Iowa Pop Preference: Who Wins the Cola Wars?

If you're a soda... I mean POP fan like I am, you likely are aware of the soft drink news that found its way around the internet and social media this week. The news that Pepsi's popularity has fizzled, and Dr. Pepper is now our second favorite soft drink behind the seemingly unbeatable juggernaut that is Coca-Cola.

But fellow pop patrons, does that mean all 50 states fell in line with this study? Are Iowans who are fans of the fizzy calling Dr. Pepper a better beverage? Or is Pepsi, which we know employs a lot of Iowans, still second in our hearts?

Iowa pop popularity

With news that Dr. Pepper is the second most popular brand in our country, what does that mean for Iowa? Are we still team Coca-Cola at number 1? Is Dr. Pepper our runner-up?

Well, I don't have the same level of research tools at my disposal, so what I'm going to share with you is about as scientific as calling a rock in your garden a fossil (prove it's not!) But, I do have Google Trends at my disposal. Bwaha! We recently used this to determine which household name superstar is more popular in the Hawkeye State: Iowa's own Caitlin Clark or megastar Taylor Swift.

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I have to say, I was a bit surprised by the results. Before we dig in, remember Pepsi has a strong presence in Iowa. Especially in Cedar Rapids, right? Well, Pepsi fell into line in Iowa with the rest of the country...

So, the graphic below is for only 2024 and is from Google Trends. The colors are:

• BLUE: Coca-Cola
• RED: Dr. Pepper
• YELLOW: Pepsi

Again, it's not scientific, but Google Trends, which measures searches from, in this case, all of Iowa, finds the study is accurate for Iowa. While Dr. Pepper has some HUGE spikes in late February/early March, overall, Coke wins. But DP is a very close second, while Pepsi is well represented, but like a can of open cola... they're a little flat.

What do you prefer? My top three pop picks are actually the opposite of this study: I'm a Pepsi (Zero) guy, with Cherry DP Zero and then Coke (yes, Zero) as my faves. But, you can't win 'em all!

We can, however, remember a time it was a two-horse race with some classic Pepsi spots, including the Michael Jackson campaign from the 80s.

This summer, if it's your thing, you can grab a cold pop, or 12-pack, and head to one of these unique glamping locations!