For quite a few years after its introduction in 1963, Tab had been one of the top sellers in the diet soda market. That started to change in the early 1980s when several other diet colas, including Coca-Cola's own Diet Coke, began to outpace the sales of Tab. Part of this may have been due to the fact that Tab contained only saccharin, which unfortunately had something of a chemical aftertaste, while Diet Coke was sweetened with a blend of saccharin and the newer aspartame, which was said to more closely resemble the taste of sugar. In any event, Coca-Cola ran several campaigns to rekindle interest in Tab, and gave the product a catchy new slogan, "Tab's got sass."
The '80s were all about sass, which fit well with the slogan, and they were also all about activewear, thanks to the popularity of the fitness movement as well as films such as Flashdance which prominently featured the female lead in a sweatshirt. So, a promotion offering sweatshirts, t-shirts and sweatpants seemed like a natural fit. Consumers could send in a receipt noting the purchase of Tab, plus funds to cover the cost of the items, and they would receive colorful activewear at a reasonable cost. In turn, Coca-Cola would receive the proceeds from the soda purchase required for the offer, as well as some willing free advertising from wearers of the shirts with "Tab's got sass" boldly emblazoned across the front.
It all sounded like a win-win situation, and perhaps it was, but I must say that I don't recall ever seeing anyone wearing any of the Tab-featured clothing items, or come across them in secondhand stores. And, unfortunately for Coca-Cola, sales of Tab continued to decline during the 1980s and beyond as more diet sodas with newer sweeteners became available. Still, you have to give Coca-Cola credit for trying to update the image of Tab in a way that would give consumers a little lasting style.
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