Mountain Dew MDX

Mountain Dew MDX

Mountain Dew MDX
Mountain Dew MDX's logo.
Description
Flavor:	Citrus
Color:	Yellow-Green
Details
Current Status:	Discontinued
Locations Available:	United States
Year(s) Available:	Full-Sugar: November 2005 - 2007 Sugar-Free: November 2005 - November 2006
Similar Flavors:	Adrenaline Mountain Dew AMP Sport Dew Fuel Amp Citrus Blast Citrus Charge Energised Kickstart (Energizing Original Dew) Kickstart Ultra (Energizing Original Dew) Game Fuel (Charged Original Dew)
Gallery

Mountain Dew MDX was a Mountain Dew energy drink released on November 1st, 2005. It remained available until late 2007, when it was discontinued due to consumer confusion and low sales. It was PepsiCo's attempt to compete with Coca-Cola's Vault energy drink.

Description

Mountain Dew MDX was a Citrus flavor of Mountain Dew and was yellow-green in color. It was an energy drink that contained Guarana, D-Ribose, Maltodextrin, Taurine, and Ginseng. MDX was similar to Amp Energy in flavor and color but had a higher caffeine content and a mildly bitter aftertaste.

MDX also had a Sugar-Free variant, which was released alongside the Full-Sugar version and was available from November 2005 until November 2006. The Sugar-Free variant was only available in 14-ounce bottles, whereas the Full-Sugar variant was available in 14-ounce (from 2005 to 2006) and 20-ounce bottles (from 2006 to 2007).

History

On February 1st, 2005, PepsiCo filed a trademark name for MDX titled "MOUNTAIN DEW MDX."

In the Summer of 2005, PepsiCo began testing a Mountain Dew energy drink named "Mountain Dew X," [Variant 516] as the prototype name for "Mountain Dew MDX." A "beta test" of MDX was conducted through the official Mountain Dew website, and six packs of the energy drink were given out to selected attendees of the E3 video game fair in May 2005. Individual cans were also given out at the Xbox 360 introduction party. After testing, the release date was revealed in October 2005, with the drink scheduled to be released on November 1st, 2005 in 14-ounce bottles.

In December 2004, the Coca-Cola Company made the headlines by announcing that they could be working on a Mountain Dew-like citrus-flavored soda that would compete with Original Mountain Dew. It would be a successor to Surge soda, another failed flavor that debuted in 1997 and lasted until the Fall of 2002. That successor is Vault.

Vault made a test-marketing regional release in June 2005. Coca-Cola attempted to rival PepsiCo's MDX energy drink as both energy drink hybrids were in the testing phase. Mountain Dew MDX, alongside its Sugar-Free variant, was released on November 1st, 2005, while Vault, with their Zero Sugar variant was released nationwide in February 2006.

During MDX's release, it had a marketing push of three commercials aired on television, including Spike TV's Video Game Awards on December 10th, 2005, centered on nocturnal animals while having them lip-synching/singing night-themed songs aimed at a young male demographic. While Vault had many television commercials, outdoor promotions, and had many catchphrases, such as: "Drinks like a soda, kicks like an energy drink," "Get to it," and several others.

In October 2006, PepsiCo decided to overhaul the change of strategy for MDX. Due to customer confusion and slow sales, PepsiCo planned on axing the "Be Nocturnal" commercials in favor of ads themed "Stay Sharp," which planned to quiz TV viewers about details from the shows they are watching, along with a website promoting it. Instead of marking MDX as an energy drink, it was marketed as an energy-infused soft drink to avoid direct competition.

In November 2006, PepsiCo rebranded MDX as an energy-infused soda, and the 14-ounce bottle size was discontinued in favor of a standard 20-ounce bottle size that was used for all regular flavors. The Sugar-Free variant was also discontinued during this time. Following the rebranding, a radio commercial for the rebranded MDX aired in March 2007 and also had a Transformers promotion lasting from May to August. Despite the heavy promotion, it quickly also fell short, and as a result, MDX was discontinued in late 2007.

Meanwhile, MDX's rival Vault made various releases, extending its flavor lineup with Vault Berry Blitz in March 2007. Some flavor shots of Grape, Orange, and Peach in 2009 of a fountain release with their Coca-Cola Freestyle machines with a Lime flavor shot released later on. It remained in production until December 2011, when it too was discontinued.

Trivia

• During the "beta test" of MDX's test release, it had a prototype name of "Mountain Dew X."
• In March 2009, after MDX was discontinued in late 2007, Coca-Cola decided to do a marketing strategy campaign named the "Don't Dew It" program. People could get a free a 16-, 20- or 24-ounce Vault with any purchase of a 20-ounce Mountain Dew.
  • It soon backfired as Coca-Cola later instead market the comeback of Mello Yello in 2011 and discontinued Vault in December that same year as Mello Yello was outselling it.
• The songs used in the three ads were "All Night Long (All Night)" by Lionel Richie, "Sunglasses at Night" by Corey Hart, and "In the Air Tonight" by Phil Collins. All of those songs are from the 1980s and are nighttime themed.
• This was one of many attempts at a Mountain Dew energy drink. See "Similar Flavors" in the infobox for more.
• MDX was the pioneering flavor for the Sidekick bottle design, which PepsiCo would incorporate into most of their 20-ounce bottle designs later on in the 2010s, replacing the dome-like design.
  • MDX was also the pioneering flavor for the nighttime-themed Kickstart flavors, such as Black Cherry, Midnight Grape, and Limeade marketed as "Kickstart Your Night" in the 2010s.
• There were two websites promoting Mountain Dew MDX. The first was the "Be Nocturnal" website, and the second was the "Stay Sharp" website.
  • On the first website, there was a game called "Nocturnal Cab Company," where you can play as three animals: A bat, An owl, and a possum. The game is playable on the Wayback Machine and Flashpoint Archive's archive of online Flash games.

References

Mountain Dew Flavors