played often, sometimes twice within a short break, proof of Coca-Cola's attempt to generate quick attention for the soft drink. Initial market success After positive consumer response in its initial 10 markets, it was announced on February 17, 1993, that Tab Clear would be introduced into an additional 20 American markets the coming March, increasing the drink's availability to 35 percent of the American population. In an article from the Los Angeles Times, it was reported that Coca-Cola expected to have Tab Clear available nationwide by the end of the year. Despite the positive results, an article published in March that year reported "one oddity about the new Tab Clear: it is only sold in cans. You would think that would eliminate one of the pop's strongest selling points--its clearness." Post-discontinuation In July 2004, a BBC Business News article referred to how "colourless versions" of Coke "have not been hugely successful". Some have even referred to Tab Clear's marketing as a "born to die" campaign. In his 2011 book, Killing Giants: 10 Strategies to Topple the Goliath in Your Industry, Stephen Denny published an interview with former Coca-Cola Chief Marketing Officer Sergio Zyman that stated the formation and subsequent failure of Tab Clear was a deliberate move to destroy Crystal Pepsi, capitalizing on the public's lack of understanding of Pepsi's heavily marketed product. Tab Clear was marketed as a diet drink, which were less popular than traditional colas, and the Tab brand in general was seen as an inferior product to flagships like Coca-Cola or Pepsi. With Tab Clear being placed in such close proximity to Crystal Pepsi, the image of both brands would be damaged in what Zyman called a "kamikaze" strategy. "This is like a cola," Zyman explained, "but it doesn't have any color. It has all this great taste. And we said, 'No, Crystal Pepsi is actually a diet drink.' Even though it wasn't. Because Tab had the attributes of diet, which was its demise. That was its problem. It was perceived to be a medicinal drink. Within three or five months, Tab Clear was dead. And so was Crystal Pepsi." See also List of defunct consumer brands References Coca-Cola cola brands Defunct drink brands Diet drinks Discontinued soft drinks Products introduced in 1992