Coca-Cola is bringing out Sprite Remix, a tropical version of the lemon-lime soft drink, scheduled to debut in late spring 2003.
The packaging will feature a new treatment of the signature Sprite logo.
From the Pepsi stable comes Mountain Dew LiveWire, an orange-flavoured drink targeted at teens and young adults. Pepsi says it plans to support the launch with an aggressive, three-month marketing plan, including television, radio, online, outdoor and point-of-sale advertising.
The brand will have a limited life, hitting shelves at the beginning of summer on Memorial Day, held on the last Monday in May, until Labor Day, the first Monday in September.
Dave Burwick, senior vice-president and chief marketing office for Pepsi Cola North America, said: "Consumers have been clamouring for more flavour options uner the Mountain Dew trademark, so we've developed LiveWire as a summer-only proposition that satisfies their thirst for variety and builds on their passion for Dew."
LiveWire is Mountain Dew's third line extension since the introduction of Diet Mountain Dew in 1988. Mountain Dew Code Red debuted in May 2001, with Diet Mountain Dew Code Red following in May 2002.
Coke, which earlier this week confirmed its status as the biggest-selling cola brand in the US, appointed Ogilvy & Mather to the Sprite account last year. The brand has seen sales declining and the launch of Remix was originally mooted for last year. Advertising plans for the brand have not yet been unveiled.
Both Pepsi and Coke have been trying to boost flagging sales with new product extensions. Coke scored a big success in 2002 with the US launch of Vanilla Coke, followed by a diet version. Pepsi Blue, a fruit-flavoured drink, has met with less success.
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