really is requires a more searching exploration of the intricacies
of our snap judgments.
2. Pepsi’s Challenge
In the early 1980s, the Coca-Cola Company was profoundly
nervous about its future. Once, Coke had been far and away the
dominant soft drink in the world. But Pepsi had been steadily
chipping away at Coke’s lead. In 1972, 18 percent of soft drink
users said they drank Coke exclusively, compared with 4
percent who called themselves exclusive Pepsi drinkers. By the
early 1980s, Coke had dropped to 12 percent and Pepsi had
risen to 11 percent — and this despite the fact that Coke was
much more widely available than Pepsi and spending at least
$100 million more on advertising per year.
In the midst of this upheaval, Pepsi began running television
commercials around the country, pitting Coke head-to-head
with Pepsi in what they called the Pepsi Challenge. Dedicated
Coke drinkers were asked to take a sip from two glasses, one
marked Q and one marked M. Which did they prefer?
Invariably, they would say M, and, lo and behold, M would be
revealed as Pepsi. Coke’s initial reaction to the Pepsi Challenge