Here at PepsiCo, we take pride in our family of beloved brands, which are enjoyed by billions of consumers all over the world. As evidenced by our numerous corporate-responsibility initiatives, we take our obligations to society seriously, which is why we are writing today to apologize for inadvertently contributing to the crisis of American democracy through our popular Mountain Dew soft-drink brand.
Our role in democratic backsliding did not begin overnight. The Mountain Dew family of products was, we now realize, a ticking time bomb. Our beloved “Willy the Hillbilly” seemed an innocent product of a simpler time, but we now recognize that, in its embodiment of the identitarian politics of a regionally marginalized white working class, Willy is largely responsible for fueling the sense of resentment driving the base of authoritarian populism today. When we encouraged our viewers to “Do the Dew,” by embracing a lifestyle of extreme daredevil feats and adventuresome nontraditional sports, we were unaware that this focus would involve the atrophying of the soft skills necessary for economic success and stable relationships in a postindustrial world, priming a generation of American men for failure and frustration.
We cannot deny, though, that our implication in American social fragmentation goes further. When we began promoting Mountain Dew “Game Fuel” to young American men, we had little thought beyond reaching the lucrative, yet nascent, demographic of electronic-gaming enthusiasts. Never did we consider that caffeine-fueled all-night gaming sessions would lead not merely to healthy, friendly socialization but to radicalizing 3 a.m. YouTube rabbit holes, Gamergate, and the formation of a tech culture hostile to existing societal norms and morality.
Similarly, our cross-branded “Quest” promotion with Doritos encouraged consumers to solve online puzzles and games in pursuit of a mystery flavor. While this seemed harmless enough at the time, it has become clear in retrospect that a populace eager to do its own research by trawling through hints and innuendo on the internet would be ill-prepared to resist the allure of QAnon, anti-vaccination propaganda, and deranged political conspiracy theories.
And while our surrealistic Puppy Monkey Baby advertisements drew remarkable engagement, we must now acknowledge that these commercials served only to heighten the sense of living in a post-truth era, in which reality itself was subject to dispute and, ultimately, discarded. In a world where a horrific tripartite homunculus wanders across your screen, howling its own name, of what use is consensus reality?
Now, it is with sincere regret that we come to our greatest failure. When we launched the Dew-mocracy campaign in 2007, we considered it an engaging and clever way for consumers to participate in market research for selecting a new Mountain Dew flavor. However, we must now acknowledge that there is a direct line between the disappointment and disfranchisement felt by first-time Supernova and Revolution voters every time they saw the winning Voltage flavor in stores following the 2008 results and the widespread abandonment of faith in Dew-mocratic—and democratic—institutions. This crisis of faith was such that by 2016, our Dewcision campaign was ripe for accusations of rigged voting and predetermined results. Our efforts to paper over these concerns with the DewNited campaign of 2019-20 were clearly inadequate, and we apologize unreservedly for any pretense that they would suffice.
While we cannot deny our responsibility for the destruction of our democracy, we at PepsiCo and the Mountain Dew brand are always looking toward the future, which is why we’re confident you’ll enjoy our upcoming promotional campaign, featuring three new dye- and mRNA-free flavors made entirely of untariffed American ingredients. “Dew-mocracy: One Last Time” is very tentatively scheduled for 2026.