By Michael Jones | May 23, 2021

It’s kind of funny to think that diet soda is still a relatively modern creation. Diet Coke, for instance, is basically a millennial—born in 1983!

Sure, diet sodas existed as early as the 1940s and 1950s (among the first, the ritzy sounding Canada Dry Glamor). But the industry took a beating in the 1960s and 1970s as all sorts of controversy brewed over diet soda ingredients. While some early diet soda brands persisted—Diet Rite, Tab and the weirdly named Dietetic Dr. Pepper (later changed to Diet Dr. Pepper)—it’s the 1980s that saw peak diet soda.

And holy NutraSweet, did the celebs come running to join the diet soda bandwagon. You couldn’t throw a pop top in the 1980s without hitting a celebrity doing a diet soda commercial.

Here’s a quick journey through some of the best celeb diet soda commercials from the decade. We got singers, actors, comedians, A-listers and…

Sharon Stone’s great train ride for Diet Sprite

Bold claim: this is not only the best diet soda commercial ever, this might be in the running for one of the best 1980s commercials. There’s cola wars (Coca-Cola’s Diet Sprite vs. Diet Pepsi), a pre-Basic Instinct Sharon Stone, and a production budget that’s better than at least 50% of the action movies released during the decade. Sharon Stone runs to catch a train, hangs off the side of the train, balances on top of the train, ducks as the train goes into a tunnel, all in the name of Diet Sprite. And her hair at the end? Flawless!

Whitney Houston’s pipes bring down the house for Diet Coke

One calorie has never sounded so damn good. This is less a commercial, and more a 1980s dance bop that you could find on Open House Party or Friday Night Videos. Whitney Houston is peak Whitney Houston in this ad, and sends Diet Coke flying all the way to the rafters. It doesn’t even matter that this commercial is an entire minute of basically the same phrase (“Just for the taste of it, Diet Coke!!”). But if you really want the goods, head to :47 seconds and just listen to Whitney bring the entire commercial home with those vocal chords.

Michael J. Fox and the fire escape from hell blocking his Diet Pepsi

Perhaps Michael J. Fox isn’t the first 1980s celebrity people think of “Oh, a soda commercial that’s more or less the set-up of a hot threesome.” But sure enough, in this Diet Pepsi ad, Michael J. Fox’s new hot neighbors stop by to borrow a Diet Pepsi. He runs to the kitchen to get one but upon realizing he doesn’t have any, descends from his apartment’s fire escape and catapults into the rainy city streets to find a soda machine. Does Michael J. Fox for one minute think “Oh I just left a stranger in my apartment who can steal my VCR?” Nope, it’s just Diet Pepsi and hormones on his brain.

Lee Majors gets buff in a 1980s gym by drinking Diet Rite

The best part about this commercial by far is the opening 6 seconds, where Lee Majors is doing sit ups in a gym. A fitness model walks past him and Lee decides to flirt with her by going, “Hey, I lost eight pounds.” The model quickly responds: “Lose 8 more.” Womp womp. Lucky for Lee, Diet Rite is there to help him chisel his body. Also learned during this commercial? That Diet Rite doesn’t have salt.

Lynda Carter zings Don Rickles over a Diet 7Up

Don Rickles thinks he has the upper hand with Lynda Carter. But come on, hockey puck, no one gets a joke in with Wonder Woman. She not only gives her reasons for why she’s a Diet 7Up fan, she manages to tell Don Rickles he doesn’t have any taste, either.

Demi Moore almost free falls to her death for Diet Coke

If Sharon Stone gets the best diet soda commercial in history, then Demi Moore perhaps gets the second best. This 1988 spot looks like Tim Burton directed it, with a vamp-like Demi tripping over her cat, forcing her to lose control of her can of Diet Coke which rolls out the balcony, and onto the ledge of the giant gothic skyscraper she calls home. Does she fall to her death? Or does she somehow manage to defy gravity, land a crisp refreshing Diet Coke, and flirt with a man? You’ll have to watch to find out!

Too Close For Comfort’s Deena Freeman gives her sassy take on Tab

Aww, RIP Tab. The beloved diet soda, one of the first ever, was nixed by Coca-Cola last year. The early 1980s were Tab’s heyday though, and there are some fun Tab commercials that are borderline bops today. When it comes to celebrities, though, Tab didn’t entirely light the decade on fire. This spot featuring Deena Freeman at least gives us Tab’s big catchphrase: Tab’s got sass. If that doesn’t quite do it for you, here’s a spot with Margot Kidder where in full on PBS-tone she tells you about how nice it is that Tab includes calcium.

Lauren Hutton disrobes and belly flops for Pepsi Light

Pepsi Light? Yes, prior to aspartame, low-cal cola tasted a bit metallic because of saccharin. So to hide that taste in the early 1980s, Pepsi put some lemon in their diet soda and branded it Pepsi Light. And as this spot from Lauren Hutton shows you, it’s so refreshing it makes you want to disrobe into a tight swimsuit and indelicately plop your body into a pool. Sheesh, someone give Ms. Hutton some diving lessons stat.

Flip Wilson and Geraldine flirt and roller skate over some Diet 7Up

Before Tyler Perry did Madea or Martin Lawrence did Sheneneh Jenkins, comedian Flip Wilson donned some drag and created a persona known as Geraldine Jones, a quick-witted flirty and confident woman with some banger catch phrases. Ever heard the line “What you see is what you get,” or ”The devil made me do it,” or “When you’re hot, you’re hot. When you’re not, you’re not”? You can thank Geraldine Jones for those. And in this ad you get full sass Geraldine telling you why she drinks Diet 7Up, and why she won’t put up with any grief about it. Bonus points that this commercial takes place in a roller skating rink, fueling nostalgic memories of after school skating parties.

Country music legend Lynn Anderson trots on up for Diet Shasta

Digging deep into the pop trash vault for this one, and it’s entirely because Shasta deserves a spot in a list about 1980s soft drinks. Lynn Anderson may have never promised anyone a rose garden, but she sure promises you a country jingle dedicated to the deliciousness of Diet Shasta. Shasta sets the flavor flyin’, she croons in full-on canary yellow western garb.

Thirsty for more? Well, we won’t leave you dry. Some bonus commercial spots include Paula Abdul & Elton John for Diet Coke, Loni Anderson & Arnold Schwarzenegger for Diet 7Up, a baseball-playing Tony Danza getting his ass kicked by a bunch of little leaguers for Diet Rite, and a suave Pierce Brosnan doing a Remington Steele-esque act for Diet Coke (complete with ninjas trying to sabotage Brosnan’s Diet Coke cravings).

Got another one we’ve missed? Holler at us in the comments below.

An unabashed 80s & 90s pop culture junkie, Michael Jones is a Brooklyn-based writer and co-host of the Pop Trash Podcast.

The Diet Soda Celeb Commercial Craze