Brands Manager, Mr. Ricardo McKlmon, told reporters that the beverages are among the fastest growing soft drinks in the United States of America.

It is because of this that “Pepsi believes that the time is right to introduce Code Red and Mountain Dew to the Caribbean”, he noted.

The platform chosen to advertise the product is alternative sports such as skateboarding, biking and stunt-type events.

He noted that the success of the brand comes from is consistent relevant brand positioning, effective advertising which drives awareness and relevancy, the high quality and uniqueness of the product and the genuine ownership of alternative sports.

Code Red and Mountain Dew focus on children between the ages of 12 and 18 who embrace adventure, excitement and fun. And according to Mcklmon, the thirst quenching nature of the product is relevant to that type of attitude.

The three benefits are: the product benefit, emotional benefit and the brand or user imagery.

The product benefit is that it is very energising and has a unique taste; the brand imagery is mainly self-assurance; and the emotional benefit is excitement and exhilaration.

Advertising Agent Mr Bernard Ramsay, in giving a brief history of the product noted that the brand was originally born in Knoxville, Tennessee in 1940 and was acquired by the Pepsi-Cola Company in 1964.

The first campaign was aired in 1966 with a slogan called “Yahoo Mountain Dew”, the same year that the product reached 92 per cent distribution.

The current slogan is “Do the Dew”.

Marketing Manager Mr. Antonious Raghubansie described the occasion “as another one of the important moments that the company has been speaking about for the past year”.

He said that Pepsi has been analysing the global market and it has been found that consumers are asking for greater choices. They are “asking for alternative lifestyles, and things that are different.”

According to the Marketing Manager, the world is being led by the young consumers and Pepsi has since re-organised and is focusing on the young consumers.

He said that Pepsi-Guyana has been investing sums of money into social activities in the country, particularly in the sporting arena and the introduction of the new product only adds to the revenue stream and they will continue to expand their social activities.