Surge is a citrus-flavoured soft drink that was originally introduced by The Coca-Cola Company in the late 1990s as a competitor to PepsiCo's Mountain Dew. Known for its neon green colour, bold marketing, and high caffeine content, Surge developed a cult following despite its relatively short initial run.
Origins and History
Surge was launched in the United States in 1997, developed under the name "Project Mountain Dew Killer" by Coca-Cola. The goal was to win over young male consumers aged 12 to 24, a demographic that Mountain Dew dominated at the time.
It was heavily marketed with slogans like:
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“Feed the Rush”
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“Life’s a Scream”
Its ads featured extreme sports, intense visuals, and high-energy music, riding the wave of 1990s "X-treme" culture. Surge was positioned as the drink of rebels, gamers, and adrenaline junkies.
Flavour and Ingredients
Surge's taste is often described as a blend between lemon-lime and orange, with a slightly more mellow flavour than Mountain Dew but still packed with sugar and caffeine.
Key ingredients include:
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Carbonated water
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High fructose corn syrup (in U.S. formula)
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Natural flavours
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Caffeine (around 52 mg per 12 oz can, similar to Mountain Dew)
It also contained yellow dye, giving it that signature glowing green hue.
Discontinuation
Despite an initially strong launch, sales began to decline in the early 2000s. Coca-Cola discontinued Surge in 2003, attributing the drop to market saturation and declining interest. However, the drink maintained a dedicated fanbase.
Cult Following and Comeback
Surge became something of an internet legend. Fans organized online campaigns, including "The Surge Movement", which lobbied for the soda’s return. Their efforts paid off:
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In 2014, Coca-Cola re-released Surge via Amazon in limited quantities.
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It sold out quickly, prompting a wider rollout in select convenience stores and Burger King locations.
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Coca-Cola used nostalgia marketing, tapping into millennials’ fond memories of the 1990s.
As of recent years, it has been sold sporadically in the U.S. and online but remains unavailable in Canada or most other markets.
Legacy
Surge is remembered as a relic of the ‘90s, emblematic of the era’s over-the-top advertising and energy-infused branding. It helped pave the way for later "extreme" drinks like Vault (also by Coca-Cola), Monster Energy, and Mountain Dew variants.
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