Diet Coke Ousts Pepsi From No.2 Cola Spot

Thursday, 17 March 2011 | by Pat's Picks

The Cola War is no longer a battle between Coke vs. Pepsi—now, it’s Coke vs. Diet Coke. The Wall Street Journal says Diet Coke overtook Pepsi as the nation’s second most popular soft drink for the first time in 2010. It’s been coming for awhile: Diet Coke’s market share was almost that of Pepsi’s in 2009—all it took was a tiny dip this year to push the diet soda into second place. Each have about 10 percent of the market share; Coke is by and far the country’s favorite soda, with 17 percent..  Industry experts say Pepsi made a big bet last year by not advertising its “core brands” and big national events like the Super Bowl. Instead, they launched a charitable giving initiative called the Refresh Project, saying the idea was to bolster their corporate image. Coca-Cola, on the hand, has made a concerted effort to push Coke and Diet Coke at the last five Super Bowls and this year’s Academy Awards.