A Surge Fanatic Is Building An Army To Bring Back The Extinct Soda
The Facebook group, which calls itself the SURGE Movement, was founded by 24-year-old Evan Carr of California a year ago. Another group on the social network also supports the cause.
"Surge was more of a lifestyle for me and I always had a can when I was growing up in the '90's," Carr told us. "I just wanted to see if other people out there missed it as much as I have."
The group has raised nearly $4,000 to buy a billboard near the Coca-Cola headquarters in Atlanta.
The billboard reads "Dear Coke, we couldn't buy Surge, so we bought this billboard instead" and directs people to visit the movement's Facebook page.
Surge was a citrus-flavored soda released in 1996 that was meant to compete with Pepsi's Mountain Dew. Coca-Cola stopped producing it in 2003, when sales were declining.
In addition to its billboard, the group has "Surging days" where members inundate the consumer affairs hotline at Coca-Cola.
While they haven't received a straight answer from Coca-Cola on bringing back Surge, Carr says he knows their calls have made an impact.
"We actually found out that Coca-Cola began watching our page and had warned employees in a memo before one of our 'Surging' dates," Carr said.
Carr said that the discontinuation of the soda left a void in his life.
"I just always used Surge to get me going in the morning, and I would love to drink it regularly," Carr said. "There's just nothing like it out there today."
Carr did find out, however, that Surge still tastes better than ever.
He bought several six-packs when the soda expired and cracked open a can a few weeks ago.
"I can report that it was just as delicious as ever," he said.
If you're interested in bringing back Surge, join the group's Facebook page.
Here's a mock-up of the billboard that will go up early next month:
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