Sales Rack: Mountain Dew Improves Halloween with Some “Voo-Dew”

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Every year, people gather during The Halloween Season to reenact the many rituals that make this time of year special. For some, it’s dressing up and going door to door. For others, it’s watching scary movies and changing your Twitter name to something spooky. So much of October is spent having fun that it’s becoming more and more difficult to stand out in the ever-expanding industry. How do you make a product that not only will capture the Halloween spirit, but also create a new ritual – one that will continually be revived like witches summoning demons? We go to the altar of consumerism, telling them we’re tired of stupid ghost masks and, in return, they hand down the almighty savior to our doldrums:

A Mountain Dew Voo-Dew

Since 2019, Mountain Dew has done the unthinkable in making Halloween a little more enjoyable by releasing a mystery flavor. It’s part of a major rebranding that has only bolstered their image and made them more appealing. Whereas the summer months are overwhelmed with tributes to 50 flavor extravaganza of Liberty Brew, the shift to Voo-Dew is one that has become more anticipatory. You can’t help but wonder what crazy concoction they’ll come up with, playing into the perfect limited time structure that makes these drinks move. Go to their website and you’ll get both the countdown to its release and the countdown to its demise. While there’s room to suggest that a store MAY have some in early November, don’t expect major shipments to whet your appetite. We’re moving onto the next one. 

While I would be optimistic and believe that we’re gearing up for years and years of Voo-Dew, this particular post will be talking about its current run between 2019 and 2020. With “Voo-Dew 2” ending its run next Sunday, it feels like a good time to look at its brief history and figure out just what is going on with this drink.


Because more than any other time since the original Mountain Dew flavor has there felt like the limitless potential to expand the brand. While you can have random 20 oz. bottles with all of the states on them (what do you think you are, state quarters?), there’s little room to want to make t-shirts and figurines with noticeable iconography out of them. Even as great as Liberty Brew is, you’re better off just buying an American flag. There’s not a lot of options that can compare to buying a t-shirt with the Mountain Dew logo (or any variant). And yet, I see the potential for endless marketing and conversation around Voo-Dew.

Not since Oreo has there been something that I’ve anticipated buying just to figure out what it tastes like. The whole thing has deceptive packaging, with the drink itself often appearing with an unconventional white texture (the only comparison point is White Out). Its biggest benefit is that Mountain Dew message boards are so passionate that they’re constantly talking about what it could potentially be. In 2020, details leaked months in advance on a fan Discord and lead many to question just what the flavor would be.

But that’s in large part because last year’s flavor had everyone’s mouths divided. While it was eventually revealed to be candy corn, the debate raged on to what it actually was. The answers were all over the place, including the belief that it was a bag of Skittles. Before I get into that particulars with how they went about revealing the flavor, it’s important to note that one of the most enjoyable parts of Voo-Dew isn’t the product itself. It’s the idea of cracking open a bottle, chugging it, swishing it around in your mouth, before telling your friend what you think it is. Given that Mountain Dew is by nature a citrusy drink, it’s difficult to tell what is misleading and what is being accentuated. It almost needs to be a berry flavor just to not have your taste buds at odds.

The whole story started with a patent in 2018. From there, things began to kick into gear. What would be this mystery drink? Given that it was going to be a banner year for the company, 2019 produced one of their most clever marketing campaigns imaginable. If you followed their Twitter account, there were plenty of ways to follow along at home, having moments to talk with fans as well as get these creative clues from Mountain Dew about just what it could be.

It was also the introduction of a character who has slowly developed a reputation throughout the soda franchise world. What started as a quirky design to make their drink look “spooktacular” ended up being a compelling figure. Think of The Crypt Keeper from Tales from the Crypt, only currently a sketch of who he’s likely to become: a vision of dread that is out there hustling drinks. You have to give in to his will because otherwise, well, he has every right to bestow his voodoo on you.

In theory, he’s a conventional character that has almost zero dimensions. However, as he returns for his second year, I feel the need to use a megaphone and ask people to start writing fan fiction about him, give him a personality, and let’s build The Voo-Dew Mascot into a full-fledged character. What does he do on Boxing Day? The world has to know! We need to know the life story of the man who hides behind a robe with the word “VOO-DEW” slapped across his face. What is the reason for this unfortunate scarring? If anything, he is the liveliest iconography that Mountain Dew has come up with in quite a few years. 

