Mtn Dew strips ‘Rise’ from new energy drink name after legal challenge

PepsiCo will strip the name “Rise” from its new Mtn Dew energy drink in the wake of losing a preliminary court battle with a competitor over the name. Mtn Dew Rise hit shelves in the spring backed by ads starring LeBron James. But PepsiCo suffered a setback last week when a federal judge in New York issued a preliminary injunction that effectively halted sales and marketing of “Rise”-branded Mtn Dew, siding with a company called Rise Brewing, which is alleging trademark infringement. Rise Brewing since 2014 has sold caffeinated drinks like cold canned brew coffee under the Rise name. PepsiCo appealed the decision but suffered another setback when U.S. District Judge Lorna Schofield rejected its request for a reprieve of 11 weeks “to allow PepsiCo to transition away from Mtn Dew Rise Energy with minimized costs and disruption.” Now PepsiCo has decided to cut its losses and simply brand the product Mtn Dew Energy with the change taking effect Friday, a PepsiCo spokeswoman confirmed to Ad Age. “All formula, flavors and marketing partners remain the same, and we have full confidence that we will continue to deliver the same great product consumers have quickly grown to love,” she stated in an email. The injunction threatened to complicate potential Super Bowl ad plans for Mtn Dew Rise. The brand had been planning a Big Game ad, according to a person familiar with the matter. “We are not ready to announce our PepsiCo Super Bowl plans, but can confirm that no matter the plans, marketing for Mtn Dew Energy will be a priority,” the PepsiCo spokeswoman said. In her ruling, Schofield stated that Rise Brewing has a likelihood of successfully proving that the Mtn Dew’s Rise moniker could cause confusion because it is “confusingly similar in appearance” to Rise Brewing’s drinks, noting “both highlight the single word ‘RISE.’” Her ruling required PepsiCo to halt the use of Rise for the “sale or distribution of single-use, canned energy beverages,” and that it also not use the phrase in “any advertisement that will be or is intended to be circulated, displayed or broadcast in the market.” The ruling puts pressure on any momentum Mtn Dew Rise had in its first few months of sales while putting a damper on PepsiCo’s new endorsement deal with James. Mtn Dew Rise was the first PepsiCo product he backed after defecting Coca-Cola Co. James' much-ballyhooed PepsiCo deal, announced in March, ended his 18-year relationship with Coca-Cola, and is expected to include other brands across PepsiCo’s food and beverage lineup, as well as social justice endeavors. PepsiCo is clearly banking on his backing of the new Mtn Dew line extension to help it gain a larger slice of the energy drink market that is dominated by Red Bull and Monster. The name Rise is was linked to the drink’s aim to be seen as a morning drink with caffeine and vitamins A and C. James starred in a TV commercial from TBWA\Chiat\Day NY that used the tagline “The Morning Makes You.” The spot portrayed James as living a fictionalized slacker lifestyle—including as a salsa dance instructor—before shifting to his real-life pursuits of playing hoops, running businesses and engaging in philanthropy. “I choose to rise,” he says at the end while sipping the drink. The ad (below) stopped running in late June, which is around the time Rise Brewing began seeking legal action. The PepsiCo spokeswoman suggested that the timing was coincidental. “Those events are unrelated and that was always part of the original media plan. We shifted much of our focus to digital media where our consumer lives,” she stated. Starting Friday, all marketing will use the new name, she stated. It remains to be seen how much the loss of “Rise” will affect Mtn Dew’s morning pitch. But the phrase is probably less important than the backing of a powerful endorser such as James. “You would rather make a name change on your own terms and under your own timing—you never want to be forced by a judge to do that,” said Duane Stanford, editor and publisher of trade magazine Beverage Digest. “But at the end of the day, once they get through hiccups elated to distribution, production and getting the new packages out, there shouldn’t be a terrible disruption.”

Mtn Dew strips ‘Rise’ from new energy drink name after legal challenge

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