Mountain Dew LiveWire

[BevReview Steve]

Looks like oranage Mountain Dew is coming. Have these "line extensions" of popular drinks gotten out of hand?

Pepsi to Electrify Summer with 'Mountain Dew LiveWire'

Orange-Ignited New Dew Will Be Available Nationally From Memorial Day through Labor Day

PURCHASE, NY (February 25, 2003) – Mountain Dew lovers and soft drink variety seekers are in for an exciting summer. From Memorial Day through Labor Day, Pepsi-Cola North America will offer Mountain Dew LiveWire, an orange-ignited new Dew, to consumers across the United States.

Combining the unique citrus taste of Mountain Dew with a bold orange flavor, Mountain Dew LiveWire initially will be available in 20-ounce plastic bottles, with plans to expand into two-liter plastic bottles and 12-packs of 12-ounce aluminum cans.

"Mountain Dew Code Red sparked category growth and expanded Dew's appeal two summers ago," said Dave Burwick, senior vice president and chief marketing officer for Pepsi-Cola North America. "Consumers have been clamoring for more flavor options under the Mountain Dew trademark, so we've developed LiveWire as a summer-only proposition that satisfies their thirst for variety and builds on their passion for Dew."

Mountain Dew LiveWire will be broadly targeted to teens and young adults. To link LiveWire strongly with core Mountain Dew and Code Red, it will be supported with an aggressive, three-month marketing plan, including TV, radio, online, outdoor and point-of-sale advertising.

Containing the same base ingredients and caffeine levels as core Mountain Dew, orange-ignited LiveWire is Mountain Dew's third line extension since the introduction of Diet Mountain Dew in 1988. Mountain Dew Code Red debuted in May 2001, with Diet Mountain Dew Code Red following in May 2002.

Purchase, NY-based Pepsi-Cola North America (www.pepsi.com) is the $4 billion refreshment beverage unit of PepsiCo Inc. in the United States and Canada. Its U.S. brands include Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, Pepsi ONE, Wild Cherry Pepsi, Pepsi Twist, Pepsi Blue, Mountain Dew, Mountain Dew Code Red, Sierra Mist, Mug, Slice, Aquafina, FruitWorks, Dole single-serve juices and SoBe. The company also makes and markets North America's best-selling ready-to-drink iced teas and coffees, respectively, via joint ventures with Lipton and Starbucks.

[lynne]

Taking it too far? or taking advantage of sales while you can? the off-shoots do pretty well...

Here at the B&B we have a refrigerator fully stocked with beverages, and have been tracking usage. The most consumed in order of popularity:

diet coke
vanilla coke
diet dr pepper
diet vanilla coke
code red mountain dew
coke
diet mountain dew/diet code red
lemonade
diet sprite
sprite
gingerale
mandarin orange/pink lemonade

FWIW - food...or drink...for thought-