Mountain Dew leads the way in innovative branding. No longer is Mountain Dew just a drink, it's
an entire way of being. With that in mind, here are 10 Mountain Dew Facts That Will Energize
You.
Willy the Hillbilly
Yahoo Mountain Dew! “It will tickle your innards, with a bang in every bottle.” That
was Mountain Dew's first slogan and the first commercial that had the character named 'Willy
the Hillbilly' singing the praises of the soft drink. Mountain Dew’s original formula
was invented in 1940 as a mixer for whisky by Tennessee beverage bottlers Barney and
Ally Hartman. As a tongue in cheek joke, they named it Mountain Dew which was slang for
Moonshine in the south. So, they found it fitting that their logo and main character
should be a Hillbilly. Early bottles, labels and signage for advertising and commercials
had the cartoon-stylized hillbilly as its mascot. In the 70’s, once purchased by PepsiCo,
they dropped Willy the Hillbilly and they switched their marketing campaign to "Get
That Barefoot Feeling" this new campaign was geared more towards urban teenagers. Over
the decades, Mountain Dew's product packaging has changed multiple times, so has the logo,
but we'll never forget Willy; the original mascot.
Mountain Dew AMP-ed
If Mountain Dew AMP Energy drinks won’t keep you energized then nothing will. Amp
Energy started out in 2001 as an offshoot and variant to Mountain Dew products. It was
distributed under the Mountain Dew brand until 2008 as "Mountain Dew AMP”. AMP is manufactured
by Rockstar, which is also owned by PepsiCo, Mountain Dew's parent company. However, the
label was eventually changed with the Mountain Dew logo moving to the bottom of the can.
By 2011, the logo was completely removed from the can, to obliterate its existence. However
this has since come round full circle as they've added the Mountain Dew logo back unto the
cans. The original Amp Energy drinks contained taurine, B-Vitamins, guarana, ginseng, maltodextrin
and 74 milligrams of caffeine, that's enough to energize us all day. It just goes to show
how innovative Mountain Dew are, as some of their offshoots get to shine on their own
like rockstars.
Branding Genius
In order for the customers to feel more involved with their beloved Mountain Dew, PepsiCo came
up with two big marketing campaigns; Dewmocracy 1 and Dewmocracy 2. These two campaigns ran
from 2007-2009 where Mountain Dew fans were given the chance to have quite a big input
on the company's choices on product flavors and even advertising. The first Dewmorcracy
kick-started with a website that had a short promotional film explaining the campaign as
well as a role-playing game. Each game had the chance for people to choose flavors, logos,
and designs for the new drink. In the end, the public chose cool names like; Revolution,
Voltage and Supernova. Dewmocracy 2 amped up the stakes as it started with a US tour.
17 cities were given the chance to taste the potential new flavors then Mountain Dew encouraged
us to join a community to vote for the next flavor The public chose cool names like; White
Out, Distortion, and Typhoon.
Use Of Tartrazine
One of the ingredients in Mountain Dew is a dye called Yellow #5, better known as tartrazine.
Tartrazine is an organic sodium salt which derives from tartrazine acid. It’s a synthetic
lemon-yellow dye used as a food coloring and what gives Mountain Dew its fluorescent color.
It is also found in almost all processed foods. This dye is everywhere, like Doritos, cereals,
shampoos, cosmetics and even popcorn. They say that Tartrazine lowers sperm count. However,
before we all start getting too upset and vow never to drink Mountain Dew again, this
is just an urban legend as Tartrazine has never actually been scientifically linked
or proven to reduce sperm count. Although, some studies suggest that it can possibly
be carcinogenic, like many things, and some studies suggest that among children with ADHD,
Tartrazine can increase symptoms.
Game Fuel For Gamers
In 2007, Mountain Dew started using the term "Game Fuel" to market their sodas to the video-gaming
subculture. Shortly afterwards, it became the drink of choice for gamers, skaters and
just about any kids who wanted to get that extra energy kick. The drinks soon became
the 'go to' drink and an extension of that culture. Mountain Dew Game Fuel had cool labels
that sported images and promotional artwork for the games they were promoting at the time.
Every two to three years Mountain Dew hooks up with the next new game release, to create
another new flavored drink and promotional material. It starts a frenzy and a run to
the stores so fans can sample their new wild flavors. At the end of 2018, Mountain Dew
unveiled a new Game Fuel drink that is more of an energy drink specifically formulated
for video gamers. It is different than the original Game Fuel, which was simply soda
and caffeine. Everyone knows that Mountain Dew AMP GAME FUEL is specially designed to
give gamers that special high, endurance and boost they need during game playing. The combination
of ingredients has shown to increase accuracy and alertness.
