Coca-Cola’s answer to Mountain Dew started life under a blunt codename: MDK . The acronym stood for Mountain Dew Killer.

The public knew it as Surge. Its TV debut was set for the Super Bowl , the Associated Press reported in December 1996.

The ads would chase teens and young adults, the crowd fueling Mountain Dew’s category lead. AP called the launch Coca-Cola’s biggest soda gamble since New Coke in 1985.

Mountain Dew had reportedly pulled in $3 billion in sales the year before. Marketing Week cited a reported $50 million marketing budget for the U.S. launch.

John Sicher, publisher of Beverage Digest, summed it up:

“For years, Coke bottlers have been saying, ‘We need something to compete with Mountain Dew.’ Now the Coca-Cola Co. has responded.”

Despite containing less sugar and caffeine than Mountain Dew, Surge developed a reputation as an especially potent soda.…