How do you name a soda?

In 1958 RC Cola released Diet Rite, their first Diet Soda to strong success.  Soon other companies followed suit.

In 1963 the Coca-Cola corporation had developed their first diet soda.  The marketing research department decided to utilize the IBM 1401 computer to accomplish the task.  The revolutionary IBM 1401 was a mainframe computer released by IBM in 1959 and stayed on the market until 1971 which had the capability to utilize punch cards or magnetic tape.  The marketing research department used the computer to create a list of over a quarter million four-letter works with one vowel and added names suggested by the company's staff.  All "inappropriate" words were removed and from a final list of about twenty names Tabb was chose.  During development it was shortened to Tab. 

Tab was a success in name and sales.  Unfortunately for Tab when the FDA banned cyclamate in 1969 the formula had to change, then again when 1977 when it looked like the FDA would ban saccharin more changes came.  In 1982 Diet Coke was released and Tab's sales declined.  To further impact sales, the formula never matched the original flavor and was changed repeatably over the next two decades.  The current Tab uses saccharin as the dominant sweetener and has a flavor that more closely matches the original.

-Professor Walter

Comments

[Olivia]

I don't know if I've ever had Tab. We don't get that here, only coke. And not cherry coke or grape coke, we can only get them at some Asian grocery shops.

[The Wife]

Never heard of grape coke. Sounds pretty gross, actually.