Sierra Mist
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Sierra Mist | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Type | Lemon-lime soft drink |
| Manufacturer | PepsiCo |
| Distributor | PepsiCo |
| Country of Origin | USA |
| Introduced | 2000 |
| Colour | Clear |
| Variants | Sierra Mist Free |
| Related products | Sprite, 7 Up |
Sierra Mist is a multi-lemon-lime flavored soft drink, introduced by PepsiCo in 2000 and rolled out nationally in 2001. It is a competitor to Sprite and Vanilla Pepsi in the United States.
Contents |
[edit] History
Sierra Mist is a renewed attempt by Pepsi to garner a portion of the very popular lemon-lime market, which, as of 2005, was the second-largest soft drink category, behind cola[citation needed]. The company's previous attempts, Teem and Slice, had largely failed against the dominant Sprite and 7 Up. Although Pepsi owns the marketing rights to 7 Up in many countries, particularly Canada, it was in the enormous US market that Pepsi needed to compete.
Pepsi began selling a drink known as Storm in 1998 to test in some markets. The drink was primarily lemon-lime, but some consumers thought it tasted too much like a hybrid between lemon-lime and Pepsi's own Mountain Dew. In 2000, Pepsi reformulated Storm and changed its name to Sierra Mist. A Diet Sierra Mist was introduced during this time as well. The product was sold in two thirds of the continental US and had better sales success compared with Storm. In 2002, just two years after hitting the market, the drink had a redesigned package resembling itself more like a lemon-lime drink.
To coincide with Super Bowl XXXVII in 2003 and a national ad campaign, Pepsi rolled out Sierra Mist to the parts of the US that did not already have it, thus making the drink a national brand. Sierra Mist has been a huge sales success for Pepsi, having surpassed 7 Up in sales and is even perceived to be more promoted compared with its sister brand, Mountain Dew. Like Dew, the drink tends to target young males. In 2005, Diet Sierra Mist was renamed Sierra Mist Free, in an ode to the 1980s non-caffeinated Pepsi drink Pepsi Free (now known as Caffeine Free Diet Pepsi). The newly-renamed soft drink had an ad campaign at launch that featured people stealing Sierra Mist Free, citing that they thought the soft drink was, like its name declares, "free". They would then get corrected (usually by an actor playing a detective in an interrogation room) that only the taste is "free" - from sugar, caffeine, and calories. Sierra Mist and Sierra Mist Free received updated logos in early 2006.
Like many sodas, Sierra Mist contains two ingredients, potassium benzoate and ascorbic acid (vitamin C), which in combination may react to produce benzene. Benzene is a known carcinogen. Sierra Mist has not been shown to contain benzene in levels exceeding the EPA standards for drinking water. [1]
In 2005, a popular series of improv-based commercials titled "Mist Takes" began airing. It featured Nicole Sullivan, Debra Wilson, Aries Spears, Jim Gaffigan, and Michael Ian Black . In 2006, Kathy Griffin, Tracy Morgan and Guillermo Diaz joined the cast. Also in 2006, a version for Spanish-language channels began airing. The Spanish version stars Diaz and members of the cast of Otro Rollo.
In late 2006 PepsiCo introduced Sierra Mist Cranberry Splash. It will only be available during the during the Winter holiday season (à la Pepsi Holiday Spice) and is similar to the Cranberry 7Up in Canada.
[edit] Sponsorship
Sierra Mist is an official partner and sponsor of Major League Soccer and two franchises within the league, the New England Revolution and D.C. United.
[edit] Product logos
|
The current logo in use from 2006 on. |
[edit] See also
| Brands of Lemon-lime soft drinks | |
|
7 Up - Celeste Mountain Citrus - Fanta - Fruktsoda - Limca - Mountain Dew - Mountain Holler - Ramune - Schin Limão - Sierra Mist - Slice - Sprite - Storm - Teem - Upper 10 - Vess-Up |
|
