How Brand Recognition Screws Up Your Brain - The Pepsi Paradox

[JimKiler]

They poll random people, I don't think they call it "the pepsi challenge" either when they are doing it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepsi_Challenge

They poll pretty much anyone that will stop and take a drink.

Back in the 80's it was called the Pepsi challenge.

 

[DaveSimmons]

No, it just doesn't. It was hosted by the manufacturer. The results cannot be used to draw any conclusions.

The point you missed is the difference in results they obtained between their blind and open testing. That is, knowing the brand they were drinking changed how the drink tasted to them.

No one thinks that the test proved that Pepsi tastes better except possibly when taking a single sip. But the contrast in results is an interesting example similar to other placebo effects.

 

[SSSnail]

Wow, and no mentions of Apple yet? :awe:

 

[DCal430]

Wow, and no mentions of Apple yet? :awe:

Apple produces some of the best products for some the lowest prices. My only problem with them is the near slave labor they use in China, but everyone is doing it. When apple starts using better paid labor to make its product I will start buying it again, because for its price nothing beats an apple.

 

[SSSnail]

And, we're off... :awe:

 

[Ichinisan]

You can't beat the real thing. (tm)

 

[Codewiz]

The issue here is the same one with heinz and hunts. Pepsi and Hunts are sweeter. So when you drink them side by side, people generally would prefer the sweeter of the two. However, if you have a choice of drinking or eating something every day, most people will not pick the overly sweet item.

I like coke because it is not super sweet. Same with heinz. Head to head does not mean people would want to use that product on an everyday basis.

 

[Fritzo]

OP, this is the type of stuff I was talking about in that bottled water thread.

Oh god...I found ONE type of bottled water that was distinctly different to me and I enjoyed it, and that turned into a beverage witch hunt. Not going back there.

 

[0roo0roo]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-13502371http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-13502371
"She analysed the brain of a designer-fashion fan in an MRI scanner, showing her pictures of £15 handbags from Primark and Asda, then pictures of expensive designer handbags from the likes of Gucci and Christian Dior.

The cheap bags didn't register but the expensive ones lit up our guinea pig's "pleasure centre", an area associated with reward, craving and addiction.

The results confirmed Neurosense's own research. We are fundamentally excited by high-value objects."

 

[Arkaign]

Apple produces some of the best products for some the lowest prices. My only problem with them is the near slave labor they use in China, but everyone is doing it. When apple starts using better paid labor to make its product I will start buying it again, because for its price nothing beats an apple.

hah

 

[Gibson486]

You should know....

Look at guitars...

If it has the Fender or Gibson/Epiphone brand, it has to better, right?

 

[zerocool84]

It's the same thing with store bought organic foods. People swear it tastes better and makes them feel better but when you see blind taste tests done, it's different.

 

[angminas]

Reminds me of a conversation I had today. A high schooler I know complained that Roblox is far better than Minecraft, yet Minecraft is more popular. I mentioned that anything -craft has a huge advantage from the start when so many people play WoW...plus, Roblox sounds like a game for kids. It's really hard to see through slick advertising and packing, because it works on the subconscious.

 

[Malak]

If I had to choose a cola, I'd go with coca-cola. I don't understand how people can fail to taste the difference unless they never drink soda, which is entirely possible.

 

[zinfamous]

It is likely much of what you are perceiving as being much sweeter is not, It is just how your brain is perceiving one of the many smells found in Pepsi.

whereas a 10% difference in arsenic content is drastically different than a 12% difference in arsenic content.

you are being foolish, trying to assume that general percent difference supersedes specific compounds and how they interact chemically.

 

[zinfamous]

No, it just doesn't. It was hosted by the manufacturer. The results cannot be used to draw any conclusions.

you can do whatever you want with the raw data. it is there, it has always been.

you can choose not to draw anything from their conclusions, of course. but results are results.

attack their methodology, fine--do that.

...but if you think anyone needs an actual hypothesis, perfectly controlled studies these days to do "high science," well...that's a bit naive.

 

[MotionMan]

Wow, and no mentions of Apple yet? :awe:

Apple produces some of the best products for some the lowest prices. My only problem with them is the near slave labor they use in China, but everyone is doing it. When apple starts using better paid labor to make its product I will start buying it again, because for its price nothing beats an apple.

And, we're off... :awe:

If you yell fire in a crowded theater, you should not be surprised that you have caused a stampede.



MotionMan

 

[foghorn67]

the article in Malcolm Gladwell's "The Tipping Point" regarding the Pepsi Challenge is pretty awesome. Or was it in "Blink?"

Though, it's more related to the disaster of "New Coke." Coca Cola's failure to realize that what people prefer for tasting--basically, the sip performed in these taste tests--is in no way related to what people will continue to drink, as in a full 12oz beverage.

People preferred to sip Pepsi b/c it is very much sweeter, but that gets to be too much for a full beverage. Brilliant marketing by Pepsi, and Coke simply failed to see this difference, panicked, and spent millions on ver-hauling their business, nearly driving themselves into bankruptcy with the disaster that was New Coke. They eventually noticed that The Pepsi Challenge never actually translated to increased sales of Pepsi, but when they brought in New Coke, their own sales plummeted.

Both great books.

 

[foghorn67]

Oh god...I found ONE type of bottled water that was distinctly different to me and I enjoyed it, and that turned into a beverage witch hunt. Not going back there.

Oh dammit. I had one of these too. This water was tasteless as it can get. I mean, no taste...how water should be. Even when I'm not thirsty, I can empty a bottle in no time.

 

[Veliko]

Only caffeine addicts, fat people and kids care about Coke and Pepsi anyway.

 

[foghorn67]

Only caffeine addicts, fat people and kids care about Coke and Pepsi anyway.

Not a kid, not fat, and I am not addicted to caffeine. Love Coca Cola Classic.

 

[Dulanic]

Pepsi is sweeter and if you're just drinking a little, I can see why people would prefer it. For an actual beverage which you are going to consume quite a bit of, Coke is more "drinkable" to me.

^ This. Though I am a Dr. Pepper person myself.

 

[Cristatus]

You guys are missing out on the real stuff: Thums Up (and yes, that's how it's spelt).

Thums Up FTW!!!

(C)

 

[edro]

I like to think I would instantly know the difference between coke and pepsi in a blind taste test.

Maybe many people did, but still preferred pepsi, as others have said, because it was just a a sip.
The first sip of coke can be harsh to the taste buds, but that's why I like it.

 

[Farang]

83% of taste test results are made up of percentages that people just pull out of thin air.