Mountain Dew Soda [Owens-Illinois]

Here is an embossed Mountain Dew bottle that was manufactured by the Owens-Illinois Glass Company in Atlanta, Georgia in the year 1965.

Figure 1

One side features the cartoon image of Willy the Hillbilly below the embossed text NO DEPOSIT / 10 FL. OZ. / Mountain Dew ®. (Figure 1)

Figure 2

The other side features the phrase, It'll tickle yore innards! below the embossed text NO RETURN /  10 FL. OZ. / Mountain Dew ®. (Figure 2)

Figure 3

The base is also stippled throughout, and has the embossment NOT TO BE REFILLED / TDK-18792 / "I in an oval" / 10 / 65.

The number 65 denotes the year of manufacture--1965.  10 is the plant code where the bottle was manufactured--in this case, Atlanta, Georgia.  The "I in an oval" trademark belongs to the Owens-Illinois Glass Co. (post-1954).

Invented by Hartman Beverage in the early 1940s, the lemon-flavored soda Mountain Dew was named after a brand of Tennessee mountain-made moonshine.  However, this soda was not commercially available to the masses until the year 1955.

During this first year of bottling, Mountain Dew bottles all had applied color labels.

In 1964, Pepsi-Cola purchases Mountain Dew and, in the following year, launches the "Ya-hooo!" Willy the Hillbilly ad campaign that featured the phrase, "It'll tickle yore innards!"  Their first television commercial launched in 1966 (see right).

Figure 4

In 1973, Pepsi completely changes the Mountain Dew logo and label for the first time since Mountain Dew's creation. (Figure 4)