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Brand: Pepsi Max
Title: "For Life"
Agency: TBWA/Chiat/Day

Pepsi continues their attempt to get traction for Pepsi Max by dragging out Regis Philbin and the Coke Zero truck driver. Really? You spent your Super Bowl ad budget on this?

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Brand: Pepsi
Title: "King's Court"
Agency: TBWA/Chiat/Day

Elton John in a psychedelic, Alice in Wonderland-type sequence? Sure, that makes sense… and he pulls it off rather well. Of course, unless you were actually a viewer of Pepsi-sponsored The X-Factor, you probably wouldn't have known that the vocalist was last season's winner, Melanie Amaro.

Mountain Dew Game Fuel 2011 – Tropical

This being the 3rd iteration of Game Fuel, we find that this is only the 2nd time we've been provided with an alternate flavor outside of the flagship Citrus Cherry. It 2009, as part of a World of Warcraft promotion, the standard Horde Red was joined by a "wild fruit" flavor, Alliance Blue. For 2011, this new "green" flavor isn't given a specific name, but we'll refer to by the subtitled description on the bottle, Tropical.

Get "Double XP"!

The green drink is colored a darker hue than standard Mountain Dew, though not as neon in tone as the limited edition Mountain Dew Distortion from 2010. Pop the cap off and what you smell is pretty much the standard Mountain Dew scent.

Now, how does Tropical taste? In short, not very good. Close your eyes as you drink this and you'll find that the flavor is rather… empty. I'm not sure what "Tropical" was supposed to infer here, but I'm not really feelin' it. Don't let the color of the drink fool you into thinking that it's a deeper lime or some other green fruit. When I asked folks via BevReview's Facebook and Twitter accounts, the responses on flavor were quite varied, indicating a drink that really doesn't know what it's supposed to be.

For me, it tasted a bit like Green River, but with more syrup and perhaps a tad bit of pineapple thrown in there, reminiscent of Shasta Tiki Punch or some other tropical taste. The flavor is partially there, then dissolves into nothing, leaving you with a film on your tongue as part of the aftertaste. It's not very memorable at all and hard to see why this should be considered anything special.

Description of flavor

Here's what's inside:

Mountain Dew Game Fuel Tropical
Carbonated water, high fructose corn syrup, citric acid, natural flavor, sodium benzoate (preserves freshness), caffeine, sodium citrate, gum arabic, Yellow 5, calcium disodium edta (to protect flavor), brominated vegetable oil, Blue 1

A 20 oz. bottle of Mountain Dew Game Fuel Tropical will cost you 290 calories, and give you 110 mg of sodium, and 77 g of carbs (77 g sugars). Interestingly, this bottle doesn't have the little callout of the calorie count that you see on beverages these days due to recent changes in FDA labeling rules.

One of the main features of the Game Fuel series in the increase in caffeine content. Mountain Dew Game Fuel Tropical breaks down to 6.0 mg/oz of caffeine. In contrast, original Mountain Dew contains 4.5 mg/oz.

The label is primarily green and black, with a "Call of Duty MW3" branded band sitting at the top of the design. The logo is anchored by the goofy "Mtn Dew" spelling, with a subbrand of "Game Fuel" sitting below it. Official description of this drink is "Dew with a Charge of Tropical." You'll find a mention of "Double XP under the cap" on the rear side of the label, as well as a URL pointing you to DewXP.com. Wrap it all up with a headshot of a character associated with the game itself.

Both Tropical and the Citrus Cherry flavors are slated as LTOs (limited time offerings), in a 8-10 week release window. Thus, if you really need to try a new Mountain Dew, track them down and move quick! Of the two flavors for 2011, the original Citrus Cherry is better, with Tropical being a perfect candidate for the "why did you even bother" category.

Mountain Dew Game Fuel 2011 – Citrus Cherry

This is the third release of Game Fuel flavors, which debuted with a single flavor, then returned 2 years later as a duo (Horde Red, Alliance Blue). For 2011, we again are given a pair of flavors, the original "red" flavor, which isn't branded, but we'll refer to by the subtitled description, Citrus Cherry. A new "green" flavor also debuts, which we're calling Game Fuel Tropical.

The big gaming hook for this year's release of Game Fuel is the chance to earn "Double XP", or basically more playing time by redeeming codes from Dew and various Doritos products.

Get "Double XP"!

If you're read our reviews on the original red Game Fuel flavor in previous years, then there's really nothing new to report here. The taste is the same.

The drink is colored orange-red, not as bold in color Mountain Dew Code Red. Upon opening, the scent resembles that of a Tropical Punch-type of Dew, somewhat like the limited run Mountain Dew Typhoon.

