I had a rare stroke of genius today with regards to coming up with an analogy for the difference in sound between digital and analog (or maybe I just had a stroke). I started thinking about Coke and Diet Coke. Many of us grew up drinking Coke and we know the taste well and what to expect. Coke would be considered analog. Many, many years later, Diet Coke burst upon the scene and the Coca Cola marketing machine told us to expect the same great taste but with zero calories. Diet Coke would be considered digital and the zero calories is the same as the digital claim of no distortion. You know, the old marketing angle of ‘getting something for nothing.’
Many people who grew up with the taste of Coke and tried the zero calorie Diet Coke knew immediately that something was wrong. While Diet Coke sort of resembled the taste of Coke, it was actually horrible to those who loved the taste of regular Coke. It has a bitter aftertaste and leaves you feeling cheated.
However, some people converted over to Diet Coke and once they drank it exclusively, they lost their taste for regular Coke. If they had to drink a regular Coke after drinking strictly Diet Coke for years, they found it tasted too sweet and they had to go back to the twangy bitter aftertaste of Diet Coke.
Some young people never really drank Coke and always drank Diet Coke so Diet Coke is their only frame of reference in the Coke world. They weren’t even around when Coke changed their recipe for regular Coke and ruined the taste in the process (that would be multi-track Coke). That was called the New Coke and it sucked and thankfully was killed off by the Coke company. People who drank Rum and Cokes were pissed because it totally ruined their drink until old Coke was brought back again.
The worst buzz kill is when you go to a restaurant and order a regular Coke and they screw up and bring you a Diet Coke. When you go to take a sip, your taste buds are ready for the taste of regular Coke but then you get this huge backwards rush when the horrible taste of Diet Coke hits your taste buds. It makes you feel like you were cheated and robbed of the taste you were expecting.
And there you have it-the difference between analog and digital explained by the tale of two Coke products.
Many people who grew up with the taste of Coke and tried the zero calorie Diet Coke knew immediately that something was wrong. While Diet Coke sort of resembled the taste of Coke, it was actually horrible to those who loved the taste of regular Coke. It has a bitter aftertaste and leaves you feeling cheated.
However, some people converted over to Diet Coke and once they drank it exclusively, they lost their taste for regular Coke. If they had to drink a regular Coke after drinking strictly Diet Coke for years, they found it tasted too sweet and they had to go back to the twangy bitter aftertaste of Diet Coke.
Some young people never really drank Coke and always drank Diet Coke so Diet Coke is their only frame of reference in the Coke world. They weren’t even around when Coke changed their recipe for regular Coke and ruined the taste in the process (that would be multi-track Coke). That was called the New Coke and it sucked and thankfully was killed off by the Coke company. People who drank Rum and Cokes were pissed because it totally ruined their drink until old Coke was brought back again.
The worst buzz kill is when you go to a restaurant and order a regular Coke and they screw up and bring you a Diet Coke. When you go to take a sip, your taste buds are ready for the taste of regular Coke but then you get this huge backwards rush when the horrible taste of Diet Coke hits your taste buds. It makes you feel like you were cheated and robbed of the taste you were expecting.
And there you have it-the difference between analog and digital explained by the tale of two Coke products.
