Like Cola: 1982 Slogan Told Consumers "You Don't Need Caffeine, Neither Does Your Cola"

By Blair Matthews

The Spring of 1982 was to be a turning point for the Philip Morris Company. Already a familiar and profitable company with its Miller brand of beer, Philip Morris Inc. was poised to do for the cola market what it had done for the beer industry. The Seven-Up Company, a subsiduary of Philip Morris (which it acquired in 1978) announced that on March 29, 1982, they would launch a new caffeine-free cola, called Like in 8 separate U.S. test markets.

And while the claims of 'caffeine-free' were made with great assurance, the truth is, that some caffeine, however slight, must be in a cola in order for it to be so labeled. So unofficially, the new cola brand was 99% caffeine-free, with the lone 1% left in for logistical reasons.

Philip Morris treaded lightly when it came to the introduction of their new cola since Canada Dry failed twice with a similar product called Sport Cola in 1968 and Spur Cola in 1979 (with Grey Advertising supplying the theme "99 Percent Caffeine-Free. 100 Percent Delicious.''). Some beverage experts claimed at the time of Like Cola's introduction that the Canada Dry entries were poor products at the wrong time with insufficient merchandising.

The Like Cola test markets - St. Louis; Rochester; Norfolk, Va.; Dayton, Ohio; Madison, Wis.; Albuquerque, N.M.; Phoenix and San Diego - were used to test different packaging and potentially different advertising as well. The test-market launch was backed up by $2.3 million worth of advertising in those areas where Like Cola was being sold.

Then-president of Seven-Up, Edward W. Frantel, set up a 24-hour hotline to answer all news media questions about the new Like Cola and made several trips to New York in March (the month that Like Cola was launched) to promote the campaigns, submitting to a battery of interviews and drinking can after can of Like. ("I'm hooked,'' he confessed at the time.) And although Like was only 99 percent caffeine-free, Seven-Up executives were quick to point out that someone would have to drink about 900 cans of Like to consume the same caffeine that is in a single can of Pepsi or Coke.

That's a lot of soda.

In the early 1980s, an average test market for a product cost in the neighborhood of $1-million and included research, media costs, production and packaging.

According to the New York Times, the biggest and best marketers, such as Procter & Gamble, General Foods and General Mills, were weeding out approximately half of their new products in test markets in the early 80's - as many as 30 percent of those that survived to be introduced nationwide failed to meet expectations.

Initial test markets for Like Cola showed significant positive results and less than a year later, it was being distributed in 45% of U.S. markets. In response, The Coca-Cola Company announced that by late 1983, it would be rolling out a caffeine-free version of Coke, Diet Coke and Tab. Pepsi also announced the launch of Pepsi-Free, a low caffeine cola.

Philip Morris' claims that they opened the door for caffeine-free colas proved to be true as the big two cola companies rushed to catch up with consumers' love affair of that growing cola market segment. But were Coca-Cola and Pepsi too big for the Seven-Up Company and Philip Morris to handle?

Unfortunately for Like Cola, the answer was 'yes'.

Plagued by lagging sales and fierce competition, Philip Morris Inc. put the Seven-Up Company up for sale to the highest bidder. Interestingly, Pepsico tried to purchase the company in a bid worth an estimated $380-million. That bid was blocked by antitrust objections from the Federal Trade Commission. It was a small Dallas, TX investment firm, Hicks & Hass, that ultimately bought the Seven-Up Company for $240-million.

With the sale came a massive restructuring. Like Cola's days were numbered.