Pepsi Zero Sugar (sold under the names Diet Pepsi Max until 2009 and Pepsi Max until August 2016), is a zero-calorie, sugar-free, formerly ginseng-infused cola[1] sweetened with aspartame and acesulfame K, marketed by PepsiCo. It originally contained nearly twice the caffeine of Pepsi's other cola beverages.[2] Before a recipe change in late 2022, Pepsi Zero Sugar contained 69 milligrams of caffeine per 355 mL (12.5 imp fl oz), versus 36 milligrams in Diet Pepsi.[3] A new logo was introduced in 2020.[4]
Diet Pepsi Max was introduced in the United States on June 1, 2007, and in Canada in March 2008. "Diet" was dropped from the name in early 2009.
In 2007, the official marketing website for the product[7] contained an 'odd cast' featuring a spoofed telethon urging viewers to donate yawns and uses the slogan 'WAKE UP PEOPLE'.[8] Also, there was a featured commercial of a spoof on the Dallas Cowboys offensive coordinator yawning, when calling a play, thus, causing Tony Romo to be sacked, he was then replaced by Cowboys' owner Jerry Jones who gives him a Diet Pepsi Max. The scene then cuts away to the words "WAKE UP PEOPLE" while a voiceover shouts the slogan. An ad for the product that ran during Super Bowl XLII featured the song "What Is Love" by Haddaway, and showed people sleeping in inappropriate places and at inappropriate times, while bobbing their heads to the rhythm of the song.
Logo used before re-branding in 2020. This logo was introduced in 2016.
For Super Bowl XLIV in July 2010, Pepsi Max did a reboot of a well-received ad that ran during the 1995 Super Bowl XXIX.[9] In the original ad, a pair of delivery drivers from Coca-Cola and Pepsi began a tentative friendship while listening to "Get Together" by The Youngbloods; in a peacemaking gesture, the two rivals taste each other's soda. But the friendship ends in humorous conflict when the Coca-Cola driver refuses to return the (superior) Pepsi product.[9] The new ad riffed on the same story, with the drivers this time coming to blows over the then-Pepsi Max at the expense of Coca-Cola's much more popular Coke Zero, with the song "Why Can't We Be Friends?" by the American funk band War as the soundtrack.[9]
In early 2010, Pepsi released a limited edition called "Pepsi Max Cease Fire." It is Diet Pepsi Lime in the Pepsi Max formula, and is being cross-promoted with Doritos Burn flavors. In July 2010, Pepsi Zero Sugar, then under the Pepsi Max name, was once again redesigned, this time to match its global branding. In the process, Pepsi Max began using the medium-sized "smile". The "Max" typeface was changed to appear similar to what is used worldwide, and a distorted blue background borders the Pepsi globe.
On June 29, 2015, PepsiCo announced several product changes which, among other changes, announced that Pepsi Max would be renamed in North America as Pepsi Zero Sugar. The international drink retained the Pepsi Max name.[4]
In January 2023, PepsiCo reformulated Pepsi Zero Sugar in the United States to reduce caffeine, remove ginseng and tweak the sweetener system.[1] The previous formula with ginseng and higher caffeine is still available in Canada.[14]
^Lippert, Barbara. "Diet Pepsi Max: You Snooze, You Lose", Adweek, June 26, 2007. Accessed July 9, 2007. "A cross between a cola and an energy drink, it contains twice the caffeine of regular Diet Pepsi and a touch of ginseng for the je ne sais quoi."
^National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; Health and Medicine Division; Food and Nutrition Board; Committee to Review the Dietary Reference Intakes for Sodium and Potassium (2019). "Chapter 4: Potassium: Dietary Reference Intakes for Adequacy". In Oria, Maria; Harrison, Meghan; Stallings, Virginia A. (eds.). Dietary Reference Intakes for Sodium and Potassium. The National Academies Collection: Reports funded by National Institutes of Health. Washington, DC: National Academies Press (US). pp. 120–121. doi:10.17226/25353. ISBN978-0-309-48834-1. PMID30844154. Retrieved 2024-12-05.
