# Twice As Nice For Half The Price **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [April 15, 2023, 9:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twice-as-nice-for-half-the-price/982706 "2023-04-15T09:53:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Common\_Tater](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/common_tater/32/13846_2.png) [@Common\_Tater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Common_Tater)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2023, 9:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twice-as-nice-for-half-the-price/982706/1 "2023-04-15T09:53:06Z")
It might not be so well known today, but the Coca-Cola vs. Pepsi war was based in part by a huge price differential. You can hear this in old radio jingles - Coke was sold in 6oz bottles and Pepsi was sold in 12oz bottles, a substantial savings. When did they stop doing this? I’ve tried looking this up on the intertubes without success. ---
**Author:** ![bleach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bleach/32/3106_2.png) [@bleach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bleach)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2023, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twice-as-nice-for-half-the-price/982706/2 "2023-04-15T11:30:30Z")
This has a historical timeline with photos, including the doubling in volume that you mentioned [1933-1934]. [Business Insider article on Coke vs Pepsi](https://www.businessinsider.com/soda-wars-coca-cola-pepsi-history-infographic-2011-11) From Coke’s website, they say that in 1955, Coke saw the debut of their King Size bottles, 10- and 12-oz, as well as a family size of 26-oz. During WW2, materials weren’t readily available for cans, but in 1960, 12-oz cans of Coke were introduced. [Coke’s history from their website](https://www.coca-colacompany.com/company/history/11-facts-about-the-coca-cola-contour-bottle) ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2023, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twice-as-nice-for-half-the-price/982706/3 "2023-04-15T11:40:42Z")
during WW2 when Pepsi almost went out of business because they couldn’t get sugar and lost their butt in the futures markets Coke didn’t have to worry about this as it had straight out bribed key members of the congressional committee that controlled the sugar rationing Now according to legend this si also around the time that Pepsi offered itself for sale to Coke and the CEO laughed in their faces saying Pepsi was too insignificant to bother … it lit a fire under Pepsi management and started the “cola wars” when rationing ended ---
**Author:** ![Common\_Tater](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/common_tater/32/13846_2.png) [@Common\_Tater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Common_Tater)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2023, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twice-as-nice-for-half-the-price/982706/4 "2023-04-15T11:47:24Z")
Yeah, I guess it’s sort of a “six of one, half a dozen of the other”, but when did they equalize price and/or quantity? Maybe 1955 when Coca-Cola offered 12 oz bottles, apparently. When I was a kid, our family wasn’t poor by any stretch but monetary inflation was felt by everyone. Soda was “store brand” knock-offs. If Pepsi was half the price during the “Depression” years, when money was tight I could see Coke having a tough time competing. ---
**Author:** ![bleach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bleach/32/3106_2.png) [@bleach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bleach)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2023, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twice-as-nice-for-half-the-price/982706/5 "2023-04-15T12:03:05Z")
[NPR Planet Money](https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2012/11/15/165143816/why-coke-cost-a-nickel-for-70-years) did an article on this. Summary is that there were two factors: 1) A super-long term contract for bottling rights, that held the cost of a ~6-oz bottle at 5 cents for approximately 70 years, and 2) vending machines that only took nickels. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2023, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twice-as-nice-for-half-the-price/982706/6 "2023-04-16T02:06:59Z")
I still recall the jingle: Pepsi-cola hits the spot; 12 full ounces, that’s a lot. I always got Pepsi because I got twice as much. I can’t recall the last time I bought a cola. ---
**Author:** ![Common\_Tater](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/common_tater/32/13846_2.png) [@Common\_Tater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Common_Tater)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2023, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twice-as-nice-for-half-the-price/982706/7 "2023-04-16T03:29:34Z")
**Be sociable … Look smart Keep up to date With Pepsi Stay young And fair And debonair Be sociable Have a Pepsi**!\*\*\*\* ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2023, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twice-as-nice-for-half-the-price/982706/8 "2023-04-16T05:44:10Z")
> [@Common\_Tater](#): > > Yeah, I guess it’s sort of a “six of one, half a dozen of the other”, but when did they equalize price and/or quantity? “Twice as Much for a Nickel" was Pepsi’s slogan from 1939-1950 when it was briefly changed to “More bounce for the ounce” and then “Any Weather is Pepsi Weather". So, 1950 was probably the last year their advertising boasted about any price or volume differential. > **[Pepsi Slogans and Logos Throughout the Years](https://gmdist.com/blog/pepsi-slogans-and-logos-throughout-the-years)** > > Over the years brands such as Pepsi change their logos and marketing slogans. Here are a few of the logos since the late 1800's and slogans during the past 60 years: 1939–1950: Twice as Much for a Nickel1950: More Bounce to the Ounce1950–1957: Any...