Tastes like...

I was over at a friend's place over the weekend and the inevitable debate between Sprite and 7UP occurred. One friend said they liked one over the other because one was less fizzy, or one was too sugary and that's why they preferred it.

It looks like they're kissing.

They asked my what my take on the issue was and I had an answer right away. But, before I opened my mouth, I had to think about my answer to check if it made sense or not. With blank eyes pointed in my direction, I took a deep breath and filled the silence.

Me: "Ummm, I don't know Sprite..."

Him: "Well, why?"

Her: "No! 7UP is way better! It tastes much more citrusy than Sprite"

Me: "Yeah, I guess it does. But I don't know, I can't even describe what Sprite tastes like. I know it's supposed to be citrusy like 7UP but to me, it kinda tastes like, well, sporty."

Them: What?

I know, 'sporty' isn't really an adjective used to describe taste, but it was the first one that came to mind. Why is that?

Branding. The fact that I associate it with an activity rather than taste really shows how it has been placed in my mind and been given a specific spot on my mental shelf. Coca-Cola Company - 1, Me - 0. When I think about the advertising each drink has done, the stand out campaign for me is the LeBron James Sprite ads such as this one here:

This string of ads were playing 2 or 3 years ago, but I still remember them because they were played frequently and there were always new ones every so often. But, when I try to think of some 7UP ads, none seem to come to mind.

Marketing, positioning, the 4 P's and branding are all important to a product or company. It helps set you aside from the rest of the competition and can make you seem different when, in actuality, you are the same product with relatively no differences other than the colour of your label.

Maybe it just happened to be that whenever a 7UP spot was on, I was away from the TV. Or, maybe they just didn't interest me enough to make me pay attention. But as it stands right now, 7UP is just the plain old cousin, from down state, of the cool athletic Sprite soft drink who plays basketball, has two girlfriends and probably smokes Marlboros, because smoking those make you cool. Right?

D'Oh! They did it to me again.