Coca Cola pulling white cans from shelf

[BrandMooreArt]

good article from Truly Deeply here: http://www.trulydeeply.com.au/madly/2011/12/08/coke-is-red-colour-brand-asset/#utm_source=feed&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=feed

was discussing this on twitter yesterday. i have to fault the buyers for confusion of the shelf, "Coca Cola" couldnt be more clear on the can. i think if people just slowed down and read what they were buying there wouldnt be any problem. but as TD goes into, it shows the power of color in brand and market place. there are also people who were upset about their product being a different color. thats the brand part. i think doing the same thing over and over is generally boring and overrated, consistency dosent have to mean consistently the same, BUT for a brand like Coke its just something you cant mess with. even when the designers (Turner Duckworth?) do something great. also a lesson in how color or change in packaging, can give the perception of product change (different taste)

oh and i couldnt help myself. had to pick this up last night

[wildwing64]

At first glance it looks like a diet or an alcoholic variant. I'm aware the latter probably doesn't exist, but the white can reminds me of a brand like Carling.

I'm assuming the product is otherwise no different to a normal can of Coke?

[Korkie]

I admit the white can gave me pause when I first pulled it out of my in-laws fridge, so I can understand the confusion in a mini-market during a quick stop.

[The_Admiral]

White palette swaps of pop cans mean diet. Don't make my, or anybody's, beverage-consuming life any harder than it needs to be.

[Cola]

White palette swaps of pop cans mean diet. Don't make my, or anybody's, beverage-consuming life any harder than it needs to be.

Exactly. Don't blame the consumer here. The powers that be have already implanted in our minds what a Diet drink or Diet Coke is supposed to look like...then they want to switch it up on us?

[DelayedPenalty]

They could have avoided all the confusion by leaving the can red and doing the white polar bears at the bottom. Same effect, less confusion.

That being said, I love the look of the white cans. I might have to pick some up before they go bye-bye.

[dfwabel]

White palette swaps of pop cans mean diet. Don't make my, or anybody's, beverage-consuming life any harder than it needs to be.

Exactly. Don't blame the consumer here. The powers that be have already implanted in our minds what a Diet drink or Diet Coke is supposed to look like...then they want to switch it up on us?

Slightly disagree since the Pepsi Throwback did not confuse younger consumers. Every ad had the polar bears and was specific to Coca-Cola, not Diet Coke.

Polar bears = Coca-Cola not Diet Coke.

According to the Washington Post, there were people who were also under the belief that the soda within the cola tasted different and complained aside from their inability no to tell the difference between silver (Diet Coke) and white (holiday Coke).

That being said, while you picked up a six-pack, how many people still buy soda packaged like that? The white cardstock and silver cardstock for the 12- and 24-can packaging is clearly different.

[BadSeed84]

I'm more upset that theres no santa cans or bottles this year

[Milo Meningocele]

White palette swaps of pop cans mean diet. Don't make my, or anybody's, beverage-consuming life any harder than it needs to be.

Exactly. Don't blame the consumer here. The powers that be have already implanted in our minds what a Diet drink or Diet Coke is supposed to look like...then they want to switch it up on us?

Bah, life is hard, eh? I don't ever buy pop at the stores, but I thought everybody knew that the full name Coca-Cola, coupled with that particular script always meant regular--and that diet used the shortened word Coke, and appeared in print rather than cursive. Doesn't everyone know that? I think that's a more distinctive indicator than can base color.

[drdougfresh]

I thought the design was pretty damn classy, myself. But it does strike the impression that it's a diet Coke and not regular because of color association. In one of my branding classes in college, we talked about the power of color, and how it influences feelings more than we realize. There was a study done where a person was blind folded, ate a piece of steak, allowed to look, and felt fine. Then, they put a new steak in front of the person that had some edible liquid sprayed on it that made it change colors in what I believe was a black light. Though it was the same steak, they found that people were feeling sick/vomiting more often than not.

It's an extreme example, but it shows the association of color and feeling. Good find-- I read something about people being mad about this, but I just rolled my eyes. I like the cans haha

[officeglenn]

Here's another article on this: WSJ.com

I can understand the confusion over the colouring of the cans, but some of the claims that it tastes different out of the white cans in the WSJ article are pretty far-fetched.

[The_Admiral]

Not really. People thought Crystal Pepsi tasted like rancid cinnamon Sprite because they didn't expect a clear soda to taste like cola.

Right now, history is repeating itself.

[Joshawaggie]

I'm drinking a white Coca-Cola as we speak, and it's still the glorious red Coca-Cola flavor.

