• Brandweek, Tuesday, October 24, 2006 12:15 PM

PepsiCo will reposition Mountain Dew around the theme of "fueling the core," leaving its 13-year-old "Do the Dew" campaign and "extreme" positioning behind. New campaigns will focus on exhilaration, energy and the enjoyment of finding new passions, according to a Pepsi executive with knowledge of the matter. A Pepsi spokesperson declined to comment.

Mountain Dew wants to update its image without alienating its core fan base. The move is particularly risky, since Dew was the only major PepsiCo soda label to gain market share last year. Its marketing, which dates to the 1940s, has been so successful that it has been the subject of a Harvard case study and at least two books.

Pepsi's first move will be an overhaul of Dew's MDX next month. Because of consumer confusion and slow sales, it will be positioned as a soft drink that is energy-infused rather than as an energy drink, to avoid direct competition with Red Bull.

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