Make it happen, people. You are the change that you want to see.

I mostly mention all of this because The Voo-Dew Mascot has been busy every Halloween season. He’s a regular puzzle-maker, dropping clues (sometimes in plain sight) for fans who are eager to find all of the clues. In a series of promos posted to Twitter, Mountain Dew included allusions to its flavor by featuring him running through a cornfield as well as using artwork that has colors reminiscent of candy corn. By the time that The Voo-Dew Mascot came forward and told you how he truly felt, he was literally giving it to you as he poured a 20 oz. bottle into his chalice, watching the liquid turn into mountainous piles of candy corn as he spoke aloud in his deep and haunting voice.

There were some complaints from customers that claimed that they couldn’t find it. While it’s not LeBron James-level of disappointing, it’s easy to understand the disappointment. Voo-Dew is for the world! Everyone deserves to take their turn taking a sip, figuring out just what the flavor is. For some, it was orange creamsicles, but that’s part of the game. There needs to be something to give us reason to live, to think about what makes this Halloween season special. From now on, it’s probably going to be named after the Voo-Dew flavors.

2019 was Candy Corn Season.

2020 is shaping up to be Skittles Season. In fairness, there haven’t been any major announcements but the consensus, yet again, is that it tastes like a bag of Skittles. It’s not even one flavor, but what happens when you eat five at once, feeling the flavors blend together in some horrifying concoction. It’s quite wonderful, though one has to wonder if this is going to be another case of being duped. Does everything just taste like Skittles when ran through a Mountain Dew bottle? There has to be a greater answer.
Let’s go to the list of clues that Mountain Dew has shared. In this particular case, it’s a glitching sign with The Voo-Dew Mascot looking out as the background pops up. One noteworthy detail in the background, on a tree branch, is the name Andi Crufty. Considering how last year featured a clue for “Dandy Thorne” that was a play on candy corn, Andi Crufty can be seen as a play on words, i.e. fruit candy. On Reddit, another clue from mtndewinsider basically says that you’ll be “over the rainbow” for this new flavor. While some still hold out hope for the candy apple flavors, it’s looking more and more like it’s Skittles. 

After all, anyone who has spent some time watching candy commercials will know, Skittles’ ongoing slogan is “Taste the rainbow.” It’s fun stuff, even if it feels like we’re not getting the most clever flavors. Considering that this will be the second year that some predict Skittles, there will need to be a major shake-up in 2021 to keep it from being a threepeat. Maybe there will need to be Milk Duds or Rice Krispies at some point. There has to be a wild mix that will throw the world out of whack. 

Still, I’m looking forward to The Voo-Dew Mascot coming forward with the answer. While the videos aren’t exceptionally detailed, they are entertaining and well-produced quick bits of advertising, finding audience interaction in such a way that makes you excited to see whatever they come up with next. If only they had similar techniques for other products. The issue is that none of them lend themselves to novelty with as much impact as Voo-Dew, and I’m glad to see them branch out in meaningful ways. 


Before I end this piece, I want to give a shout-out to one of the few Voo-Dew products that I’ve found in my research. While by no means an official, real-life thing, I was impressed by the artwork of Chad Mikosz. As a car designer, his website Trading Paints has mock-ups of various NASCAR cars with his artwork on it. In this case, he made something with Voo-Dew’s iconography on. He claims that it was the first time that he didn’t have to design the logo. To be honest, it’s so convincing and cool that I was disappointed to learn it wasn’t real. Still, I wish him luck in his career because his designs definitely had me fooled until I did research. I hope they make the right Dew-Cision for you.

As another Halloween season starts to wind down, I look back on Mountain Dew’s new annual tradition and am glad to see them pushing boundaries and making something that has room to become its own beast. I may be overstating how big it can be, but if Flo from Progressive can have an extended family universe, then why not have Voo-Dew and a variety of characters and locales all fighting for our attention? It feels like a fun way to expand your brand and keep us invested. It’s goofy, sure, but the drink is more than worth it. It delivers great conversation and, more importantly, a pretty good flavor. I look forward to being proven that this year was more than a bag of Skittles. I could be wrong, but the mystery is keeping my interest alive – for a few more days, anyway.

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