and root beer, and cherry cola. When you look at the fact that Pepsi is no longer the second best selling soda in the US, it makes a lot more sense why they would have to buy a brand like Poppi to bring mantain relevancy amongst the younger generations. GenZ is obsessed with Diet Coke, what is now being dubbed as “fridge cigarettes” it has earned a cultural cache without Coca-Cola having to do anything…but focus on delivering on taste and product.

If any Coke executives are reading—the people want the Diet Cherry Cokes in mini. If any of the Pepsi executives are reading—here’s some 80s nostalgia-core you should bring back for a killer comeback. (Alternatively, you could partner with Vacation on an limited-time release for the summer)