Mello Yello facts for kids
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| Type | Citrus soda |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | The Coca-Cola Company |
| Introduced | March 12, 1979 |
| Color | Chartreuse 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 has a strong citrus flavor and contains caffeine. This drink was first introduced on March 12, 1979. Its main goal was to compete with PepsiCo's drink, Mountain Dew.
Mello Yello was sold in Australia for a while. However, it was taken off the market in the early 1990s. Another drink called Lift, which is similar but has no caffeine, took its place.
In North America, Mello Yello has had three special flavors that were only available for a short time. These included Mello Yello Cherry, Mello Yello Afterglow (which tasted like peach), and Mello Yello Melon. Mello Yello Cherry was created to compete with Mountain Dew Code Red. Today, you can still find Mello Yello Cherry in some stores and at special Coca-Cola Freestyle machines.
Each 12-ounce serving of Mello Yello has about 49.5 milligrams of caffeine. This is about 139 mg/L per liter.
By 2021, Mello Yello was mostly sold in the eastern parts of the United States. However, you can still find it as a fountain drink at many restaurants. These include places like Arby's, Cracker Barrel, Hardee's, Golden Corral, and Culvers.
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Mello Yello in Pop Culture and Ads
Mello Yello has appeared in movies and commercials. It was featured in the 1990 NASCAR movie Days of Thunder. In the film, the main character, Cole Trickle, drove a race car sponsored by Mello Yello. He even won the Daytona 500 in it! After the movie, a real NASCAR driver named Kyle Petty used the Mello Yello design on his race car. He raced with their sponsorship for four seasons, from 1991 to 1994. You could also find Mello Yello on toy race cars. The brand also sponsored a NASCAR race at Charlotte Motor Speedway until 1994.
Mello Yello was also advertised in commercials starring Ernest. He was a funny character who often ended his ads with "Knowhutimean?". Ernest came up with the drink's official slogan: "Make The Mello Yello Move."
In 1982, a company called Gottlieb made a special version of their arcade game Q*Bert. This game had Mello Yello designs in it. It was never officially released, but you can still play it on old arcade game emulators like MAME.
In 2011, Mello Yello started a new advertising campaign. Their commercials showed cartoon adults who formed a band and sang the song "Mellow Yellow".
Since 2013, Mello Yello has been the main sponsor of the NHRA's professional drag racing series. This is called the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series. Other Coca-Cola brands like Powerade and Full Throttle were sponsors before Mello Yello.
In December 2015, Mello Yello changed its logo and packaging. The new design featured a cool "MY" symbol in black on a yellow background. This new look was used for the regular Mello Yello and Mello Yello Zero. Other flavors like Cherry and Peach kept the old logo until 2017.
Mello Yello Around the World
Mello Yello has made a comeback in different countries. In October 2006, it was brought back to New Zealand as a "limited edition" drink. It had been gone for at least 15 years! The New Zealand version used the old 1980s logo. It also said "A Product of the Coca-Cola Company" on the bottle cap. Only 200,000 cases of this special edition were made in 2006. Mello Yello returned to New Zealand again in October 2007 and then again as a "limited edition" for the summer months.
In June 2011, Mello Yello was relaunched in Japan. The packaging in Japan has a slogan that says "Smooth Taste Smooth Times" and a "Since 1983" badge.
In Australia, the Mello Yello brand returned during the summer of 2012–2013. It also used a 1980s-style logo. This Mello Yello in Australia does not have caffeine. Interestingly, Mountain Dew in Australia only started adding caffeine about six months before this Mello Yello release.
In 1994, Mello Yello was launched in Colombia by Coca-Cola. There, it was known by a different name: Quatro.
Different Mello Yello Flavors
Mello Yello comes in several flavors, some of which are only available in certain places or for a limited time.
| Flavor Name | When it was made | What it's like |
|---|---|---|
| Mello Yello | 1979–present | This is the original Mello Yello flavor. 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 that has zero calories. It was introduced when the brand got a new look in 2010. |
| Mello Redd | 1980s | This was a red, mixed-fruit flavored Mello Yello. It was the first different flavor of Mello Yello, but it was only available for a short time in Japan. |
| Mello Yello Cherry | 2003, 2015–present (bottles) 2011–present (Coca-Cola Freestyle) |
This cherry-flavored drink was released in 2002 along with Mello Yello Melon. It was made to compete with Mountain Dew Code Red and had a stronger cherry taste. It was stopped soon after it came out, but it returned in 2015. You can also find it in Coca-Cola Freestyle Machines since 2009. |
| Mello Yello Melon | 2003 | This green, melon-flavored Mello Yello was released in 2002 with Mello Yello Cherry. Like the cherry flavor, it was stopped shortly after it was introduced. |
| Mello Yello Peach/Mello Yello Afterglow | 2004, 2015, 2018 (bottles) 2011–present (Coca-Cola Freestyle) |
This is an orange, peach-flavored Mello Yello. It was released for limited times in 2004 (as "Mello Yello Afterglow"), and again in 2015 and 2018 (as "Mello Yello Peach"). You can currently find it in Coca-Cola Freestyle fountains. |
| Mello Yello Orange | 2011–present | This is an orange-flavored Mello Yello. It is currently available in Coca-Cola Freestyle fountains. |
| Mello Yello Grape | 2011–17 | This was a purple, grape-flavored Mello Yello. It was available in Coca-Cola Freestyle fountains until 2017. |
| Mello Yello Limeade | 2017–present | This is a green, lime-flavored Mello Yello. It is currently available in Coca-Cola Freestyle fountains. |
Images for kids
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2015–2023 logo
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Limited Edition 1.5 litre bottle
