Mountain Dew (also stylized as Mtn Dew as of late 2008) is a soft drink manufactured and distributed by PepsiCo. The main formula was invented in Knoxville, Tennessee, named and first marketed in Knoxville and Johnson City, TN in the 1940s, then by Barney and Ally Hartman, in Fayetteville, North Carolina and across the United States in 1964.[1] When removed from its characteristic green bottle, the original Mountain Dew is bright yellow-green and translucent.
As of 2007, Mountain Dew was the fourth-best-selling carbonated soft drink in the United States, behind only Coca-Cola Classic, Pepsi-Cola, and Diet Coke. Diet Mountain Dew ranked ninth in sales in the same year.[2]
On October 15, 2008, it was announced that Pepsi would be redesigning their logos and re-branding many of their core products by the end of that year. At the same time they registered the name "Mtn Dew" and a related logo with the United States Patent and Trademark Office.[3] This also announced the re-launch of Mountain Dew in the UK, which was released by Pepsi in 1996 but was dropped in 1998 due to low sales, although as of 2009 nothing has been said by Pepsi on the matter.[4]
As of August 2009, the flavors include "Code Red", "Voltage" and "Live Wire".
Ingredients
This sign dates from the 1950sThis long-term logo was used in the 1970s & 1980s and in the early 1990s as a "retro" logo until 1995. Used in 2009 for Mountain Dew Throwback.File:Mountain Dew logo 90s.svgThe logo used from 2002 to 2005. Note that the font used in the succeeding logos looks almost exactly like this one.File:Mountain Dew.svgThe final logo that completely spells out Mountain Dew before it would be dropped by the end of 2008, but the flavors "Code Red", "LiveWire", and "Voltage" still use this design as of August 2009. Taco Bell also sells a flavor of Mountain Dew named "Baja Blast".
Mountain Dew (and its energy drink counterpart known as AMP) often incurs the disapproval of health experts due to its relatively high caffeine content for a soft drink (or energy drink). However, Mountain Dew marketed in Australia and Canada (see Dew Fuel/Mountain Dew Energy varieties below) – as well as several U.S. states[citation needed] – has no caffeine added at all (Health Canada prohibits caffeine in non-cola soft drinks,[5] and Australia has a similar law[6]). Nevertheless, Mountain Dew contains tartrazine (“FD&C Yellow No. 5” in the U.S.), which could lead to allergic reactions in some people. This has also led to an urban legend that the Yellow No. 5 in Mountain Dew reduces the sperm count of male consumers.[7] Mountain Dew, like many citrus flavored sodas, contains citric acid and sodium benzoate.
Although the original formulation of Diet Mountain Dew solely contained aspartame as a sweetener, the recently reformulated Diet Mountain Dew, advertised on its packaging as having a "Tuned Up Taste", contains three artificial sweeteners: aspartame, acesulfame potassium, and sucralose.
Light source hoax
A popular hoax has been demonstrated on video sharing sites that the addition of hydrogen peroxide and baking soda to a small amount of Mountain Dew, followed by shaking, results in the production of a greenish light. Mountain Dew when mixed with these chemicals does not create such a light.[8]
Promotions
Mountain Dew’s name is a previously-existing euphemism for moonshine, which likely traces back to Ireland (see the Irish folk song “The Rare Auld Mountain Dew”), and has generally been marketed to highlight its potency. It was originally marketed as “zero proofmoonshine” and had pictures of hillbillies on the bottle until 1973.
Bascom Lamar Lunsford’s original recording of “Old Mountain Dew”, an Appalachian old-time song, was used as the first advertising theme for the newly created Mountain Dew soda.
2002–2007
Today’s target demographic is radically different. The drink is mainly marketed to people in the 12-30 year old demographic group, creating a connection to activities like extreme sports and to the video game culture.[9] Mountain Dew is the tour title sponsor of the extreme sports event the AST Dew Tour. The name Mountain Dew was first trademarked by two brothers, Barney and Ally Hardmen, who ran a bottling plant in Knoxville, Tennessee.
In 2007 Green Label Art also released a limited edition series of bottles featuring 12 different designs from various artists (regular Mountain Dew was inside the bottles themselves). Originally handed out at select promotional events, the company has announced via their website (www.greenlabelart.com) they are looking into distribution for a wider area. In 2008 Green Label Art released a second limited edition series of bottles featuring 6 new designs.
