A Refreshing Taste

Coca-Cola is the most valuable brand in the world, and this month the company is celebrating its 125th birthday. Throughout its history Coca-Cola has extended its brand portfolio many times to include brands such as Coke Zero, Powerade, and Vitamin Water, but it was their original brand extension that has become nearly as strong and recognizable as the original brand itself. Yes, Diet Coke.

In 2011 Diet Coke surpassed Pepsi as the #2 soda in the U.S., and it was right behind, you guessed it, the original Coca-Cola. Having Diet Coke holding the #2 spot is more than a victory for the original Coca-Cola brand, but for the Diet Coke brand as well. It goes to show what most people have known for some time, that Diet Coke is no longer merely a brand extension of Coca-Cola, as it was when it launched in 1982, but a powerful brand on its own.

It was through a strong brand strategy from the start that propelled the brand to be the #3 soft drink in the U.S. by 1984, a spot it held until this year’s move up in the ranks. For the majority of the brand’s history it has been targeted to woman, originally by spotlighting fashionable woman and good looking men; and more recently by targeting the independent and working woman.

So, just for the fun of it, take a look at some of Diet Coke’s most memorable commercials, starting with its very first that aired in 1983: