The top-scoring winners received a box containing a "you won" letter, six pack of bottles and a Code Red shirt, before this version was officially released.

[1] PepsiCo considered calling the variant Wild Cherry Mountain Dew, but branded it as Code Red as urban and ethnic focus groups preferred.

[7] During an overnight work session, researchers named the computer worm Code Red after the Mountain Dew variant they were drinking at the time.

Mountain Dew Code Red was promoted in December 2010 with a television advertisement featuring rapper Jay Electronica performing his song "The Announcement".

[8] German rapper Sierra Kidd released a song in 2015 titled “Mountain Dew Code Red” in reference to the drink.