Citrus Cherry is tangy, but mild. While the color is red, the flavor isn't exactly cherry as you would expect with Mountain Dew Code Red. It's more "punch" like and unique in that sense. I guess that's what "citrus cherry" means. It's slightly different from standard cherry, but probably not enough to really sustain itself as a full-time flavor (not to mention the color confusion it causes).

Description of flavor

You still get a nice dose of high fructose corn syrup and the associated syrupy Dew aftertaste. It's not really an outstanding flavor, but then again, look at the recent line extensions added to the Dew lineup (Voltage, White Out) and you can see that quality flavor isn't exactly high on Pepsi's checklist. Let's face it, the entire reason that Game Fuel exists is to create video game promotional tie-ins and boost the overall sales of the brand.

Here's what's inside:

Mountain Dew Game Fuel Citrus Cherry
Carbonated water, high fructose corn syrup, citric acid, natural flavor, sodium benzoate (preserves freshness), gum arabic, caffeine, sodium citrate, Yellow 5, glycerol ester of wood rosin, calcium disodium edta (to protect flavor), Yellow 6, Red 40, brominated vegetable oil

A 20 oz. bottle of Mountain Dew Game Fuel Citrus Cherry will cost you 290 calories, and give you 110 mg of sodium, and 77 g of carbs (77 g sugars). Interestingly, this bottle doesn't have the little callout of the calorie count that you see on beverages these days due to recent changes in FDA labeling rules.

One of the main features of the Game Fuel series in the increase in caffeine content. Mountain Dew Game Fuel Citrus Cherry breaks down to 6.0 mg/oz of caffeine. In contrast, original Mountain Dew contains 4.5 mg/oz.

The label is primarily red and black, with a "Call of Duty MW3" branded band sitting at the top of the design. The continuously annoying "Mtn Dew" spelling anchors the logo, with a subbrand of "Game Fuel" sitting below it. Once again, this drink is described as "Dew with a Blast of Citrus Cherry." You'll find a call out for "Double XP under the cap" on the rear side of the label, as well as a URL pointing you to DewXP.com. Oh, and a headshot of a character associated with the game itself.

Once again, this is a limited time offering, slated for a 8-10 week release window, in classic Pepsi short-term product strategy, which tends to work pretty well for them. If you are a fan of the original Citrus Cherry flavor of Game Fuel, now is the time to track it down and enjoy!

From Wookieepedia: "Rugor Nass, also known as Boss Nass, was an Ankura Gungan. As he was the Boss of all the Otolla Gungans, he was also the Boss of Otoh Gunga and the Gungan High Council at the time of the Invasion of Naboo." And now you know!

Mr. Nass, also known as "I can't understand one thing this guy is saying," stars on this #24 Boss Nass Pepsi One can.

During the 1999 Pepsi/Star Wars promotion, there were 4 different Pepsi One cans represented (not including bonus versions). This is the final can in the Pepsi One series; we've already taken a look at the other three, #21 Chancellor Valorum, #22 C-3PO, and #23 Nute Gunray.

Here's the official bio on this can:

Boss Nass

The protective leader of the Gungans, he agrees to help Queen Amidala fight the Trade Federation's Invasion of Naboo.

The secret word found on the can was One.

Like the other Pepsi One cans in this series, the background color is silver, with the image of the character superimposed in black/white. Given the little while/silver stars around the image of Boss Nass, and his relative open mouth pose, it looks a little like he's trying to catch snowflakes on his tongue!

"Wesa no like da Naboo. Tkk-tkk-tkk-tkk-tkk. But wesa love Pepsi One!"

Who thought that George Lucas could invent characters that had less accuracy with a gun than Stormtroopers? But sure enough, mechanized robots apparently did the trick in Episode 1. Today we celebrate that accomplishment with the #20 Battle Droid Diet Pepsi can.

During the 1999 Pepsi/Star Wars promotion, there were 4 different Diet Pepsi cans represented (not including bonus versions). This is the final can in the Diet lineup; we've already taken a look at the other three, #17 Queen Amidala, #18 Padme, and #19 Shmi Skywalker. In the end, it was obvious that the Diet Pepsi lineup had a very strong Naboo focus. Can #20 is the first of the Diet options not to feature a female, however.

Here's the official bio on this can:

Battle Droid

Controlled by a remote source and distinguished by their vast numbers, these food soldiers of the Trade Federation can overwhelm any enemy but are vulnerable to the Jedi.

The secret word found on the can was Triumph.

Like the other Diet Pepsi cans in this series, the background color is white, with the image of the character superimposed in black/white. Of course, in the case of the Battle Droids, they are pretty monochromatic already, so there's no big loss with them not being featured in color. Their placement on this can does give Diet Pepsi more of a "macho" look, however.

"Diet Pepsi, Roger roger!"

2011: Sierra Mist Cranberry Splash 2011

While the product is the same, it looks like the label has had a slight update when compared to 2010. For example, Cranberry Splash no longer features a transparent label, this time going with the standard wrap used on most other soft drinks in 20 oz. bottles. Frankly, it's a downgrade.

Compare with 2010 label

A new callout for "Naturally Sweetened with Real Sugar" has been added above the logo, with more green coloring placed on the bottom to make it look more "Sierra Mist-like", I suppose.

Have you spotted the 2011 version of Cranberry Splash yet?

Pepsi Fusion at Quiznos

According to the reader, "Pepsi Fusion was at my local Quiznos about 1.5-2 years ago until a few months ago when it was removed."

Original Story 9/1/11: Earlier this week, John Sicher of the industry publication Beverage Digest teased that "Pepsi recently tested fountain equipment designed to compete with Coke's Freestyle."

Pepsi Fusion
(Name Source: US Patent and Trademark Office)

For those not familiar, Coca-Cola's Freestyle is a type of beverage dispensing machine that custom mixes drinks using a series of cartridges, allowing it to serve up 100+ different beverages, all ordered from a touchscreen interface.

The many brands of Coca-Cola Freestyle

We spent a lot of time last year learning about how the machine worked at the National Restaurant Association show.

While it originally was hard to find in various markets, Coke has stepped up the rollout of these machines, and according to the official Coca-Cola Freestyle Facebook Page, is currently in 1000+ locations.

Freestyle in action

Overall, it's a clever concept to mix-and-match flavors from established brands, and Coke sure does have a lot of them! The big appeal, I believe, is creating drink flavors that don't currently exist in the mainstream marketplace. For example, I remember trying out a Grape Vault not too long ago. You'll never see that flavor on the shelves!

Pick a flavor, any flavor

The one challenge I would see with the Freestyle concept is that it's a very niche device, not really designed for quick service. The touchscreen interface is clever, but not designed for speed.

Many Fanta flavors await!

One hopes that as Coke further perfects the technology, we'll see a device that can better handle a large audience over a short period of time (i.e. sitting in your local McDonalds).

Pepsi's Social Vending Machine at NRA 2011

Is it any surprise, then, given the buzz that the Coke Freestyle has been generating that Pepsi would want a piece of that action as well? During the 2011 NRA Show, I got to spend some time with Pepsi's own new vending concept, the Social Vending Machine, but it focuses more on friends and relationships vs. actually revolutionizing the beverage flavor experience.

Machine, they name is "Pepsi Fusion"
(Source: Facebook Page)

Sources pointed us to an obscure Facebook Page called "Pepsi Fusion Machine only 3 in the country, only at Culvers and I tried it." Granted, we're talking a Facebook source here, but just to play along, the "About" information reads as follows: "Ever dreamed of having a drink with almost any flavor. How about a pepsi, seira mist [sic], amp, brisk tea or lemonade, with the flavor of lemonade, lime, grape, orange, cherry, strawberry, raspberry, and wild berry." Well, it was a starting point, I guess.

Social vending option from Pepsi

Exploring filings with the US Patent and Trademark Office, there actually is a trademark filed from PepsiCo for the name "Pepsi Fusion" (#77897923), falling under the classification of "Refrigerated beverage dispensing units" (the exact same classification as Coke's Freestyle, by the way). Coke applied for their trademark on the "Coca-Cola Freestyle" name (#77897369) on December 18, 2009, while Pepsi went after "Pepsi Fusion" on December 21, 2009. Pepsi seems to still be working through the registration process, as back in April they applied for an "Extension of Time to File a Statement of Use."

Drinkfinity
(Name Source: US Patent and Trademark Office)

It should be noted that another name to keep an eye on is "Drinkfinity", as Pepsi seems to have some machine and "essences for making non-alcoholic beverages" applications out for that phrase, whatever it is (#77561469, #85156726, #85156728).

Other pieces of online evidence that seem to validate the "Pepsi Fusion" name are Twitter references from what appeared to be a test location, a Culver's restaurant in Downers Grove, IL: "Pepsi Fusion is here! 100+ choices to make your own! You have GOT to check this out!" (January 9, 2010). Unfortunately the image referenced in this tweet is no longer available.

