WHY CARBONATED BEVERAGES ARE CALLED “SOFT DRINKS” – “Soft drink” classically referred to nearly all beverages that did not contain significant amounts of alcohol (hard drinks). The term “soft drink” is now typically used nearly exclusively for flavored carbonated beverages thanks to advertising. Flavored carbonated beverage makers were having a hard time creating national advertisements due to the fact that what one calls their product varies from region to region (soda, pop, fizzy drinks, coke, minerals, etc). In order to get around this problem, for national or international advertising campaigns, these manufacturers agreed on using the term “soft drink”.