Has Mountain Dew Jumped The Shark?

Remember when Mountain Dew only had two versions, regular and Diet? I do. This was, of course, back when Coca-Cola was afraid of confusing their customers with a diet version.

Then came the "Caffeine Free Mountain Dew" and "Caffeine Free Diet Mountain Dew." Nobody every took the Caffeine Free brands seriously -- after all, they had to answer to the cries of people worried that that compound may be addictive (true) and dangerous (only in excess)

Then, in 2001 (or thereabouts) came Mountain Dew Code Red. One would almost have to say this was when the Dew Franchise Jumped The Shark, but I thought it was an actual good expansion of the franchise. Especially since it was a different enough color to differentiate (sp?) from the original.

The next version to make it big was Live Wire (Orange). Had this been originally been considered a permenant version, the shark would have been jumped; but it ended up being voted into permenance by a bunch of overcaffeinated teenagers.

But not to worry...Then came Baja Blast and Blue Shock Slurpees Items intended for nitch markets, yet hitching a ride on the famous "Dew" name.

Sad thing is, I actually like the alternative versions. While the Cherry Dew is not necessarily the best tasting pop on the planet, I did find myself drinking lots of it. Not only that, but the Pepsi people figured out a way to make their flavored pops taste better than the averaged flavored soda: Not as much sugar. Look at the Cherry, the Grape and the (older ) Orange Dews, and you'll see 110 calories per serving. Then look at the Fantas, the Slices (or whatever it is nowadays), the Faygos, and you'll see calorie listings up to 130-140 per same sized servings, sometimes more. It's this dryness that I like about the Dew Flavors.

Now if they'd know when to stop trying out new stuff...