Mello Yello facts for kids
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| Type | Citrus soda |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | The Coca-Cola Company |
| Introduced | March 12, 1979 |
| Color | Yellow |
| Flavor | Citrus |
| Variants |
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| Related products | Vault Mountain Dew Surge Sun Drop |
Mello Yello is a popular soft drink made by the Coca-Cola Company. It's a citrus-flavored soda with caffeine. It first came out on March 12, 1979. It was created to compete with another drink called Mountain Dew from PepsiCo.
Mello Yello was stopped in Australia in the early 1990s. It was replaced by a similar drink called Lift, which did not have caffeine. In South Africa during the 1980s, Mello Yello became linked to the South African Police and their yellow vehicles.
There have been different flavors of Mello Yello in North America. Mello Yello Cherry was released to compete with Mountain Dew Code Red. Other flavors included Mello Yello Afterglow (which was peach-flavored) and Mello Yello Melon. These were only available for a short time. Mello Yello Cherry can still be found in some stores and at Coca-Cola Freestyle machines.
A standard 12-ounce serving of Mello Yello has about 49.5 milligrams of caffeine.
Contents
Mello Yello in Marketing and Sports
Mello Yello has been featured in many advertisements and events.
Movies and Racing
Mello Yello was shown in the 1990 NASCAR movie Days of Thunder. In the movie, the main character, Cole Trickle, drove a Mello Yello-sponsored car. He even won the Daytona 500 race with it. After the movie, a real NASCAR race car used the Mello Yello design. Driver Kyle Petty raced with Mello Yello sponsorship from 1991 to 1994. Mello Yello also sponsored a NASCAR race at Charlotte Motor Speedway until 1994.
Commercials and Games
The drink was advertised in commercials featuring Ernest. He created the slogan "Make The Mello Yello Move." In 1982, a company called Gottlieb made a special version of their arcade game Q*Bert with Mello Yello designs. This game was never officially released but can be played on computer emulators. In 2011, Mello Yello started a new ad campaign with cartoon characters.
Drag Racing Sponsorship
In 2013, Mello Yello became the main sponsor of the NHRA's professional drag racing series. This series is now called the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series. Other Coca-Cola brands like Powerade and Full Throttle were sponsors before Mello Yello.
New Look
In December 2015, Mello Yello introduced a new logo and packaging. It featured a new "MY" symbol in black on a yellow background. This new design was used for the regular and Zero versions. Other flavors like Cherry and Peach kept the old logo until 2017.
Mello Yello Around the World
Mello Yello has been brought back to different countries over the years.
New Zealand
In October 2006, Mello Yello was relaunched in New Zealand as a 'limited edition' drink. It had not been available there for at least 15 years. This special release used the original 1980s logo. It was sold in 600 ml and 1.5 liter plastic bottles. Only 200,000 cases were made in 2006. Mello Yello was relaunched again in New Zealand in October 2007 and then again for summer months as a 'limited edition'.
Japan
In late June 2011, Mello Yello was relaunched in Japan. The packaging in Japan has the slogan 'Smooth Taste Smooth Times' and a 'Since 1983' badge.
Australia
In Australia, Mello Yello returned during the 2012–2013 summer. It used a 1980s-era logo. This version of Mello Yello in Australia does not have caffeine.
Colombia
In 1994, Mello Yello was launched in Colombia by the Coca-Cola Company under the name Quatro.
Mello Yello Flavors
Mello Yello has come in several different flavors over the years.
| Flavor Name | When It Was Made | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Mello Yello | 1979–present | This is the original flavor of Mello Yello. It's a yellow-green, citrus-flavored soda that first came out in 1979. |
| Mello Yello Zero | 2010–present | This is a version of Mello Yello with no calories. It was introduced when the drink was rebranded in 2010. |
| Mello Redd | 1980s | A red, mixed fruit flavor of Mello Yello. This was the first different flavor, but it was only available for a short time in Japan. |
| Mello Yello Cherry | 2003, 2015–present (bottles) 2011–present (Coca-Cola Freestyle) |
A cherry-flavored version released in 2002. It was brought back in 2015 and is available in Coca-Cola Freestyle machines. |
| Mello Yello Melon | 2003 | A green, melon-flavored Mello Yello. It was released in 2002 but was stopped shortly after. |
| Mello Yello Peach/Mello Yello Afterglow | 2004, 2015, 2018 (bottles) 2011–present (Coca-Cola Freestyle) |
An orange, peach-flavored Mello Yello. It was released for limited times in 2004 (as "Afterglow"), 2015, and 2018. It's also available in Coca-Cola Freestyle fountains. |
| Mello Yello Orange | 2011–present | An orange-flavored Mello Yello. It is currently available in Coca-Cola Freestyle fountains. |
| Mello Yello Grape | 2011–2017 | A purple, grape-flavored Mello Yello. It was available in Coca-Cola Freestyle fountains until 2017. |
| Mello Yello Limeade | 2017–present | A green, lime-flavored Mello Yello. It is currently available in Coca-Cola Freestyle fountains. |
