Pepsi Throwback

In a sea of dumb, uncreative ads for dumb, uninteresting products during "24" last night, this blew my mind:


I love contrarian marketing, because I think most marketing is bullshit. Or at least most marketing "conventional wisdom" is. I love seeing a major company use a word like "throwback" in their product name. That's usually a word companies avoid like the plague. Guess this recession's finally making everybody desperate enough to try a little honesty.

Anyway, I suddenly feel an urge to hit the grocery store. Repeatedly.

Why is it that companies always make their best products only "for a limited time"?

I drink Coke, but this is gonna make me switch. At least until they stupidly discontinue it.

The most ironic thing about this? It comes hot on the heels of a disastrous rebranding of the main Pepsi line by the king of disastrous rebrandings. Guess Pepsi themselves are feeling nostalgic for better times.

UPDATE: Of course, it would be nice if I could actually buy this stuff somewhere. Anyone actually see it for sale anywhere? I've looked high and low.

UPDATE 2: Found it!


I checked all over Manhattan and a lot of Nassau county. Finally found it in the freezer aisle at King Kullen in Valley Stream, Long Island, just sitting unceremoniously on a pallet in the middle of the floor. It was not in the soda aisle - obviously, I checked there first. They're hiding this stuff. Price? $1.99 for a case - it was unmarked, but on sale (from $2.99).


Yes, it tastes different. It tastes great! It actually tastes the way I remember Coke tasting, from before they changed their formula to use corn syrup. (I know, they have some natural sugar Coke still, in certain areas, but I haven't found it.) You know how with corn syrup sodas, they taste ok at the beginning, but by the end you have this weird aftertaste in your mouth and your teeth are covered in gunk? Doesn't happen with natural sugar. And it just tastes cleaner.

It's also a little less sweet than regular Pepsi (hence the Coke comparison). I think they upped the sweetness when they switched to corn syrup in order to mask the aftertaste. This stuff is nice and balanced.