Check Out the (Rumored) New Mtn Dew Design

Rebranding a globally-known product is tricky, y’all. Customers are terrified of change, executives are terrified of terrifying customers, and the poor saps in marketing are stuck in the middle trying to please everyone. That said, there is seemingly one kind of rebrand that has been working gangbusters for many established brands these days. Multiple national and global food and beverage brands have very successfully navigated the dangerous waters of rebranding by… un-rebranding? Somehow, they both did and did not understand the assignment. And the latest brand to get a makeunder? Sources say it’s Mtn Dew. 

But first, let’s go back: un-rebranding?

It’s an enormous simplification, but in short, these big companies have chosen to rebrand by changing their logos by going back to something they used previously (with minor changes for the sake of modernization). Within the last few years, Pepsi, Pizza Hut, and Burger King have all pushed giant marketing campaigns focusing on their rebrandings featuring modernized versions of logos from the 1960s. We’re about a year into the Pepsi un-rebrand, and it looks like the response has been positive enough that other PepsiCo brands are on deck to receive similar treatment—like Mtn Dew or, should I say, Mountain Dew. 

Yes, Mtn Dew might be going back to Mountain Dew

It’s true: We may soon be rid of the Mtn Dew name as we know it. According to Mountain Dew newshound (and fellow Sporked contributor) Tyler Bowers of Team Supernova, a survey has been sent to select consumers asking how they’d feel about a potential rebrand of the Mountain Dew logo. The logo seen in said survey draws heavy inspiration from the logo used between 1999 and 2005. Changes from that original design include the usage of a squarer typeface and the addition of “EST. 1940” above the center point of the W in DEW. This “new” logo is seen on a background featuring a yellow-green sun rising over a teal mountain range. But the biggest difference between the current logo and this potential new option is the return of the full word “Mountain” to the logo, something that has been sorely missed since Mtn Dew took over in 2009.

Why isn’t PepsiCo just creating a new Mountain Dew logo?

Nostalgia! It’s a hell of a drug. Companies engaging in “un-rebranding” all seem to be returning to logos from time periods that could be considered their “heyday.” Putting those classic logos back in front of consumers who have positive childhood associations with said logos, who are now old enough to make all their own purchasing decisions? It does sound like a smart plan, and it must be working if it’s catching on to this degree. 

Who’s gonna be next to receive the un-rebranding treatment? I don’t know anything for sure, but I really doubt we’ll see Coca-Cola changing a damn thing any time soon. Turns out, you can’t un-rebrand if you’ve just used minor variations of the exact same logo since 1886!