We think the fake sweetener in Diet Coke makes it taste horrible, but we don’t mind the soft drink’s latest ad, which includes a surprise appearance by a Toyota AE86. In the spot the two-tone light pink/dark pink Corolla slides around with abandon, drifting around a table and a Honda Spree scooter.
Time to unwind and take a Diet Coke Break. 🙌 #mitupartnership
Posted by Fierce by mitú on Thursday, November 14, 2024
This isn’t just fancy camerawork and movie-making magic. The driver in the video is an actual drifter who goes by the handle StephanieDrifts on various social media platforms. She’s competed in Formula D and also built the Corolla in the ad.
On her YouTube channel, StephanieDrifts can be seen wrenching on her stable of J-tin, including a TE72 Corolla and the AE86 from the ad. On her Instagram account there’s an excellent series in which she brings a tired old third-gen Toyota pickup back to life, handling everything from mechanical to upholstery to paint.
It would’ve been easy for the Coca-Cola Company to fake some drifting with a hired actor and stunt driver. For actually giving some screen time to a real life car enthusiast who knows her stuff, we give Diet Coke props. It still tastes like overripe bananas and Robitussin, but we give them props.
I am actually surprised to see an ad for diet coke, I thought they were trying to make us all switch to Zero? Is the can in the cupholder a wink at Initial D?
I know soft drinks are not the same between Canada and the USA, but when I started having sugar drowsiness, I did a blind test with friends between diet pepsi, pepsi max, diet coke and coke zero, and coke zero ended up being my favorite, with diet coke in second place. And now, on the rare occasion I taste a regular coke or pepsi, I kid you not it tastes like corn.
Anyone else in Canada tried all of these?
I live in the US, but Coke Zero is by far the best out of all of those here, too.
I actually used to love Pepsi Max, but they changed the recipe a few years ago and now not a big fan.
I see you’re drinking 1%. Is that ’cause you think you’re fat? ‘Cause you’re not. You could be drinking whole if you wanted to.
I’d just swear off pop rather than drink Diet/Zero. I go for unsweetened tea when I cut out pop.
All alternative sweeteners have terrible aftertastes and/or give me a headache. Hard pass.
What drives me nuts is when something has real sugar, and maybe even corn syrup…and then they throw in some sucralose to keep the calorie count down by some piddly amount without calling it low calorie or diet or anything else (said product had exactly 100 calories, so I assume it was to not go to like 110 calories??) Well, that sucralose just made me throw your product in the trash and I will never buy it again. It was plenty sweet anyway. Just put in less sugar!
Oh, what this is a car forum? …cool commercial. Maybe I’d take a sip of Diet Coke for a drive in an ae86 again. Maybe.
You are right that when something is sugared, it should be full-sugar instead of halving stuff and inserting fake stuff for it to look healthier on the tag…
Make the fake stuff fake, and keep the real stuff real!
For the “swear off pop rather than…”, it is exactly what I did for a long time, but then I went to a fast food, and between water, diet stuff or falling asleep during the afternoon, I chose the fake stuff. Yes, it tasted funny… But I eventually got used to the taste, so now it is what pop tastes for me, and regular stuff now tastes like corn.
Nobody else taste the corn?
Maybe you’re tasting the corn syrup? Get some Mexican Coke or Pepsi Cane Sugar. They taste way better.
Or get some RC Cola….the best!
Ooooh, I remember RC cola being available when I was young, but it is of those pops that come and goesm I have no idea why…
Bawls was available when I was in college, but I do not think they are in Canada at all now.
There once was a special Pepsi made with cane sugar, white sugar or something like that available a couple years ago, my significant other really liked it and it was the only fancy thing she drank (she does not like alcohol) and when it went back to regular pepsi, she almost dropped pop completely!
Mexican Coke is the best. Real sugar & a glass bottle.
RC is better than Pepsi.
Pepsi is only bearable with cherry added to mask the terribleness of Pepsi. 😀