Their promotional tactics for Diet Mountain Dew have recently brought forth their "Diet Dew Surprising Facts" campaign, which focuses on crazy but true facts that are reenacted in videos or through other spectrums of advertisement. Their coordination with RepNation brought on brand representatives throughout 50 campuses across the US.
AMP is an energy drink produced and distributed by PepsiCo under the Mountain Dew soft drink brand. It was launched in 2001 to compete directly with Red Bull. Originally, AMP was known as Mountain Dew AMP. In 2007 and early 2008, several additional flavors of AMP were produced to match up with Mountain Dew flavors.
DEWmocracy
DEWmocracy[10] was a campaign launched by Mountain Dew and actor Forest Whitaker to allow online voters to select the next new flavor of Mountain Dew to be released in 2008. Three flavors were introduced; Supernova, a strawberry-melon flavor; Revolution, a berry flavor; and Voltage, a raspberry-citrus flavor. Each flavor included ginseng. On August 17, Voltage was announced as the winning flavor. It was released on December 29, 2008.[11]Mountain Dew recentley anounced that DEWmocracy will be back with another campaign in 2009.
Doritos Quest
In 2008, Doritos debuted a new mystery flavor known as "Quest," with prizes being given as online puzzles are solved. The flavor has been identified as Mountain Dew.[12]
Mountain Dew Aluminum Bottle Series
The Green Label Art is by Mountain Dew and currently has 21 Green Label Art aluminum bottles in its collection. There were 9 bottles in the 2007 version called "the collection". In Volume 1 (released in 2008) it featured 6 new bottles. In Volume 2, 6 bottles and 1 special edition were released at a conference in Los Angeles called Pushead. There were also 4 Nascar bottles and four 4th of July bottles (not apart of the green label art bottles). One bottle was released for Halo 3 which had the Mountain Dew limited edition Game Fuel in it.[13]
In 2007 Green Label Art also released a limited edition series of bottles featuring 12 different designs from various artists (regular Mountain Dew was inside the bottles themselves). Originally handed out at select promotional events, the company has announced via their website (www.greenlabelart.com) they are looking into distribution for a wider area. In 2008 Green Label Art released a second limited edition series of bottles featuring 6 new designs.
On September 9, 2009, Mountain Dew released six new bottles in the series for Volume 3. In addition to the six regular bottles in Volume 3, a seventh bottle was randomly inserted in approximately every forty cases sent to retail stores. This rare bottle is mostly black with what appears to be a white lightning bolt design. When held up to a mirror, it reveals the design is words, which read "Sum Principium et Finis", Latin for "I am the beginning and the end".
ARCHIVE 2007:
Adam Juresko, "Paper Tigers"
Chris Pastras with Paul Rodriguez, "Pharaohs of Dew"
Dr. Revolt, "Splish Splash"
Jeffstaple, "Staple X"
JT Woodruff with Hawthorne Heights, "Umbrellas"
Mark Nardelli with 5Boro, "Pop Art Pirate"
Mark Nardelli with 5Boro, "Don't Sleep"
Methamphibian, "Tundra"
TWEEQiM, "Dew Lords of the Deep""
Chuck Anderson, "Just Like Snowflakes" (Does not have white rectangle box next to UPC on 2007 release)
Peat Wollaeger, "Bill Hilly" (Does not have white rectangle box next to UPC on 2007 release)
Troy Denning, "Concrete Dragon" (Does not have white rectangle box next to UPC on 2007 release)
VOLUME 1, 2008:
Chuck Anderson, "Just Like Snowflakes"
Dez, "Do the Dew"
Haze, "MD Superstar"
Peat Wollaeger, "Bill Hilly"
Scott Lenhardt & Danny Davis, "Reflections of Dew"
Troy Denning, "Concrete Dragon"
VOLUME 2, 2008:
Billy the Artist, "Open Eyes"
Mark Smith, "Happy Heads"
Mike Sutfin, "Hessian Henchman"
PJ Richardson, "J Church"
Stephan "Maze" Georges, "Dew Celebration"
Troy Denning, "Fearless Fury"
VOLUME 3, 2009:
Pushead, "Scarecrow Genie"
Nathan Cabrera, "The Revolution Will Be Mechanized"
Jeff McMillan, "Beware Mountain"
Stephen Bliss, "Ocean of Mountain Dew"
UPSO, "Wake Up"
Claw Money, "Ups and Downs"
RARE and Hard-to-find:
Pushead Bottle (2008)
Black Latin writing bottle (2009)
Mountain Dew (1964 - Present) – PepsiCo’s original and signature flavor in the Mountain Dew family.
