Everyone dropped 'diet' except Coke

Diet Coke isn't 'Diet' Coke it's Diet Coke.

I usually start my newsletter with some cute advice for the week (meep!) but this week I want to talk about why Diet Coke is one of the few products still clinging to the word ‘diet’ and how no one seems notice or care.

Straight-up, I don’t actually care either and I’m not even a diet Coke Stan. To be sure, I enjoy a frosty DC most days in lieu of an afternoon coffee but a Coke Zero will hit the spot for me too. If I happen to catch a TikTok about Diet Coke having cancer in it (happens frequently) I’ll switch to Coke Zero until I forget about it. If I happen to be travelling and there’s no Coke available, a Pepsi Max is a fun little alternative. Bottom line, I like a very, very cold no sugar soft drink with my lunch. Sue me.

So as I was chugging back my Diet Coke on the weekend my 6-year-old read the can. ‘Dee-et cock’. I nearly spat my dee-et cock all over the table. I’m trying very hard to raise body neutral kids so I’m extra sensitive to what shows up on packaging. Thankfully most brands have realised we hate shame language and they’ve largely stopped using it. I haven’t seen ‘guilt-free’ on anything in a long time. Tiny applause for the snack brands out there.

But somehow, I’d missed that I’ve been casually drinking a diet product, actually labelled ‘diet’. I’m mildly perturbed. Not because I’m raging against diet culture here (which I usually am), this isn’t a think piece. It’s more an observation about how a word that would normally feel loaded has been almost neutralised in this one weird case. The word ‘diet’ next to ‘Coke’ didn’t just survive the backlash, it transcended it. It became the brand.

I’m a content writer. I’m deeply connected to body-neutral thinking. I drink Diet Coke. I should’ve noticed this sooner.

My very tenuous point in writing this is to highlight that some how Coke have slid under the radar with this outdated wording and I’m not even sure I care because the product is so iconic, it’s become a seperate entity. Which is quite cool in a horrible corporate way.

Diet Coke isn’t ‘diet’ Coke. It’s Diet Coke. You get me?

Also has anyone else noticed Pepsi Max as a naming convention is the opposite of Coke Zero but essentially the same product?

I think about things too much.

Also in some countries (Google said Italy?) it’s Coke Light. I have no feelings about this.

Just in case you’re tempted to come at me about aspartame, cancer causing chemicals or Coca-cola as a brand please don’t bother. I’ve heard and read it all.

I try so hard to shop second hand, I feel extra guilty when I have to buy stuff from Amazon (I scream CURSE YOU BEZOS whenever I use a Prime benefit), I pack a ‘naked’ lunch box for my kid every damn day in this asshole-smug stainless steel lunchbox, I rarely drink alcohol, I don’t do drugs. I’m the mean mum who never buys her kids garbage Squishimals or whatever the hell they’re called.

Let me have my sad little can of low sugar fizzy drink. I need to live.

Peace out.

Reading

Let Them by Mel Robbins. I didn’t make it all the way through because the theory is basically an Instagram post and a low-key plagiarised one at that. The vibes are decent with stay-in-your-own-lane and don’t-expect-anything-of-anyone energy but it’s not particularly new or groundbreaking. Don’t recommend reading it, I just saw it on one of my library apps and went for it.

Having said that, I do agree with Mel’s overall message. Collectively, expecting less of people is a path to peace. It’s not an invitation to be a doormat or let people treat you poorly but something I’ve noticed is when people have high expectations of how they’d like others to behave, they’re often disappointed and that leads to conflict. A base level of decency is obviously essential, but we can’t expect everyone to bend to an invented fantasy we have of them. It’s kind of a ludicrous way to live don’t you think?

Also hate to be this person but christ in a cardigan, that cover sucks.

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Watching

Season 2 of America’s Sweethearts. Just as brill as the first season. Considering the subject matter, it’s very low drama. These women are accomplished, intelligent, strong. Pure class. I’m also obsessed with Reece. She’s copped some backlash but I think she’s a human apple pie and a bloody fierce cheerleader. Team Reece 4eva. We also re-watched Maverick because the first time I watched it was the day before our youngest daughter was born almost three years ago and I was very distracted. If you’re a Top Gun fan, pop it in your watch queue. Honestly I’d watch Top Gun at least once a year if I could handle Goose dying that often. But I can’t.

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Listening

Lush Life: The Lost Sinatra Arrangements by Seth Macfarlane. I don’t know if there are any Seth Macfarlane fans here (Family Guy, The Orville) but you may have noticed that his shows have incredible orchestral backing music and he’s quite well known for being a raging jazz fan. It turns out the son of Frank Sinatra loves ol’ Sethy and gave him some unfinished music that Seth made into this delightful album. Mark my words, that boy is going to write the next Hamilton one day and it’s going to be spectacular.

Wearing

The usual. Mainly trying to keep warm. High waisted pants, cropped jumpers, warm socks and boots are the daily uniform ATM. Don’t hate it. I missed out on these Radical Yes boots when they were on sale but managed to snag them second hand this week and they’ve been heaven on my fussy feet.

My favourite thing this week was when I bought a new workout onesie and they sent the wrong colour. I'm obviously going to return it but I got the giggles trying it on. My bestie deadass thought I should keep it to wear to netball and it’s a hard no for two reasons. 1. It’s so silly and 2. I’m posing very carefully but this onesie gives the most extraordinary camel toe I’ve experienced. It’s like it summoned additional majora out of thin air. Outrageous.

Buying

Rolla’s barrels. I know some people hate them and I’m really not a trend follower but I adore the barrel silhouette. It somehow feels very Scandinavian yet also Japanese at the same time. I’ve never been a pants wearer until the current super high waist/wide leg trend and I’m fully converted. I’m stocking up because I’ll be wearing barrels forever baby. I know these aren’t barrels but I also love these for WFH.

Doing

Some big life management stuff. I’ve had about four big issues crop up this year, two of the big ones are 90% sorted (I’ll let you know what they are when I can!) and two of them are in maintenance. The first half of this year has been spent in survival mode and I’m looking forward to entering my thrive mode when I have the brain space to think about luxuries like my hobbies, perhaps plan a holiday or work on some fitness goals. Also we’re fine – we’re all good! It’s just been an unstable few years and it’s looking like there’s a slightly smoother path ahead. How lovely.

Have a gorgeous week yeah?

Carly