Loaded With Ginseng
Ginseng is in many Mountain Dew drinks, especially the energy ones like AMP and Voltage. So if
you are feeling a little under the weather and need that extra zing of energy, Mountain
Dew is for you. These days most energy drinks contain small trace amounts of ginseng that
are not really harmful, except in extremely large doses. For those who do not know, ginseng
is a root that has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for centuries. Research shows
that ginseng really does not have any magical healing properties when it comes to illness
but it does seem to have an effect on memory, fatigue, and insulin response. As long as
it isn't overused ginseng is a welcome bit of pep and zing to add to our Mountain Dew.
The Inevitable Caffeine
We know, this one is obvious. But given all of our obsessions with caffeine, we thought
we should give it a mention. In a recent report it is estimated that 450 billion cups of coffee
or tea are consumed yearly worldwide. That's an incredible amount of caffeine, and that
doesn't even account for carbonated caffeine beverages or food either. In the US alone,
450 million cups of coffee are consumed daily, which could make for a lot of hyper people
or walking zombies. Caffeine is a stimulant that affects the central nervous system and
it is by far the world’s largest legal psychoactive drug. A can of Green Mountain Dew elixir contains
55 milligrams of caffeine in a 12 fl. oz drink, which is not too bad, especially compared
to other drinks of a similar nature; such as Red Bull at 80 mg per drink. The caffeine
and sugar content will have you energized for an hour or so, till you can get your next
fix.
The Green Label Equals Art
Fans of the art world can regale in this as it is right up their alley in terms of creativity
and coolness. Mountain Dew's Green Label promotions, was a project that put artwork featured by
different local tattoo artists on a series of limited edition aluminum bottles. The initial
bottles were the first to coin the phrase”Green Label Art” to describe the use of artistic
works on Mountain Dew packaging. In true Mountain Dew fashion back in 2010, a contest began
by the same title in conjunction with 35 independent skateboard store owners who partnered with
local artists to design and submit future artwork designs. The following year they also
sponsored a music label, under Green Label sound, promoting the music industry with new
hip hop artists. Action Sports has also always been a part of Mountain Dew marketing since
the 90’s. It has also sponsored its own festivals like the Dew Tour, which was made
up of five US city tours over the course of a year; highlighting sports such as skateboarding,
BMX, snowboarding and skiing. In coordination with its Dew Tour sponsorship, a television
show under the banner of the Mountain Dew's Green Label Experience premiered on Fuel TV
just for broadcasting interviews with action sports athletes from each of the stops on
the Dew Tour. Can’t get any cooler than this.
The Quest Will Get You Going
Over the years Mountain Dew has been in a constant state of transformation, innovation
and change. They have partnered with other brands looking for the next best thing to
increase sales. Sports remain one of their biggest strengths, catering to that specific
market with ads like the Puppy Monkey Baby at Superbowl 50. Some other exciting and mysterious
campaigns were when they teamed up with Doritos and created the “The Doritos Quest, a mystery
flavor known as "Quest", which turned out to be Mountain Dew. In 2012 they teamed up
with Warner Bros. for the release of The Dark Night Rises, where fans were able to access
content and details of the film on a website before its release date. They also featured
packaging to promote the movie and a new Dark Berry Flavor. Mountain Dew even did a special
for season 8 of Game of Thrones, in which they created a new can that is completely
blank dubbed “The can with no Name” but when chilled the names on Arya Stark’s hit
list appear. Another prime example of how their marketing department works to reinforce
its brand.
Mountain Dew - Sweet Lighting
Never ending and determined, Mountain Dew are relentless with their thirst for flavor
combinations and their need to bring us the perfect drink. Earlier this year it was leaked
that Mountain Dew had partnered with KFC for a brand new flavor. As of July 1, their
new flavored soda called "Sweet Lightning," was available exclusively at KFC restaurants
nationwide. The drink flavoring contains a punch of peach and a touch of honey flavors.
It will no doubt brighten up each and every one of its customers taste buds and have them
coming back. A new pitchman will be introduced by the name of Sweet; a Southern and yellow-suit
wearing gentleman who is "smooth and lightning-fast” Let’s hope it becomes a mainstay.
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