In 1975, Pepsi launched the "Pepsi Challenge." Blind taste tests. Mall shoppers. Hidden cameras capturing the moment Coke loyalists chose the "wrong" soda.
It looked like democracy in action.
It wasn't.
The challenge wasn't about taste. It was about manufacturing the appearance of competition while both companies carved up the market like feudal lords dividing territory.
The Illusion of Choice in a Red and Blue Can