Mtn Dew recently announced plans to restore the full spelling of Mountain to its name with an updated look that gives a vibrant nod to the drink’s past.
The updated visual identity, set to roll out next summer, is part of a broader revitalization program for the beverage line, which recently brought back its famous “Do the Dew” tagline, claimed Mountain Time as its official time zone and introduced the “Mountain Dude”—a burly 1970s mountain man sporting a lime-green fur coat and a bottle of Mtn Dew.
The brand was marketed as Mountain Dew from the 1940s (when it was developed as a cocktail mixer) until 2009 when the name was changed to Mtn Dew. Returning to the full spelling of Mountain is a nod to the brand’s origins, according to PepsiCo Senior VP and Chief Design Officer Mauro Porcini, who played a role in the redesign. Originally marketed as an energy drink thanks to its sugar and caffeine content, Porcini told CNN that the new visual identity is meant to convey a “different kind of energy that’s coming from the outdoors.”
Mountain Dew is one of several high-profile beverage brands leaning on nostalgia-based brand refreshes. These include Pepsi, whose 2023 rebrand saw the Pepsi name move back inside the company’s iconic red, white and blue Pepsi circle (where it sat from the 1950s into the late 1990s); Gatorade’s revival of its “Is It In You?” tagline, made famous in the 1990s with ads starring Michael Jordan; and the return of Sprite’s “Obey Your Thirst” slogan.