Tropicana package redesign by Arnell of New York
After launching their new Tropicana rebranding effort in early January, Pepsi has announced that they will revert back to their prior packaging design next month.
The decision came after a deluge of public criticism over the new package design’s stark departure from the original design by Sterling Brands from just a couple years ago. The new look has been described as looking like a “generic bargain brand,” a “cheap imitation of the popular British sans serif style” of the last decade and “something a friend of mine designed in high school in ’96.” That’s tough criticism for Arnell, the New York group who just recently received equally tough criticism for their new Pepsi logo.
But Arnell is playing it cool: “Tropicana is doing exactly what they should be doing,” says Peter Arnell, chairman and chief creative officer at Arnell. “I’m incredibly surprised by the reaction,” he added, but “I’m glad Tropicana is getting this kind of attention.”
Pepsi is playing it cool as well: Neil Campbell, president at Tropicana North America in Chicago, part of PepsiCo Americas Beverages, states that the decision to switch back to the old packaging came not from the volume of public outcry, but from “our most loyal consumers” who are “a fraction of a percent of the people who buy the product.”
Some see this explanation as a somewhat of a downplay, considering this just on the heels of Facebook’s having revoked their new Terms of Service over privacy issues last week after a wave of public outcry. Such incidences have become increasingly common as online communities enable consumers to quickly convey feedback to marketers.
Tropicana's previous packging by Sterling Brands
5 Comments
No way! The new design is so much better! Not that I’d ever drink it.
Well, if it’s any consolation, they’re keeping the “suggestively-shaped” caps from the newer design.
It was a mistake for Pepsi to change their logo. When a brand has as much equity in it as Pepsi does the only thing a “refreshed” logo says to me is panic. Pepsi’s original logo was always a fresh mark and never needed updating.
So… If PepsiCo is pulling the new Tropicana package design because it looks too much like a generic bargain brand… does that mean they will also revert back to the old Pepsi design as well?
… Because in case they haven’t noticed, the New Pepsi design looks like an airline’s branded bargain soda. I’m thinking… Delta maybe?
I’m glad they’re spending tons of cash on this nonsense. Budgets well spent. *sigh*
I couldn’t agree more on the new Pepsi logo. And there must be something to the airline reference because I thought the exact same thing. I can envision it clearly on the tail of a 747.
Oh, and by the way, it’s a smile? What? The original mark had decades of equity all over the world and has worked beautifully. It was solid and balanced in it’s design. The new logo just smacks of “change for change’s sake.”
To Arnell’s credit, I guess the Sprite redesign wasn’t a complete bust.