Diet Mountain Dew (1984 - Present) – No-calorie Mountain Dew. Diet was formerly known as “Sugar-Free Mountain Dew” until 1986.[14] In 2006 Diet Mountain Dew was reformulated with a new “Tuned Up Taste,” it is now sweetened with a blend of sucralose, aspartame, and acesulfame potassium. The previous formulation only used aspartame. Diet Mountain Dew is currently Pepsico's fastest growing carbonated soft drink.
Caffeine-Free Mountain Dew (1976 - Present) – Non-caffeinated Mountain Dew. Available in various parts of the United States and Canada. In Canada it is simply labeled as “Mountain Dew” since caffeine isn't allowed in non-cola beverages.
Diet Mountain Dew Fountain (1989 - Present) – A variation of Diet Mountain Dew that uses treated water instead of carbonated water in its formula.[15] Available as a fountain beverage at QuikTrip convenience stores, Quiznos restaurants, and other limited locations.
Caffeine-Free Diet Mountain Dew (1984 - Present) – No-calorie, non-caffeinated Mountain Dew. Available in limited locations in the United States. In Canada it is simply labeled as “Diet Mountain Dew.”
Mountain Dew Code Red (2001 - Present) – Cherry Mountain Dew. Code Red is not the same as the original Mountain Dew Red.
Diet Mountain Dew Code Red (2002 - Present) – A No-calorie No-sugar cherry Mountain Dew. Available in limited areas only.
Mountain Dew LiveWire (2003 - Present) – Orange Mountain Dew. LiveWire was initially introduced in 2003 as a limited edition flavor for the Summer. In 2005, after seeing two years of limited summer releases, LiveWire became a permanent addition to the Mountain Dew family.
Mountain Dew Baja Blast (2004 - Present) – Tropical lime and pineapple flavored Mountain Dew. Available exclusively as a fountain drink at Taco Bell restaurants, although the Mountain Dew Game Fuel Alliance Blue (see below) limited edition flavor is very similar to Baja Blast and is sold in stores.
Mountain Dew Cherry Rush (2009 - Present) - A more heavily Cherry flavored Mountain Dew, more so than Code Red. Available exclusively as a fountain drink at Wienerschnitzel restaurants.File:MtnDew GameFuel(WoW) can.jpg
Mountain Dew Voltage (2008 - Present) – A blue colored raspberry-citrus and ginseng flavored Dew. This flavor is one of the three “candidate flavor” finalists for DEWmocracy's “People’s Dew” national vote. It was released in stores on May 19 as a limited edition flavor so that people could taste test which flavor they like best before voting. It has been announced on August 18 that Voltage is the final winner; therefore, it became a permanent addition. It was released on December 29, 2008.[11]
Mountain Dew Game Fuel Horde Red (2009) - limited edition of the original cherry-citrus flavor to be released as a promotion with World of Warcraft[16]
Mountain Dew Game Fuel Alliance Blue (2009) - limited edition Wild Berry flavored released as a promotion with World of Warcraft.[17] The Alliance Blue flavor is reported to be very similar to the Taco Bell exclusive flavor Baja Blast.
Diet Mountain Dew Ultraviolet (2009) - a purple-colored, mixed berry-flavored version of Diet Mountain Dew available for three months in 2009; branded as zero calorie Dew. It was released on August 3 at a first taste party in Brooklyn, New York.[18]. It has a taste similar to Mountain Dew Revolution, but is a new formula.
Discontinued
Mountain Dew Red (1988) – Fruit Mountain Dew. Red was the first Mountain Dew flavor variation.
Diet Mountain Dew Red (1988) – No-calorie fruit Mountain Dew.
Mountain Dew Sport (1990–1991) – Only test marketed in several states, as a Mountain Dew flavored sports drink.
Diet Mountain Dew Sport (1990–1991) – Only test marketed in several states, as a no-calorie Mountain Dew flavored sports drink.
Mountain Dew Blue Shock (2001) – Berry-citrus flavored Mountain Dew.[19] Blue Shock failed to sell in the test market, Chicago, and was later released nationwide only in Slurpee form exclusively at 7-Eleven stores. Brought back briefly for a limited time in March 2007 and in July 2008.[20]
Dew Fuel (2002–2007) – A caffeinated version of Mountain Dew offered in Canada. Marketed as a natural health product and not as a soft drink due to Health Canada regulations[21] that only allow caffeine in 'dark-colored' varieties of soft drinks such as cola and root beer. Originally called “Mountain Dew Energy” until given its present name in 2006. In early 2007, Pepsi-QTG Canada cited that Dew Fuel is out of production.
