Coca-Cola launched Tab Clear to kill Crystal Pepsi — and killed both

In 1992, the clear-cola fad was in full swing. PepsiCo had launched Crystal Pepsi — a transparent version of its flagship cola — and it was generating buzz. Coca-Cola needed a response. Its president, Doug Ivester, decided against a clear version of Coke itself, fearing it would dilute the brand. Instead, Coca-Cola launched Tab Clear on December 14, 1992: a clear version of Tab, the diet soda.

The strategy, later confirmed by former Coca-Cola CMO Sergio Zyman, was deliberately destructive. Tab was a weak brand — diet soda had far less appeal than regular cola. By placing Tab Clear next to Crystal Pepsi on shelves, Coca-Cola hoped to associate all clear colas with the diet category, poisoning Crystal Pepsi's mainstream appeal. 'Tab Clear was dead within three to five months. And so was Crystal Pepsi,' Zyman wrote.

The plan worked: Crystal Pepsi faded and was discontinued in 1994. But Tab Clear died alongside it, disappearing in the same year. Coca-Cola had sacrificed its own product to sabotage a competitor — and succeeded, at the cost of whatever brand equity Tab had left. The episode is studied as a brilliant (if ruthless) example of competitive strategy, and a cautionary tale about building a product whose only purpose is to destroy another.