Marketing
Mello Yello is presumably named after the Donovan song "Mellow Yellow", and in fact, a cover version of the song was used in a commercial when it was first introduced.
Mello Yello was featured in the 1990 NASCAR-based movie Days Of Thunder, in which Tom Cruise's character, Cole Trickle, drove a Mello Yello-sponsored car to victory in the Daytona 500, although the product name itself is never verbally mentioned in the movie. That livery went on to become a real NASCAR paint scheme the following year, when driver Kyle Petty drove with Mello Yello sponsorship in the Winston Cup Series. He ran four seasons (1991–1994) with the sponsor before switching over to Coors Light in 1995. Mello Yello was seen as a sponsor on die-cast toy and collectible cars for both the Days of Thunder #51 Chevrolet Lumina and Kyle Petty's #42 Pontiac Grand Prix. Mello Yello also sponsored the fall Winston Cup race at Charlotte Motor Speedway through 1994.
Mello Yello was also advertised in the Ernest commercials in which he coined the beverage's official slogan "Make The Mello Yello Move", followed by his trademark phrase, "Knowhutimean?"
In 2011, Mello Yello relaunched its ad campaign. The commercial featured cartoon adults who boarded a boat and made a band.
Coca-Cola announced on August 29, 2012, that they had extended their sponsorship of the National Hot Rod Association's Professional Drag Racing Series, with Mello Yello replacing Full Throttle Energy Drink as the title sponsor of the series beginning in 2013.
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