The above article should be taken with a grain of salt ... although entertaining and potentially true, I do not believe that we can divide the world by what soda a person prefers. I do however have some first-hand experience in dealing with the extremely loyal Coke and Pepsi drinkers.
I was bar tending in Big Sky, MT one very busy night when a woman sitting at the bar asked me for a Diet Pepsi. Being in the busy rush I was, I filled a glass with Diet Coke and moved on. A little while later, she asked my coworker for a refill on her Diet Pepsi, to which he replied "I can give you a Diet Coke, but we don't carry Pepsi products." You would have thought we had mortally wounded one of her children or spoken ill of her entire family. Her reaction was one of irate disbelief that we would lie to her and trick her into drinking Coke.
After my coworker had assured her that she would not have to pay for the Diet Coke, she calmed down and finished her food to a glass of water instead of soda. Being the cynical person I am, I had to point out the fact that she drank the entire Diet Coke and asked for a refill. Call me crazy, but that does not sound like a person with a disdain for Coke products.
The takeaway from my experience - brand loyalty does not always have to do with taste preference, but rather what a brand says about you. So when companies need a brand makeover, they usually start with message and appearance - rarely is the product itself the problem.
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