DEWmocracy I is the unofficial name given to the first marketing promotion that involves Mountain Dew fans designing new flavors to be made, one of which will go on to become the next Flavor in the Mountain Dew line.
Launch
In November 2007, PepsiCo launched a new Mountain Dew marketing campaign. This campaign was given the name "DEWmocracy", tying the words Dew and Democracy together, as the campaign centered around the idea of Dew drinkers designing the next permanent flavor on the line. DEWmocracy was released in various phases, each leading to the conception of new Dew flavors.
Phase One - Interactive Website
The first phase of DEWmocracy began with the release of an official website, a short film, and even an online role-playing game. The short film starred actor/director Forest Whitaker, who was in search of a mystical drink that would save the world from the corporate takeover that oppresses creativity. The online game involved creating a profile and traveling to 7 different levels to play mini-games in order to earn points. While doing this,each player selects attributes that they believe would make the perfect Mountain Dew drink (flavor, logo, name, color, etc.)
Phase Two - Recruiting
When phase two began in January 2008, three flavor finalists had been chosen, but no other attributes were decided. The second phase revolved primarily around recruiting other people to join in on the DEWmocracy campaign.
Phase Three - Store Release and Winner
The three flavors featured in DEWmocracy 1.
In the end, the three flavors had been given fan-chosen names, colors, and overall designs. These three drinks were Voltage, Supernova, and Revolution. All three were released to the public during the summer of 2008, and drinkers were given the objective to go to the official website and vote for which flavor they liked most. This lasted until the end of July, and Voltage was announced to be the official winner on August 19, 2008, the second placer being Supernova, with Revolution in 3rd place.
Continuation of DEWmocracy
A second DEWmocracy promotion was launched in 2009 to select another new flavor.
Additionally, On June 5th, 2012, Mountain Dew confirmed that there are plans for an upcoming third DEWmocracy promotion on their Twitter page.
Legacy
In 2011, Mountain Dew began its FanDEWmonium campaign to decide the next permanent diet flavor (much like DEWmocracy, but on a smaller level). The two finalists were, in fact, Diet versions of flavors from DEWmocracy I - Voltage and Supernova. Diet Supernova won.
During the summer of 2011, Mountain Dew started its "Back by Popular DEWmand" promotion, and re-released three flavors that its fans have been demanding since they were taken off the shelves. These three flavors were Pitch Black from Halloween of 2004, and the runner-up from each DEWmocracy: Supernova and Typhoon.
Also during 2011, Mountain Dew launched its "Throwback Shack" website, which gave visitors a chance to enter to win many Mountain Dew items of interest, including a "secret stash" of 12 brand new glass bottles of Revolution.