Review: Sprite Zero
Jul 17th, 2006 by Steve
2 years, 3 names. That's the story behind Sprite Zero. "Hi, we're Coke… we are clueless marketing people!"
Back in fall 2004, Coke rebranded "Diet Sprite" as "Diet Sprite Zero". We had a complete review here on BevReview.com. Well, they've rebranded it again… this time simply as "Sprite Zero".
In fact, per my last review, I sort of predicted this on October 24, 2004…
Some have asked why Coke went with such an awkward name as "Diet Sprite Zero." Well, it's my opinion that this is the first phase in an advertising campaign that will result in this beverage eventually being known as "Sprite Zero". Note that the bottle logo shows the "Diet Sprite" portion and the "Zero" portion as very distinct and not very integrated. In a year or so, look for the "Diet Sprite" logo to simply disappear and the marketing to emphasize the "Zero". This is not unprecedented, either. Coke already uses the "Sprite Zero" brand in other countries, like in Argentina, where they just relaunched "Sprite Light" as "Sprite Zero."
The renaming of Diet Sprite Zero plays into the relaunch of the Sprite brand, with a new logo and new packaging, playing up some sort of S-shaped lemon-lime logo thingy. It's a very sharp design… if they would have actually changed the font used for the word "Sprite" as well. It looks incredibly dated next to the revised design elements. So close, but so far.
Anyway, the drink is the same. Only the name has changed. Enjoy, if you like such things. Personally, I can't stand the taste.
[...] York and Chicago, Sprite Green is a reduced calorie version of Sprite, the line extension since the rebranding of Diet Sprite to Sprite Zero and the trio of short-term Remix flavored drinks (Sprite Remix Tropical, Sprite Remix Berryclear, [...]
I know this article was posted in July of 2006, but I still find people that "haven't heard of that" when I mention Sprite Zero. I have diabetes and drink "diet" drinks almost exclusively. When I dine at a restaurant that only carries Diet Coke or Diet Pepsi, I always ask the manager to look into adding another "diet" flavor to the beverage station, whether that is Diet Mountain Dew (Pepsi restaurants), Diet Dr. Pepper (either brand restaurant, though everyone seems to think PepsiCo still owns Dr. Pepper) or Sprite Zero (Coca-Cola restaurants). Almost everytime the manager says, "I've never heard of that, 'Sprite Zero' did you say? What is it?" I tell them it is Diet Sprite with a different name. So far my campaign for more diet drink variety has resulted in the local Taco Bell locations (Louisville, KY, USA) carrying Diet Mountain Dew and one local Hardee's adding Diet Dr. Pepper. I won't claim sole responsibility for this, but I am persistent in my quest.
Some places I don't visit that often, but have mentioned to the managers in the past: the local Sonics and Arby's locations. These are the only fast food restaurants I am aware of with more than 2 diet beverages- Sonic with Diet Coke, Sprite Zero and Diet Dr. Pepper (they also use the Sprite Zero in their Diet Cherry Limeade and Diet Limeade); Arby's (some locations) have Diet Pepsi, Diet Dr. Pepper, Diet Mountain Dew and Tropicana Light Lemonade. There are a few of the sit-down restaurants with some variety, notably Applebee's and O'Charley's- both have Diet Mountain Dew and some also have Diet Dr. Pepper. Also, the local sandwich chains (Quiznos, Penn Station and Jersey Mike's) have Diet Mountain Dew.
Sorry for my mini-blog about diet soft drinks! Today was my first visit to this site. I am impressed with it and will surely return!
Just ask them to carry diet Sprite. Unlike Coke with its many different versions, Sprite only has one no-calorie option, so they won't be confused.