It's Green and Extreme: The Giant that is Mountain Dew

Invented in the 1940's, by Barney and Ally Hartman, Mountain Dew was a favored whiskey mixer in Tennessee. The original bottle was covered in pictures of hillbillies and backwoods stereotypes like outhouses and old trucks to proliferate sales through an inventive theme. Since Pepsi Co. bought the rights to the beverage in 1964, the target consumer has changed substantially. Advertising has shifted gears, focusing mainly on teenagers, utilizing sporty, adventurous images in order to capture a youthful quality. This 13-30 demographic has helped to catapult this lemon flavored soft drink to incredible heights.

It's interesting to observe the evolution of Mountain Dew's image over the years, adapting from an every day Joe focus, to high energy names and slogans like Amp and Livewire. However, after Pepsi Co. got a hold of the brand the concept of Mountain Dew being country friendly continued. In 1974 ads introduced the drink's new slogan, "Hello, Sunshine, Hello Mountain Dew." Lame, yes. However, this was certainly better than the incorporation of the phrase "Ya-Hoo, Mountain Dew" in nearly every ad since 1965. 1986 ushered in the line, "Do it Country Cool". 1993 saw the beginning of the more recognizable line, "Do the Dew." There has been some hype among Dew Enthusiasts that after 13 years Mountain Dew is trying to invent a new, even hipper campaign. Apparently, adweek.com released an article suggesting that, "fueling to the core" may be a possible theme in the future.

So What makes Mountain Dew such a winner with teenagers and college kids. Well, you may only have to visit the official website to figure it out. There are contests to win sports cars and X-box 360's. There are images of skateboarders and pictures of "action sports" superstars cluttering the screen. "Your on Dew Turf" is a nice little blurb that appears. Dew Commercials have a high propensity to feature stimulating and often, "busy" circumstances. For example: A car flipping over a Mountain Dew can and the driver reaching down to grab it; A guy riding a BMX bike after a cheetah in the African Safari, because it ate his can of Mountain Dew; or even an appearance by a popular college student icon, Chuck Norris and action star Steven Seagal.

Stimulation seems to be the key. My own assertion goes like this: With a market congested with kids hopped up on caffeine and sugar already,(the kind saturating each and every can of a certain green beverage) advertisement based on fast paced, "high energy, craziness is nothing short of simplistically brilliant. The fact that it could be considered the best tasting energy drink doesn't hurt either but, we've got MDX to cover that area, coming in at nearly 120 milligrams of caffeine in every 20 oz bottle. (Just a little more than Coca Cola's Vault.)

Mountain Dew even sponsored the first X-Games in 1995, and has hosted countless events promoting "action sports". For instance, it is currently holding the 2006-2007 Vertical Challenge, which is a series of races at top U.S ski resorts, open to the public. Why all the advertising in conjunction with extreme sports? Obviously, because events like the X-Games are hugely supported by a younger audience. Like I said, simplistically brilliant. Maybe, this is why Coca-Cola CEOs probably shudder at the thought of Pepsi's shining star brand.

In summation, Mountain Dew is a youth brand. It's success in the U.S has been a remarkable transition from it's early days as an obscure, fledgling product. Maybe what you have to take away from the brand, patron or not, is that the term "high energy" has a strong correlation with powerful sugar rushes and hyper high schoolers. Certainly, Mountain Dew has concocted the perfect formula for innovation in a market that thrives on the part time jobbers in the 15 to college kid range.