Diet Pepsi's Forgotten Name: The Patio Era

Before Diet Pepsi became one of America's most recognizable diet sodas, it had a brief and slightly awkward identity crisis. In 1963, PepsiCo launched their answer to the wildly successful Diet Rite Cola under the name Patio Diet Cola. The brand featured fitness promoter Debbie Drake as its spokesperson and was marketed not just as a diet drink, but as a beverage option for diabetics.

The Patio experiment lasted exactly one year. By 1964, PepsiCo realized what should have been obvious from the start: if you're making a diet version of Pepsi, maybe call it Diet Pepsi. The rebrand coincided with a national launch, riding the wave of changing dietary preferences among Baby Boomers who were increasingly interested in low-calorie options.

Why "Patio" In The First Place?

The name choice seems bizarre today, but it reflected 1960s marketing psychology. "Patio" evoked images of leisure, outdoor living, and the California lifestyle that was aspirational to middle-class Americans. The name suggested casual sophistication—sipping a refreshing drink on your backyard patio rather than gulping down sugary soda.

Still, the name created a branding problem. There was no clear connection between "Patio" and the Pepsi empire. Consumers couldn't immediately identify it as a Pepsi product, which limited its ability to leverage the parent brand's established reputation.

The Patio Family Expands (Briefly)

Interestingly, PepsiCo didn't immediately abandon the Patio name when they rebranded the cola version. In 1964, the same year Diet Pepsi launched nationally, the company released Patio Orange, Patio Grape, and Patio Root Beer. These flavored diet sodas survived into the 1970s, with some variants lasting until the mid-70s before being quietly discontinued.

The Patio brand became a footnote in soda history, but it gained unexpected pop culture immortality when it appeared in Mad Men. The acclaimed TV series featured a three-episode arc in season three centered around creating an advertising campaign for Patio, complete with a commercial riffing on Ann-Margret's opening number from Bye Bye Birdie. For many viewers, it was their first introduction to this forgotten cola predecessor.

A Lesson In Brand Identity

The Patio-to-Diet-Pepsi transition illustrates a fundamental marketing principle: brand extensions work best when they clearly connect to the parent brand. Coca-Cola learned this lesson well, launching Tab in 1963 (the same year as Patio) as a standalone brand, then later introducing Diet Coke in 1982 with obvious Coca-Cola branding.

Today, original Patio Diet Cola bottles from 1963 are collector's items, physical artifacts of a one-year experiment that taught PepsiCo the value of straightforward naming. The next time you grab a Diet Pepsi, remember: you're drinking what was briefly known as a patio beverage—and be grateful they changed the name.