Due to slumping sales and lost marketshare, Pepsi recently introduced it’s first rebranding effort in over 14 years. The new work was created by New York design office Arnell Group and was a complete departure from it’s earlier look.
An Ad Age quote states: “PepsiCo today said it will pour some $1.2 billion over three years into a push that will include sweeping changes to its brands, including what Chairman-CEO Indra Nooyi characterized as a revamp of "every aspect of the brand proposition for our key [carbonated soft drink] brands. How they look, how they're packaged, how they will be merchandised on the shelves, and how they connect with consumers.”
The new Pepsi logo is suppose to depict a smile rather than a fluid swoosh and try to connect with a broader and hipper audience. Why Pepsi felt the need to abandon whatever equity it had established with it’s original look is a real mystery. The logo and new packaging seems a bit too “cool” and minimal and has been stripped of any sense of fun or excitement. It’s a soft drink – not motor oil or some bourgeois Canadian mineral water. Where’s the enticement and promise of a refreshing and tasty experience?
Interestingly enough, Coca Cola updated their packaging and came out with an entirely new look that embraced it’s heritage and strength in the category. The brilliant, bold and confident new package design (by TurnerDuckworth of San Francisco) emphasizes the well-established Coca Cola logo and makes a bold and striking avatar for the brand. Clean? Yes. Minimal and spare? Yes. But, we as a collective are well connected to the brand and all the flavor that needs to be translated visually is right there in the logo. One glance and you know the whole story; Coke is still number 1.
