Mountain Dew, often stylized as Mtn Dew, is a popular soft drink brand owned by PepsiCo. Known colloquially as "Dew" in some regions, this beverage has a rich history and has undergone numerous transformations since its inception. From its humble beginnings as a Southern slang term for moonshine to its current status as a global brand, Mountain Dew's journey is filled with interesting anecdotes and marketing strategies. This article delves into the origins of Diet Mountain Dew, its cultural impact, and how it became a subject of internet memes.
The Early Days of Mountain Dew
The original Mountain Dew formula was invented in 1940 by Tennessee beverage bottlers Barney and Ally Hartman. Later, in 1958, Bill Bridgforth created a revised formula. The rights to this formula were then acquired by the Tip Corporation of Marion, Virginia. Charles Gordon, a partner of William Swartz in bottling and promoting Dr. Enuf, was introduced to Mountain Dew by the Hartman brothers on a train.
The name "Mountain Dew" itself has an intriguing backstory. It was originally Southern and/or Scots-Irish slang for moonshine, referencing the Irish folk song "The Rare Old Mountain Dew" from 1882. Carl E. meeting in Toledo, Ohio, suggested using it as the name for the soda, and Ally and Barney Hartman first trademarked it in the 1940s. Early bottles and signage featured a cartoon-stylized hillbilly, reinforcing the moonshine association.
PepsiCo's Acquisition and Brand Evolution
PepsiCo (then The Pepsi-Cola Company) acquired the Mountain Dew brand in 1964. Shortly thereafter, in 1969, the logo was modified to appeal to a "younger, outdoorsy" generation. This direction continued through the 1970s and 1980s. In 1996, PepsiCo began updating Mountain Dew's logo every few years, similar to its strategy with Pepsi. In October 2024, PepsiCo announced a major rebrand.
Introduction of Diet Mountain Dew
Between the 1940s and 1980s, there was only one variety of Mountain Dew, which was citrus-flavored and caffeinated in most markets. Diet Mountain Dew was introduced in 1988, followed by Mountain Dew Red, which was introduced and discontinued in 1988. In 2001, a cherry-flavored variant called Code Red debuted. Production was extended to the United Kingdom in 1996 but was phased out in 1998. A similarly named but different-tasting product, with a recipe more similar to the original American product, has been sold in the U.K. under the name "Mountain Dew Energy" since 2010 and in Ireland since the spring of 2011, but in 2015 it was changed to "Mountain Dew Citrus Blast" to shift away from the energy drink marketing.
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Packaging and Composition
In summer 2010, a secondary type of Mountain Dew bottles began appearing on some US shelves. Designed by 4sight, a design and innovation firm, these bottles featured a sleeker design, smaller packaging labels, and a built-in grip. The composition of Mountain Dew varies by region. For example, in Canada, the sweetener listed is "glucose-fructose" (another name for high-fructose corn syrup), and until 2012, it was caffeine-free by default. Formerly, the composition included brominated vegetable oil, an emulsifier banned in foods throughout Europe and in Japan.
Controversies and Marketing Innovations
In 2022, PepsiCo partnered with the Boston Beer Company to produce a line of alcohol-infused drinks in four flavors. Despite having been on the market for a few years and the drink clearly stating it had alcohol in it, the drink gained some controversy in 2025 when a middle school teacher in San Antonio, Texas mistakenly gave five of his special education students cans of Hard Mountain Dew as an end-of-school-year treat, thinking it was regular Mountain Dew.
Beginning in 2007, Mountain Dew launched "DEWmocracy," a promotion that involved the public in selecting new flavors, colors, names, packaging graphics, and advertisements for upcoming products. This campaign has been recognized within the advertising industry as one of the earliest and longest-running examples of a consumer product brand employing crowdsourcing. In its initial phase, DEWmocracy participation and voting were conducted via an online game. Television advertisements at the time featured actor Forest Whitaker asking people to decide the next new flavor of Mountain Dew. In 2010, Mountain Dew announced a continuation of the DEWmocracy campaign - referred to as "DEWmocracy 2".
Game Fuel and Green Label Promotions
In 2007, Mountain Dew introduced a new flavor variant called Game Fuel, coinciding with the release of the Xbox 360 game Halo 3. Mountain Dew's Green Label promotion originated in 2007, featuring artwork from tattoo artists and other artists on limited edition aluminum bottles. In 2008, a Mountain Dew-sponsored music label was launched under the name Green Label Sound. The Dew Tour, first held in the summer of 2005, featured events in skateboarding, BMX, and Freestyle Motocross.
FanDEWmonium and Dub the Dew
In October 2010, Mountain Dew started the "FanDEWmonium" promotion, a competition in which new flavors would compete to become permanent, similar to the DEWmocracy campaigns, but with eight diet flavors instead of three regular ones. After votes were cast, it was announced that Diet SuperNova had won, with 55% of all votes, and it returned in January 2012. In August 2012, Villa Enterprises held a promotion known as Dub the Dew, where users were asked to submit and vote on name ideas for a green apple flavor of Mountain Dew. The promotion was infamously hijacked by users, particularly those originating from the imageboard 4chan.
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Super Bowl Advertisement and Musical References
On 7 February 2016, for Super Bowl 50, Mountain Dew aired a spot featuring a CGI character dubbed "the puppy monkey baby," which garnered mixed media coverage. In the musical Be More Chill, green Mountain Dew activates the "squip," a tiny super-computer in a pill that tells the user what to do, in order to help them achieve their goals. Mountain Dew Red shuts them off.
Diet Mountain Dew and Internet Memes
While the provided information doesn't explicitly detail the origin of Diet Mountain Dew memes, we can infer potential reasons for its memetic status:
- Nostalgia and Brand Recognition: Mountain Dew, including Diet Mountain Dew, has been a prominent beverage for decades. Its strong brand recognition makes it an easy target for memes, often referencing its distinctive taste, color, or marketing campaigns.
- Association with Gaming Culture: Mountain Dew has a long-standing association with video gaming culture, particularly through its Game Fuel line. This connection makes it a popular subject within online gaming communities, where memes thrive.
- Unique Flavor Profile: Diet Mountain Dew, like other diet sodas, has a unique flavor profile due to its artificial sweeteners. This distinct taste can be a source of humor and memes, often exaggerating its sweetness or comparing it to other beverages.
- Cultural Commentary: Memes often serve as a form of cultural commentary, and Diet Mountain Dew is no exception. Memes might poke fun at its target demographic, its perceived healthiness (or lack thereof), or its role in popular culture.
- Hijacked Marketing Campaigns: As seen with the "Dub the Dew" promotion, Mountain Dew's marketing campaigns have been targets of internet pranks and meme creation. This can lead to the brand becoming associated with unexpected and humorous content.
Given these factors, it's likely that Diet Mountain Dew memes originated from a combination of nostalgia, gaming culture associations, unique flavor profiles, and instances of hijacked marketing campaigns. The internet's ability to amplify and remix content has likely contributed to the spread and evolution of these memes over time.
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