Mountain Dew’s revamp—what designers like (and don’t like)

Mountain Dew is moving to recruit the next generation of customers by hiking into its past. The PepsiCo-owned soda brand this month revealed a new visual identity that restores its proper first name “Mountain” while eschewing “Mtn,” the vowelless shorthand that appeared in a 2009 rebrand. It’s also returning to themes of the outdoors. Brand executives hope the look imparts a sense of adventure that can inspire young consumers interested in getting together with friends and curtailing a lonely obsession with their mobile phones. Those themes were introduced in the “Mountain Dude” creative that launched this summer showing Gen Z engaging in dangerous-but-absurd ram football. See all of Ad Age’s 40 Under 40 honorees here PepsiCo Design & Innovation was behind the redesign, which will begin appearing in May. Does the new look work? Ad Age asked a variety of designers for their assessment. More brand news: Watch Mtn Dew’s VP debate ads Also: AI still can’t recreate brand logos—how that’s changing Yihuang Zhou, senior designer, Mother Design I like Mountain Dew. I probably drank a little too much of it during my freshman year of college. Yet I never noticed that it was actually spelled as “Mtn Dew” on the packaging. To me, the design was so extreme and harsh that all details were dismissible. The new identity is so different! It feels nice and wholesome with the new illustrations of mountains, rivers, and woods. It feels like going on a hike and having a good time, whereas the old brand felt more like going to a downhill mountain bike race. I’m glad that Mountain Dew was able to find a new identity from its own legacy. Adding yellow to the color palette did a lot of the heavy lifting for breaking out of the green-and-red extreme look while keeping the brand recognizable. I particularly love how the white-yellow-green triple outline looks on the can. Being a type designer, of course I would love to tweak the logo here and there—what if the sides weren’t bowing, what if the flairs were more consistent, what if it weren’t unicase? But I’m sure the PepsiCo team has tried all the combinations already. Overall, I think this is a big step in the right direction for the brand. My gut tells me it will encourage more soda drinkers to try it out. As someone who grew up in China, the Chinese name for Mountain Dew (激浪, roughly translated as “surging waves”) has always made more sense to me with the old packaging. But with the new visual identity that feels more relaxed and natural, I’m really curious to see how that’s translated for the Chinese-speaking market. Meg Jannott, head of design, Lafayette American Returning to “Mountain” over “Mtn” is smart. They’ve walked the line here, keeping a clear connection to the 1996 logo while retaining key typographic characteristics from the 2005 and 2009 logos. The citrus leaf over the “i” might not be essential, but this brand has always come with a little emotional messiness, it keeps it fun. Also, for what it’s worth, I love the weight of the M in the 1969 logo. It sings of mountains and water and all the vibrant imagery that built this brand. And I appreciate the mountain illustration, in an era of generic rebrands, this one bursts through the clutter, reminding us that personality—and a splash of whimsy—still matter. The illustration’s nod to early travel posters and WPA National Park posters adds both nostalgia and a sense of playful adventure. I can already imagine the localized packaging and fun marketing with endless potential for seasonal campaigns and rich storytelling. Looking forward to seeing how the full robust design system comes to life. Adriana Ivory, executive design director, The Garden I’m still uncertain about my final thoughts on this rebrand. It’s not due to the clean and polished design execution or the decision to draw inspiration from a past logo; among all its iterations, this one feels the most dynamic and future-proof. I’m not uncertain about the choice of more linear and “retro” inspired graphics for the can—those make sense to me, and I can see how the work evolved to this point. I’m also not unsure about the decision to bring back the full “Mountain” word; visually, it feels better and more balanced. I’m mostly unsure because I’m struggling to find a strong and consistent design point of view throughout all of the components. One that feels like the right balance of old, new and honestly, the fun that the brand represented for so many years. Individually, I can see kernels of insights and inspiration for where the brand can go, but all together, when pairing the funky retro mark, with the vector art that feels a bit too idyllic, and the at times expected nature photography, I’m just not sure I get clear sense of where this brand is going long term, and who they want to bring along on that journey. Overall, I would have loved to see the ideas that first came to the table for such an exciting project. Because something tells me that some of these questions I have may be more a product of design by committee vs. the clearly talented skillset of the creatives working on the work. Side note—I really like the puffer jacket with the confident, bold and exciting logo and pattern. That feels like a brand that’s confident in its name and brand recognition and doesn’t need the bells and whistles. Matt Sia, creative director, Pearlfisher I’m excited about Mountain Dew’s new look because it takes me back to my own first experience with the brand. The rebrand taps into a look that feels iconic and rooted in pure, natural nostalgia. It feels like an inspired nod to the past while forging a new path forward. It manages to evoke the past while also signaling progress, which is not always an easy balance