When PepsiCo acquired Mountain Dew in 1964, they pushed the brand nationally and leaned hard into its folksy, hillbilly image to appeal to rural and Southern audiences, which made for some pretty wild early TV spots. Hillbilly mascot: “Willy the Hillbilly” was the cartoon character used in the TV spots and on packaging. He wore a floppy hat, overalls, and had a shotgun. The early ads were animated and featured slapstick humor, lots of moonshine-like bottles popping open, and backwoods antics. They emphasized lines like “Ya-hoo! Mountain Dew!” and “It’ll tickle yore innards!” The ads had banjos, jugs with XXX labels (a moonshine reference), outhouses, and old-timey mountain settings. While the hillbilly theme was eventually phased out in the 1970s in favor of a more youth-oriented, high-energy image, those early ads helped Mountain Dew gain a loyal base. Today, the contrast between the hillbilly roots and the current “Do the Dew” extreme sports vibe is part of what makes Mountain Dew’s branding history so unique.
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