Insight #1 – People like choice, but not a lot of options. In fact, two options works best.

People prefer binary choices, selecting from two options rather than an array of possibilities – similar to the way dummy variables work in computing. Therefore, audiences are much more likely to make a choice or take part in challenges which involve choosing from only variables.

Insight #2 – Most people swear they could tell the difference between Coca-Cola Original Taste and Coca-Cola Zero Sugar.

Our search through YouTube revealed that people were already playing taste-guessing games with Coke Regular and Coke Zero, sharing their personal taste preferences while sparking conversations around the benefits of sugar reduction. Plus they were already using the same mechanism used in dummy variables to showcase both products.

We could capitalize on the phenomenon by putting this binary choice into a single bottle of Coca-Cola.

Thousands of Coca-Cola Guess bottles were printed and coded, enticing people to see for themselves if they could spot the taste difference between classic Coke and Coke Zero. Each label was equipped with an invitation for our challengers to easily access a dedicated online platform from their smartphones to confirm if their taste buds were as accurate as they thought.

The challenge took social media by storm, and even caught local influencers’ attention, who invited their online communities to play the game on Coca-Cola Guess bottles and challenge their friends to do the same.

We amplified this first-of-its-kind challenge with through Coca-Cola Guess tasting events in Bucharest and other key Romanian cities – turning a simple blind taste test into a cultural phenomenon.

The Coca-Cola Guess campaign was a huge success, both in terms of sales and as a testament to Coke Zero as sugar-free alternative to Coke with the same great taste.

More than 50,000 people took part in the challenge and Coca-Cola Zero saw a sales increase of +16% vs the same period last year.

Perhaps most impressive of all, only 53% of those who participated in the challenge guessed correctly, proof to all of Romania that Coke Zero provides the same great taste of Coke Classic without the sugar, making it a viable and delicious sugar reduction option.