Dew Fuel Sugar-Free (2002 - 2007) – No-calorie Dew Fuel. The caffeinated version of Diet Mountain Dew offered in Canada. Was originally called “Mountain Dew Energy Sugar-Free” until 2006.
Mountain Dew Pitch Black (2004) – Black grape Mountain Dew. Limited edition flavor for Halloween.
Darth Dew (2005) – Tangy grape Mountain Dew Slurpee flavor that could be considered as “Pitch Black 1.5”.[22] Was available exclusively at 7-Eleven stores as part of a promotion for the theatrical release of Star Wars Episode III.
Mountain Dew Pitch Black II (2005) – Sour grape Mountain Dew. Limited edition flavor for Halloween. “Sequel” to the original Pitch Black.
Mountain Dew Arctic Burst (2006) – A Mountain Dew Slurpee flavor available exclusively at 7-Eleven stores as part of a promotion for the theatrical release of Superman Returns. The Slurpee is blue in color and said to taste like blueberry. While the official name is “Arctic Burst”, as seen on the actual Slurpee machine,[23] it has also been seen mislabeled under the name “Arctic Blast” in some official online advertisements.[24]
Kryptonite Ice (2006) – A Mountain Dew Slurpee flavor available exclusively at 7-Eleven stores as part of a promotion for the theatrical release of Superman Returns. The Slurpee is green in color and the flavor seems to be tropical, like mango.
Mountain Dew MDX (2005 - 2007) – A Mountain Dew flavored energy soda. It was named “Mountain Dew X” during its national test marketing phase.
Mountain Dew Game Fuel (2007) – A limited edition citrus cherry Mountain Dew flavor released in August 2007 to promote the release of Halo 3, an Xbox 360 game. The taste of Game Fuel has been compared to the energy drink Amp Overdrive, a drink sold under the Mountain Dew brand name. However, this drink has recently been made available again, now sold under the name "Mountain Dew Game Fuel Horde Red", marketing the game World of Warcraft instead of Halo.
Mountain Dew Revolution (2008) – A sky blue-colored, wild berry fruit and ginseng flavored Dew. One of the three “candidate flavor” finalists for DEWmocracy's “People’s Dew” national vote, it lost to Mountain Dew Voltage.
Mountain Dew Supernova (2008) – A purple colored strawberry, melon and ginseng flavored Dew. One of the three “candidate flavor” finalists for DEWmocracy's “People’s Dew” national vote, it lost to Mountain Dew Voltage.[25]
Mountain Dew Throwback (2009) - Mountain Dew made with natural sugar (instead of HFCS) and without orange juice. Packaging uses a retro 70s/80s logo for the label.
Non-Pepsi bottlers in U.S.
There are only three non-Pepsi franchises in the United States that make Mountain Dew. When Mountain Dew was acquired by Pepsi, there were 56 franchise agreements, 16 of which were not held by a Pepsi bottler. The three remaining agreements are permanent, but the size of their territories are small enough to make them insignificant to Pepsi.[26]
West Jefferson Dr Pepper (WJDP) of West Jefferson, NC. The company does not ship outside its contracted territory, however, several Web sites and several Pepsi bottlers (in the midwest) sell the product at a premium price. A premium price is charged because WJDP is the last bottler in the U.S. to produce Mountain Dew with cane sugar[27] (instead of High Fructose Corn Syrup, or HFCS). WJDP is noted for producing all their non-diet products with cane sugar, most of which are Dr Pepper Snapple Group (formerly Cadbury Schweppes and Dr Pepper/Seven Up) products.
RC Cola Bottling of Winchester, Winchester, VA. The company produces Mountain Dew, but uses High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) like all Pepsi bottlers. This bottler markets caffeine-free Mountain Dew and caffeine-free Diet Mountain Dew, and the products are sold at groceries in the northern Shenandoah Valley of Virginia and in nearby West Virginia.
Dr Pepper of Staunton, Staunton, VA. This company does not make Mountain Dew, but instead buys it from regional Pepsi bottling plants. Their territory extends from south of the RC Winchester territory to south of Staunton. The Pepsi bottler in the area carries Sun Drop instead of Mountain Dew.
_can.jpg){kind=link}
