Early years
Surge, under the name of Urge, was first launched on the Norwegian market as a test product on April 22, 1996.[3] It was first formally unveiled by Coca-Cola on December 16, 1996. Prior to production, its original white paper name was "MDK," or "Mountain Dew Killer",[4] as it was developed to converge with Mello Yello as a means of slowing Mountain Dew growth. Coke's attempts to draw users away with divergent products like OK Soda or with similar ones like Mello Yello had not succeeded. Surge was intended to improve on Mountain Dew by using maltodextrin for a longer-lasting blast of energy and with bolder, brighter presentation.
While preparations for the US launch were underway, the Norwegian branch of Coca-Cola was battling a successful launch of Mountain Dew in their market. Because the Surge brand was already registered by another firm, the product was launched as "Urge" and bottled by Ringnes, bottler of other Coca-Cola products at the time.[5] It was seen as a competitor of the Norwegian orange soda Solo, also bottled by Ringnes.[6] The Norwegian market was chosen as a test market due to high consumption of carbonated beverages – then fifth worldwide – and its small population, making it easy to get feedback quickly.[3][7]
Local food regulation prevented the bright green color from being used, so it was launched with a pale, more natural juice drink look and given a slight orange taste to match the flavor with the color. The label's color was described as "grungy green and orange", which were noted as being fashionable at the time.[3]
The product sold well, particularly among the 12–19 age group, leading to its worldwide release. By the end of January 1997, the product had reached 2.2% market share in Norway.[7][8] The sale of Surge in North America began on January 13, 1997, when the drink was released to 140 markets across the United States. Its release was accompanied by a $50 million nationwide marketing campaign that led to high sales and popularity. A few years after the release, sales began to slip. Surge continued to be sold in vending machines, and 5 ft promotional coolers. The Surge coolers were placed in high traffic areas in gas stations as a key promotion to push sales away from competitors coolers in the back of stores all over the United States. Surge could be found in cans and fountain drinks until its eventual discontinuation in 2003.[1][9] Until September 15, 2014, when Coca-Cola re-released Surge, Norway was the only country where one could still buy a similar soft drink in any form, as the original Surge recipe was still popular there.[10]
Surge was widely associated with the extreme sports lifestyle, with television commercials similar to those used by Mountain Dew at the time.[11] The drink was also prominently advertised by World Championship Wrestling, with product placement on WCW Monday Nitro and pay-per-view. Coca-Cola also used provocative catchphrases to market Surge to extreme sports enthusiasts and teenagers alike. Some of these catchphrases included "Feed the Rush", "Life's a Scream" and the references to Surge as "A Fully Loaded Citrus Soda." Further touted was that Surge had a considerable number of carbohydrates, hence the "with carbos" tagline that was occasionally used in the marketing campaigns to emphasize the fact that Surge was supposed to be more than a soda, but an energy drink as well.[12]
After its inception, Surge's logo was updated and redesigned to a sharper and more modern look by graphic designer and marketer Colin Nekritz.[4]
Trademark
In 1997 Coca-Cola settled a trademark dispute with Babson Bros., an industrial cleaning product company whose cow-milking machine has been known as Surge since 1925.[13]
Revival
After the discontinuation of Surge in cans, a community was formed by web designer Eric "Karks" Karkovack entitled "Save Surge". The community initially mapped the locations at which Surge could be purchased in fountain form. Upon cancellation of the fountain syrup, the community continued, adopting an approach of activism that led to the creation of the citrus soda Vault in June 2005.[12] After Vault's release, Karkovack announced the closure of SaveSurge.org. Vault was discontinued in 2011.
As a result of Vault's discontinuation, a group was started on Facebook by Evan Carr called the "Surge Movement". The group repeatedly posted requests on Coca-Cola's Facebook page, and encouraged its members to call Coca-Cola's consumer affairs hotline at 1-800-GET-COKE to voice their desires further, once every month. The movement gained around 200,000 Facebook "likes" in the months after it was started and continues to grow.[14]
On September 15, 2014, Surge was re-released as an Amazon.com exclusive in packs of twelve 16 USoz cans.[15]
On February 10, 2015, Coca-Cola announced that it had begun test-marketing Surge with independent resellers and vending machines across the Southeast United States.
Slushy versions
In 1999, 7-Eleven introduced a Surge-flavored Slurpee.
On November 16, 2015, Burger King restaurants released a slushy version of the beverage called "Frozen Surge" as a limited edition slushy. Burger King reintroduced it in their restaurants as a fountain drink in August, 2018 [18]
In late 2016, Valero Corner Stores partnered with Icee to release an Icee form of Surge at select locations.
On January 11, 2017, Cinemark Theatres released a slushy version of the beverage called "Surge Frozen" for a limited time before being discontinued in spring 2017.
