Coca-Cola produced Surge carbonated drink in the 1990s and positioned it as a competitor to Mountain Dew from PepsiCo. The corporation discontinued the soda in 2003, but fans of the brand kept clamoring for its return to the market, and the long-awaited Surge comeback took place in 2014. However, the drink was available exclusively on Amazon.
This drink originally appeared in Norway and was called Urge. It was 1996, when Mountain Dew, produced by PepsiCo, was at the height of its popularity. Coca-Cola needed to launch a competing product. The success of Urge in Norway convinced Coca-Cola to start mass production in the USA.
American Surge was a little different than Norwegian Surge – in Norway, government regulation prohibits the bright green color of the drink, so Surge was paler there, and had a more natural juice-like color. And the flavor had orange notes.
Surge soda is distinguished by its green color and citrus taste. The drink was very popular in the United States, and fans even created The Surge Movement. Only on Facebook, the project has more than 128 thousand subscribers. In 2013, fans raised almost 4 thousand dollars and placed an outdoor advertisement near the Coca-Cola headquarters. The inscription read: “Dear Coke, we can’t buy Surge, so we bought a billboard instead”.
That’s how The Surge Movement has made it possible for the brand to come back: in 2014 Surge was available through Amazon, and a year later, it began to be sold in stores in the east. Surge appeared on tap at Burger King in 2018, and not only can you drink the classic flavor there, but you can also try the cherry, grape, and vanilla flavors.
What is Surge?
Surge is the name of a Coca-Cola drink, which was launched in 1997, and stopped its original run in 2003. However today you can find the drink in Burger King and McDonald’s machines in some of the regions. Also, the Surge Drink was revived for a short time in 2014, being available through Amazon.
In terms of visual identity, Surge has always been very sassy and bright. The main thing here is the color palette, which is able to make any composition eye-catching. But it’s not only the colors that create this special Surge mood; it’s also the boldness of the lines and the boom-effect.
The original Surge logo, introduced in 1996, has stayed with the iconic brand for only three years, but it is this badge, which is still in memories of the Surge fans. The name of the brand is written in bold black characters on a banner with the splash-shape. The banner is colored red with acid-green outlines and strokes, which are also used for the outline of the characters.
In 1999 the Surge logo was redesigned, making up a more digitalized and readable badge. The wordmark was rewritten in a slanted sans-serif typeface with the distinctive contours of the capitals and a “pulsing” outline in acid-green. The inscription was crossing the red splash, set on a gradient green background.
The uppercase italicized lettering from the latest Surge badge was set in a string yet elegant custom typeface, which looked somewhat close to such fonts as House Sans or Belgia, but with significant modifications of the characters’ contours.
As for the color palette of the Surge visual identity, it is based on a bright acid shade of green, black, and red. Green is the main color of the brand, it stands for energy and fun, while red signifies passion, and black — strength and confidence.