The Little-Known Story Of Willy The Hillbilly In Tennessee And How He Made A Big Comeback
By Chris Dodge|Published February 22, 2024
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Chris Dodge
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My name is Chris Dodge and I live right here in the great state of Tennessee. My family and I are full adventurers filled with passion to see the amazing things our state has to offer. We are avid hikers and have explored many different places in Tennessee and beyond but we are always thankful to be living in such a glorious state.
Did you know that Mountain Dew came from East Tennessee? With something so ubiquitous and widely available, you usually don’t ponder where it all started. History has always fascinated me, and although I had my fair share of this sweet nectar of the peaks, I never thought to ask where it came from. So I dug deep and found that the Mountain Dew origin story and its connection to Tennessee is a rather intriguing tale to tell. So journey back with me to the early days of the 1900s and see where the ‘Dew got its start.
In the early 1900s, moonshiners hiding out in the hills and mountainous forests would create a high-demand product straight from the still.
By the time Prohibition started, the practice was already well-established and thus began the feud for dominance. Moonshine was known by a few different names like white lighting, fire water, and, interestingly enough, Mountain Dew.
In 1927, taking inspiration from the moonshining industry, a man by the name of Max Licht invented a new kind of soda that he called Mountain Dew. Far from the green liquid we know and love today, this soda was clear just like moonshine.
The idea (ahem) fizzed out, but over a decade later, the concept was revisited. In the 1940s, Barney and Ally Hartman created a soft drink to be used as a mixer for moonshine. Then they released this product to the world, presenting the new brand with and its "hillbilly" logo.
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The trademark was made and Willy the Hillbilly was officially the Mountain Dew mascot. They claimed there was a bang in every bottle and the carbonated drink would shoot the top off and put a hole in Willy’s hat, in classic cartoon fashion.
The drink however was still clear and didn’t sell very well at first almost fading into history. To make matters worse Barney Hartman passed away suddenly from a heart attack and left his brother looking for a way to keep the brand alive. Partnering up with a new bottling company, the Tip Corporation, Ally Hartman put his hillbilly label on an existing popular drink from the Tri-Cities area.
The formula had changed and was given a bright neon green color and the public couldn’t get enough. It became so popular that the Pepsi Corporation bought it out in 1964 almost 40 years after the original idea to make Mountain Dew a soda.
As time went on, Pepsi changed the logo and left Willy behind in favor of appealing to a younger and more outdoorsy crowd. More time passed and the name was shortened to "Mtn Dew." It seemed like the days of the hillbilly mascot were long history.
However, Pepsi didn’t forget about its roots, and in 2009 they released a throwback label that featured none other than Willy the Hillbilly once again! The limited run was such a huge success that they removed brought it back in later iterations, even reissuing other throwback designs like the glass bottles. This comeback story of Willy the Hillbilly lasted all the way until late 2023.
What does the future hold for Mountain Dew? Only time will tell, but in my humble opinion, keeping the throwback design is a good way to honor this drink's East Tennessee roots and I would love to see Willy grace the green bottles and cans for many years to come.
I never knew the Mountain Dew origin story and Tennessee connection until a couple of years ago and the history of it is quite fascinating to me. It’s also cool to know that all around the world when people sip on that other-worldly-looking soda, they are tasting a little part of our little corner of Tennessee. If you’re a big fan of Willy, too, you should check out this classic vintage bottle of Mountain Dew.
As proud as I am that we can claim a famous soft drink, that is not the only Tennessee invention we can be happy about!
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