Not Just for the Taste of It

How Diet Coke, once a favorite of “It” girls, has become the new symbol of masculinity

- by KATHERINE FUNG

FOR A BRAND THAT IS PERHAPS more synonymous with American culture than any other, Diet Coke is devoid of pretty much anything. With zero calories and 46 milligrams of caffeine, the soda is much as it's advertised, "Just for the Taste of It." And yet it's the favorite of some of the country's most recognizable figures, from supermodels to top executives to even the president himself.

For all the ink that was spilled about Donald Trump’s first term, few stories were as intriguing to the public as the revelation that the new president had installed a red button in the Oval Office that summoned staff to bring him cans of Diet Coke, satiating his reported habit of drinking up to 12 a day. The soda button was reinstalled on the day of Trump’s second inauguration, and to commemorate Trump’s return to the White House, James Quincey, chief executive and chair of The Coca-Cola Company, presented the president with a special customized bottle of his favorite sugar-free soda.

Trump isn't the only figure in the new administration who counts himself in the cult of Diet Coke-Elon Musk, the world's richest person and among Trump's closest political allies, is a fan too. But Coca-Cola's sugar-free and low-calorie spin on its flagship product was not always associated with powerful, hard-charging men. Diet Coke has been marketed mainly to women since it was released in 1982.

A famous 1995 ad depicted female office workers running to a window for a “Diet Coke Break,” during which a rakish construction worker took off his shirt to sip an ice-cold can of the soda.

"Diet Coke has gone from being the brand of Taylor Swift...to the choice of the hardcharging, tech-savvy MAGA generation."

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