Green Label was an online magazine, a partnership between Mountain Dew and Complex Media, producing sponsored content covering action sports, music, art and style.[1] The site replaces several websites and a YouTube channel overseen by PepsiCo since 2007. The initiative originated in 2013.[2] It became defunct in 2018.
Green Label Art
Mountain Dew's Green Label promotion originated in 2007, when a line of limited edition aluminum bottles was put into production, featuring artwork from a range of tattoo artists and other artists.[3] This initial series marked the first use of the term Green Label Art to describe the use of artistic works on Mountain Dew packaging.[4] In June 2010, a contest entitled "Green Label Art: Shop Series" was announced,[5] involving 35 independent skateboard store owners who partnered with local artists to design and submit future can artwork designs.[6] Approximately one million votes were submitted by the contest's conclusion in October of the same year, with Street Science Skate Shop – a store in Tracy, California – named the winner of a cash prize. This winning can design was scheduled to appear on Mountain Dew cans in 2011.[7]
Green Label Sound
In 2008, a Mountain Dew-sponsored music label was launched under the name Green Label Sound. In December 2010, a Mountain Dew Code Red television advertisement was produced, incorporating the hip-hop artist Jay Electronica performing his song The Announcement.[8] The advertisement concludes with the tagline, "Hip Hop is different on the mountain".[9]
The label released its first full-length album release, When Fish Ride Bicycles by the hip-hop group The Cool Kids, on June 12, 2011.
Dew Tour/Green Label experience
Sponsorship of action sports athletes has been a part of Mountain Dew marketing since the late 1990s, with present sponsorship including Eli Reed (skateboarder), Paul Rodriguez (skateboarder), and Danny Davis (snowboarder).[10] Mountain Dew also sponsors its namesake festival, "The Dew Tour", which is an action sports tour made up of events held in five U.S. cities over several months.[11] The first Dew Tour was held in the summer of 2005 with events in skateboarding, BMX and Freestyle Motocross. In 2008, it expanded to add a "Winter Dew Tour", comprising snowboarding and snow skiing competitions. It is "the most watched and attended action sports event in the world," according to Transworld Snowboarding magazine.[12][13] In coordination with its Dew Tour sponsorship, a sponsored television show entitled Mountain Dew's Green Label Experience premiered on Fuel TV in July 2010 for the primary purpose of broadcasting interviews with action sports athletes from each of the stops on the Dew Tour.[14]
Green Label Gaming
Under the term Green Label Gaming – coined in 2007 – Mountain Dew broadened its sponsorship of independent video game designers and players. The brand is often the subject of media attention[citation needed] for its popularity among video game enthusiasts, as several flavors of Mountain Dew have been produced in partnership with video games. In December 2008, Mountain Dew produced a 30-minute television special which documented independent gamers in Japan and the U.S., which aired on the Spike TV network.[15] In 2009, Mountain Dew sponsored two prominent gaming events: the Independent Games Festival and the Game Developers Conference.[16][17][18] Green Label Gaming went under controversy over a sponsored Game Jam-themed reality show by Matti Leshem.
References
- ^ "Green Label | About Us". Complex Media, Inc. Retrieved April 27, 2013.
- ^ Elliott, Stuart (April 25, 2013). "Mountain Dew to Introduce a Sponsored Web Site". New York Times. Retrieved April 25, 2013.
- ^ Miller, Yael (June 3, 2007). "Green Label Art — Mountain Dew". The Dieline. Retrieved January 27, 2011.
- ^ "Mountain Dew Limited Edition: Green Label Art". Caffeine Informer. May 18, 2007. Retrieved January 19, 2011.[dead link]
- ^ Hammecker, Mike (June 24, 2010). "Dew Tour: Green Label Shop Series". The Boston Herald. Archived from the original on November 21, 2010. Retrieved January 27, 2011.
- ^ "Green Label Art, Volume 3, Presented by Mountain Dew". DUB Daily. August 21, 2009. Archived from the original on July 12, 2010. Retrieved January 27, 2011.
- ^ "Green Label Art Shop Series Winners". Skateboarder Magazine. October 19, 2010. Archived from the original on February 2, 2013. Retrieved January 27, 2011.
- ^ "Jay Electronica remakes 'The Announcement' for Mountain Dew Code Red". Miss Info. December 23, 2010. Archived from the original on December 28, 2010. Retrieved January 27, 2011.
- ^ Burgess, Omar (December 23, 2010). "Jay Electronica Lands Mountain Dew Endorsement". Hip Hop DX. Archived from the original on January 26, 2011. Retrieved January 27, 2011.
- ^ "Fuel TV and Mountain Dew Announce 'Mountain Dew's Green Label Experience' TV Show". Malakye News. June 16, 2010. Archived from the original on July 14, 2011. Retrieved January 23, 2011.
- ^ "Tour Info, Dew Tour 2010". Alli Sports. 2010. Archived from the original on January 14, 2011. Retrieved January 24, 2011.
- ^ "Winter Dew Tour Athletes For 2010-2011 Season". Transworld Snowboarding. October 28, 2010. Retrieved January 24, 2011.
- ^ Donaldson, Amy (September 22, 2010). "Dew Tour review: Utah has emerged as a pretty great place for action sports". Deseret News. Salt Lake City. Archived from the original on September 24, 2010. Retrieved January 24, 2011.
- ^ "World Television Premiere of "Mountain Dew's Green Label Experience: Las Vegas" on FUEL TV". Archived from the original on January 23, 2015. Retrieved January 23, 2015.
- ^ Hampp, Andrew (December 11, 2008). "Mountain Dew Sets Its Sights on Video-Game Market". Advertising Age. Retrieved January 26, 2011.
- ^ "Green Label Gaming Signs Up For IGF". Independent Games Festival. February 2009. Archived from the original on December 2, 2010. Retrieved January 26, 2011.
- ^ "Competition Reminder: Imagine The Games Of 2020". Gamasutra. March 4, 2009. Retrieved January 26, 2011.
- ^ Carless, Simon (February 27, 2009). "Green Label Gaming Competition". Indie Games. Archived from the original on March 2, 2009. Retrieved January 26, 2011.