Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
“I now prefer the taste of Diet Coke.”
That declaration from Ed Vitagliano kicks off a surprisingly spirited conversation about Diet Coke, Coke Zero and one of the biggest marketing missteps in Coca-Cola history.
Wesley Wildmon comes to the table with a Coke Zero and tells Ed that Diet Coke is “bad for you,” prompting Tim Wildmon to point out the obvious: Wesley is making that argument while drinking a Coke Zero.
That leads Tim to a question he’s wondered about himself. Why does Coke Zero taste more like regular Coca-Cola than Diet Coke does? Ed has a simple reason for avoiding it: “I don’t drink Coke Zero because it’s too sweet for me.”
From there, the conversation turns to New Coke and the infamous 1985 decision to change the Coca-Cola formula. Tim and Ed remember the backlash, while Wesley looks up just how intense the reaction became. As he reads, “The change sparked massive public outrage,” and Coca-Cola reversed course just 77 days later.
Chris Woodward also remembers meeting someone years later while working at a Piggly Wiggly in Smithville, Mississippi, who still wanted reassurance that he was buying Coca-Cola Classic and not “that New Coke stuff.”
The conversation eventually takes a more serious turn as Ed reflects on how quickly Americans mobilized when Coca-Cola changed its formula and contrasts that response with the difficulty of getting people involved in causes AFA has fought for.
Watch the conversation and tell us in the comments: Which do you prefer, Diet Coke or Coke Zero?
#DietCoke #CokeZero #CocaCola #AmericanFamilyRadio
“I now prefer the taste of Diet Coke.”
That declaration from Ed Vitagliano kicks off a surprisingly spirited conversation about Diet Coke, Coke Zero and one of the biggest marketing missteps in Coca-Cola history.
Wesley Wildmon comes to the table with a Coke Zero and tells Ed that Diet Coke is “bad for you,” prompting Tim Wildmon to point out the obvious: Wesley is making that argument while drinking a Coke Zero.
That leads Tim to a question he’s wondered about himself. Why does Coke Zero taste more like regular Coca-Cola than Diet Coke does? Ed has a simple reason for avoiding it: “I don’t drink Coke Zero because it’s too sweet for me.”
From there, the conversation turns to New Coke and the infamous 1985 decision to change the Coca-Cola formula. Tim and Ed remember the backlash, while Wesley looks up just how intense the reaction became. As he reads, “The change sparked massive public outrage,” and Coca-Cola reversed course just 77 days later.
Chris Woodward also remembers meeting someone years later while working at a Piggly Wiggly in Smithville, Mississippi, who still wanted reassurance that he was buying Coca-Cola Classic and not “that New Coke stuff.”
The conversation eventually takes a more serious turn as Ed reflects on how quickly Americans mobilized when Coca-Cola changed its formula and contrasts that response with the difficulty of getting people involved in causes AFA has fought for.
Watch the conversation and tell us in the comments: Which do you prefer, Diet Coke or Coke Zero?
#DietCoke #CokeZero #CocaCola #AmericanFamilyRadio