Pepsi Fusion spotted at Culvers
(Source: @CulversDG on Twitter)

Chicago-based medical fundraising firm GiveForward, Inc. also tweeted regarding the abundance of flavors associated with the Pepsi Fusion machine: "Pretty sure this Pepsi Fusion machine has more possible flavor combinations…" (September 29, 2010)

Another Pepsi Fusion reference
(Source: @GiveForward on Twitter)

Additionally, the blog of Wheaton, IL-based band 'Sleeping At Last' noted in a May 27, 2010 posting: "Pepsi Fusion Soda Machines (okay, so you get to choose what brand of soda AND then you can add a flavor to it! what!?!? amazing. grape mountain dew, please)" No doubt that last comment refers to Mountain Dew Pitch Black.

Quiznos had a Pepsi Fusion machine
(Source: @jonathan_butler on Twitter)

As recently as July 2011, it seemed a Pepsi Fusion machine was spotted at a Quiznos by a Twitter user by the name of Jonathan Butler, who notes Chicago as his location: "Sad day for Quiznos – they got rid of the Pepsi Fusion machine." Based on this social media-oriented evidence, it would seem that Pepsi was conducting some tests on this Fusion concept near the Chicago area starting in 2010 up through this year.

Can Pepsi compete with Coke's 100 flavors?

We discussed these reports with the editor of the former Salute to Soda website, Terry Knab, who mentioned that Pepsi has a disadvantage when compared to Coke on the basis that their "flavor roster" is much smaller. Coke has an abundance of brands, both domestic and international, that can easily keep the flavor options on Freestyle fresh. Pepsi's has a significantly smaller amount to work with.

An unknown future awaits

Additionally, it should be noted that when the flavors on the Pepsi Fusion machine were mentioned, you didn't really see Mountain Dew come into play. Everything else was listed. Odd, huh? A niche device such as a Freestyle-type machine could be a great way to test concept flavors as part of a on-location "Dew Labs" installation. That would be one way Pepsi could counterbalance their lack of flavor depth. Another option could be licensing flavors from another company, such as the Dr Pepper Snapple Group. It should be noted that Pepsi currently distributes DPSG's Crush flavors to compensate for their own lack of fruit-flavored beverage options.

So what does this all mean? It could just mean that Pepsi was testing the concept and that's it. Or there might be something in the works. But the initial research conducted by Beverage Digest's find does seem to open the door for a lot of options. It will be interesting to see if anything develops in the coming months!

One of the many characters that fans look forward to seeing in The Phantom Menace was Obi-Wan Kenobi, given that we had gotten to know him curing the classic trilogy of films. The casting of Ewan McGregor seemed smart at the time… if only he'd been allowed to actually act, rather than follow George Lucas' cardboard directives. Still, you have to smile when he first appears in Episode 1. And hey, how can you not love a guy who anchors the #12 Obi-Wan Kenobi Mountain Dew can!

During the 1999 Pepsi/Star Wars promotion, there were 8 different Mountain Dew cans represented (not including bonus versions). We've already taken a look at the first three, #9 Darth Maul, #10 Jar Jar Binks, and #11 Mace Windu.

Here's the official bio on this can:

Obi-Wan Kenobi

As an apprentice, he is loyal and resourceful. Youthful courage, however, doesn't always bring intuitive wisdom for this headstrong Jedi.

The secret word found on the can was Another.

Like other Mountain Dew cans in this series, the background color is green with silver starts dotted throughout, standing behind the character image superimposed in black/white. The artwork for Obi-Wan showcases his long braid very clearly.

"The council has granted me permission to train you. You will be a can of Mountain Dew, I promise."

For some reason, I actually liked Watto in The Phantom Menace. Sure, some of his lines were cheesy and his motivations where forced, but as a character, he was rather fun. Just like a cranky old guy who you just can't hate. Today, he starts on the #4 Watto Pepsi can, his huge nose just begging you to drink to high fructose corn syrup-y goodness.

During the 1999 Pepsi/Star Wars promotion, there were 8 different Pepsi cans represented (not including bonus versions). We've already taken a look at the first three: #1 Anakin Skywalker, #2 Sebulba, and #3 Qui-Gon Jinn. Again, it seems that the characters selected for the Pepsi-branded cans all involved something to do with the planet Tatooine.

Here's the official bio on this can:

Watto

A pudgy blue Toydarian, he runs a junk shop and love to be on the Podracers. But some days he is too shrewd for his own good.

The secret word found on the can was But.

Like other Pepsi cans in this series, the background color is blue with silver starts dotted throughout, standing behind the character image superimposed in black/white. Let's also not miss the big copyright blurb under the bio: "(C) Lucasfilms Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved."

"What, you think you're some kind of Jedi, waving your hand around like that? I'm a Toydarian. Mind tricks donnat work on me. Only Pepsi."