Coca-Cola’s answer to Mountain Dew started life under a blunt codename: MDK. The acronym stood for Mountain Dew Killer.
The public knew it as Surge. Its TV debut was set for the Super Bowl, the Associated Press reported in December 1996.
The ads would chase teens and young adults, the crowd fueling Mountain Dew’s category lead. AP called the launch Coca-Cola’s biggest soda gamble since New Coke in 1985.
Mountain Dew had reportedly pulled in $3 billion in sales the year before. Marketing Week cited a reported $50 million marketing budget for the U.S. launch.
John Sicher, publisher of Beverage Digest, summed it up:
“For years, Coke bottlers have been saying, ‘We need something to compete with Mountain Dew.’ Now the Coca-Cola Co. has responded.”
Despite containing less sugar and caffeine than Mountain Dew, Surge developed a reputation as an especially potent soda. Rumors about its ingredients reportedly led some schools to remove it from vending machines.
Coke pulled Surge in the early 2000s, but its fans refused to let go.
How Fans Brought Surge Back From the Dead
The Surge Movement, a Facebook group, took shape in 2011. Members mailed Coke handwritten holiday cards, flooded its Facebook page and called a consumer hotline in monthly waves.
In 2013, fans chipped in almost $4,000 to put up a billboard outside Coke’s Atlanta headquarters. Its message read: “Dear Coke, we couldn’t buy Surge, so we bought this billboard instead.”
Coke relaunched Surge on Sept. 15, 2014, selling it exclusively on Amazon. No Coke product had ever been sold solely through an online retailer before, ABC7 reported.
Fox59 noted it was also the first discontinued Coke brand to make a comeback.
Coca-Cola North America’s Racquel Mason, an associate vice president of sparkling flavors, said:
“They’ve inspired us. More than 128,000 people a dozen years after a brand left the market saying, ‘Please bring it back!’ That’s the best compliment any brand could hope for.”
By the relaunch, the group’s page had passed 129,000 Facebook likes. The victory proved temporary, however. As of 2026, Surge is no longer available in stores, according to the Surge Movement, which continues to campaign for another potential comeback.
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