[Cujo]

I bought a 12-pack of these last month. And like many others, after popping open the bow, had to do a double-take to make sure it wasn't a Diet. But I really don't mind/could care less about the cans being white. Plus, they're for a good cause right?

Coke is Coke. Get over it, people.

[illwauk]

Good riddance... for my night gig I work security at a concert venue and in the dark those white cans look like the tall cans of PBR that we serve. It doesn't help that most of our shows are all-ages, so you can imagine the confusion it causes when I have to look for underage drinkers.

[MC2]

Pretty stupid if you ask me, just read the can, I thought these white cans were pretty cool. When will they completely be off shelves? Might pick some up.

[oddball]

Read the can? You people don't get it. There's a reason regular Coke is red and diet colas a red. They know the consumer doesn't read when picking up soda/pop in the store, they just grab in a certain spot and actually grab color. I don't know how many times my father picked up diet instead of regular because he didn't read the labels and it was a similar look. Of course how did I know it was diet? It was a white label. The market has told us that a white label is a diet cola and red is Coca-Cola. When I go into a 7/11 or whatever when getting gas and I want a Coke I look for a red label or if I want Dr Pepper I look for a maroon label. I'm not reading the label, I'm looking at the color. I liked the cans and what they stood for, but Coke should've understood that they set the industry standard with the red can and changing it would cause problems for people who weren't up to date with what they were doing.

[andrewharrington]

Read the can? You people don't get it. There's a reason regular Coke is red and diet colas a red. They know the consumer doesn't read when picking up soda/pop in the store, they just grab in a certain spot and actually grab color. I don't know how many times my father picked up diet instead of regular because he didn't read the labels and it was a similar look. Of course how did I know it was diet? It was a white label. The market has told us that a white label is a diet cola and red is Coca-Cola. When I go into a 7/11 or whatever when getting gas and I want a Coke I look for a red label or if I want Dr Pepper I look for a maroon label. I'm not reading the label, I'm looking at the color. I liked the cans and what they stood for, but Coke should've understood that they set the industry standard with the red can and changing it would cause problems for people who weren't up to date with what they were doing.

I assure you, we get it just fine. The things you put into your body aren't important enough to read the label? What if you were a diabetic? Are you still going to 'buy color' instead of reading the label? No, because what you put into your body is important, whether you're diabetic or not. And Diet Coke is silver, not white. Consumers should be able to tell the difference there, as well. How can we, as a society, expect to progress when we can't seem to rely on each other to perform the simplest of tasks? You're just condoning this lazy behavior by implying that branding is more important than common sense!

[Cola]

Diet Coke may be silver...but on the grand scheme of things, I expect (from the world of soft drinks) for all diet drinks to be LIGHT in color on the can- so the white vs silver argument doesn't hold for me at all. If it is white, silver, or grey- I immediately assume diet drink. For the official record, this can is both white AND silver.

The things you put into your body aren't important enough to read the label? What if you were a diabetic?

Again' date=' I don't buy this argument. It's not about me needing to analyze the contents of the product I am buying at EACH purchase. It is that we have been conditioned to expect a certain result when we consume a liquid in a light colored can. To say the average person analyzes the everyday common purchases they make is far fetched to me.

I thought everybody knew that the full name Coca-Cola, coupled with that particular script always meant regular--and that diet used the shortened word Coke

Oh really? Cause I thought everybody knew that regular Coca-Cola came in a can that was not white or silver. See how that works?

What if Diet Coke tries to experiment with using the full title of "Coca-Cola Diet" as a "promotional" can sometime in the future? Can I use your rebuttal but reversed?

[andrewharrington]

Again, I don't buy this argument. It's not about me needing to analyze the contents of the product I am buying at EACH purchase. It is that we have been conditioned to expect a certain result when we consume a liquid in a light colored can. To say the average person analyzes the everyday common purchases they make is far fetched to me.

You realize this is identical to the theory behind operant conditioning, correct? Laboratories use mice and rats to prove the effectiveness of operant conditioning. It's far fetched to expect an average human to behave at a level more advanced than a lab mouse? I hope you don't need me to read that aloud for you to understand how ridiculous it is.

Why are there any words at all on the can? Lets just sell the Coca-Cola in plain red cans, and we'll sell the Diet Coke in plain silver cans. If people want to really know what's in those cans, they can call up Coke HQ or send a letter with an S.A.S.E.

Cans have words so that we, as humans, can use the skills and knowledge we've developed over centuries and read them.