to strike. The new design signals a brand that feels invigorated and proud of its roots in the outdoors. The use of elements like the forest and waterfalls brings a sense of refreshment and connects the visual identity with a bold backdrop. The color palette feels fresh, moving away from an overtly neon and extreme sports space while still retaining its bold, proud energy. There’s an invitation here to “take a hike,” quite literally, to get out and embrace the fresh air of the great outdoors—something that aligns well with the product’s heroic landscape. One aspect that could have been explored further is the illustration style. There’s always potential to push for even more distinctive elements in the details—whether that’s in the texture of the trees, the grooves in the landscape, or even the smaller discoverable gems that make the visuals feel ownable to Mountain Dew alone. Fine-tuning those could have added an extra layer of distinction that would enhance the overall dimensional effect. Change sparks rich conversation and debate. Over the years, audiences have grown familiar with Mountain Dew as more connected to energy, extreme sports, sharp, dynamic shape language, neon colors and quirky characters. To these consumers, this rebrand may feel polarizing as it leans more heavily into nature. I see this as an invigorating nod to the history of the brand. As someone who has always loved Mountain Dew—the product and the brand—this brings back fond memories of enjoying it as a kid. I remember drinking it out of tall glass bottles, with the soda’s electric yellow glow and that cold, crisp, syrupy sweet goodness. We live in a time where looking back to move forward with intention has been working well for iconic brands. The almost-stretched look of the letterforms had a unique character that left an impression in my mind (and I imagine others’ as well). While the identity has seen some dramatic shifts over the years, this rebrand feels like it’s finally finding its way home. Mike McVicar, creative director and co-founder, Gander I can appreciate the attempt to resurrect the 1996 wordmark, because, in my opinion, that was the peak of their branding so far. Unfortunately, I feel they didn’t quite execute the logo update very well and overall I don’t believe this redesign is serving the brand very well. But does it get the job done? Sure! Will middle schoolers still chug this stuff by the gallon at sleepovers? Absolutely. Will this design somehow trick people into thinking they’re drinking an all-natural, healthy beverage? I hope not! It seems like Mountain Dew has finally come back to Earth after a 15-year excursion in the multiverse—or was it the planet Krypton? Whatever that pixelated fever dream is on the last Mtn Dew label, I’m going to miss it. At the very least it was a more accurate representation of the mysterious liquid inside. But now? We’ve got clipart mountains, trees, sunbursts—I’m not sure what’s going on. The biggest missed opportunity is with the wordmark. Honestly, they should have kept the 1996 version as-is. The changes they made are not improvements. For example, why not align the last “N” in Mountain with the “W” in Dew? It’s so close yet so far away. And the random addition of serifs to some letters? Pretty unnecessary. It’s like they tried to be both nostalgic and contemporary but didn’t nail either. This new look for Mountain Dew signals to me that they are trying to grow up a little in an attempt to appeal to aging millennials that have long abandoned their favorite middle-school beverage. So now, we’ve got mountains! Trees! A nod to a retro logo! Does it say, “Hey, you can totally drink this in public again?” That seems to be the goal. Will it work? I’m skeptical. But hey, they’re definitely trying something. Satoru Wakeshima, partner, CBX Check out Mountain Dew’s latest package design, and you might wonder, "Who’s responsible for this?" But the real question is, "Who's it for?" Mountain Dew has gone retro, bringing back vibes from before the Xtreme era, and it works. Once a whiskey mixer with a hillbilly mascot, Mountain Dew evolved over 30 years into the high-caffeine fuel for young daredevils, thanks to PepsiCo's marketing. It became the go-to drink for those who lived boldly—X Games, video games, you name it. But in 2024? Today’s teens don’t need to be “extreme” to be cool. Authenticity is in. Retro is in. Not taking yourself so seriously is in. As the past two decades brought a flood of energy drinks all screaming for attention, Mountain Dew can stand out by giving the brand a story beyond extreme. The full “Mountain” spelling feels genuine in a world of abbreviations. The illustrated mountain scene, complete with snow-capped mountains, rolling rivers and unusually long waterfalls gives a nod to extreme sports and allow the story to take place in a scene without having to scream it. The subtle tuck of “est. 1948” reinforces the brand’s heritage just enough to be noticeable. And the big rays of sunshine in obnoxious green and yellow still suggest the product flavor and color. Mountain Dew’s retro vibe allows the brand to be a badge brand in a way that’s more chill, with more character and meaning, and that’s what makes it cooler. The really cool kids don’t have to shout how cool they are, they just do (or is it Dew?). So who’s Mountain Dew targeting? It’s likely still the same age demographic—they just look and act different than they did 20 years ago, and that’s why the new Mountain Dew package looks right, proving that being real beats being extreme. NextGen Marketing Summit Join us for a crash course on Gen Z, DTC marketing and the creator economy Register today

Mountain Dew’s revamp—what designers like (and don’t like)

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