More About the New Pepsi Logo

November 2, 2008 · Comments

New Pepsi Logo Can Design They had to do it. That’s what I’ve decided after driving around today with my family to buy a birthday gift. I went by the local Jiffy Lube store and noticed that they had updated their logo:

Jiffy Lube

There’s a context, a design, a sense of style that needs constant updating, and it’s a lot like paying dues. As companies stay current and intend to work with contemporary customers, their typography and colors and the like have to stay recent and fashionable (in most cases). We want to feel that a brand fits our time, lives in our moment, is something related to us.

Even “timeless” brands evolve their logos.

We can argue that looks don’t make the can. We can say that it’s the experience that matters, that what’s inside is what counts, but when we see logos or styles that seem old fashioned, they do stick out in our head.

Lower-case seems to be hot these days:

at&t

But that’s okay, too. Again, it’s like being sure to wear the current clothes. Several companies keep their designs current. We don’t ding them for it.

I think they had to do it. Was the fanfare necessary? I don’t know, but if you’re going to spend a lot of money tidying up your brand, how much more is it to get the word out there.

Some thoughts from the couch as I look at the side of a shiny new Pepsi can.

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  • Good thoughts Chris. I think if you're crazy extreme on either side of this argument then your out of touch with reality. Does good design matter? Of course it does! Will a well designed logo be THE key to building your multimillion dollar dream company? Um...nope.
  • "How much more" logic is what gets you a $4,000 barbeque, Chris.

    The fanfare was ego, nothing but ego. The shareholders should be annoyed.
  • I think keeping your brand up-to-date is important. However, the creativity in sending a bunch of bloggers empty cans was "Empty". Boring and lacks creativity. Creates a few articles on a few popular blogs but where is the substance?
  • Carmen Villadar (a.k.a. @digit
    My take, "If it ain't broke, why fix it." :o)
  • You and Seth are right. Yes, my Web site needs a makeover, but I'll save my money and leave my logo alone. The more you change the more you also risk a disconnect with your audience. Sometimes it's not necessary.
  • Cola is hard to make a splash with. For me, it's what cola is cheaper (and usually by $0.10 or so). Yeah, I might go out of my way to buy the new Pepsi can, but it still goes back to who is cheaper between Coke and Pepsi.

    If Pepsi really wants to get my business long term, they need to figure out how to lower their costs. This is, of course, speaking about Coke or Pepsi, not the other brands. There are slight taste differences, and those brands are as far as I usually stray with cola purchasing.
  • I don't know. I remember when Coke tried to go contemporary. That was a disaster. I'd give anything for a cold "bottle" of sugar-filled (not high fructose) coke in the old fashioned containers. I think many other people would, too.

    Pepsi just did this to try and compete. I don't like Pepsi, so I'm not impressed anyway. I think if a product is truly good and people know that, it won't matter what the container it is served in looks like.
  • Rob - That's a good point. Love the taste of coke. I don't like the taste of Pepsi. I know others who say the opposite. So, I'm not going to buy something I don't like just because I think their new can is cool. I'll go with the brand I like, no matter the can design.
  • If that's the best they could come up with after spending $1.2 billion they got royally screwed. The logo is ugly and the whole "smile" idea is dumb.
  • Something to think about. I read somewhere recently that a brand should be reinvented every 18 months. I don't completely agree with this, but I do think reevaluating a brand from time to time is necessary in keeping up with relevant trends. If a logo changes does that always mark the change of a brand, or does it simply retain consumer attention, giving people new things to discuss over an unchanged product or service?
  • Chris,

    Not many people have talked about the fact that Pepsi's logo change - or any company's brand "refresh" - can be as much for themselves as it can their customers.

    To an extent I agree with Seth that it's ego, but it's also about keeping your own brand fresh in your own mind. Stir the pot. Remind yourself what's cool about you. Give your internal champions something to reignite around. The brand is more than the logo, yes. But a refresh of the face of a brand can signal recommitment, akin to a renewal of vows or jettisoning old baggage. And I think they've stayed true enough to their heritage that it feels fresh but not some kind of vast departure from their past so as to undermine the brand equity they've built.

    Truth is, the vast majority of consumers will give the logo a glance, say "ew" or "cool", and retain their preferences for their cola of choice. The stuff inside the can is the same. But for the company itself, they may just be giving themselves a small symbol of a renewal they're hoping to have. Up to them to execute, but the brand isn't always just for the external audience.
  • Good points for both your and Seth's sides of the coin. But with all of this, lets not forget that Pepsi has always tried to be the "choice of a new generation" as opposed to Coca-Cola's "classic" brand image. I'm not surprised they've updated their cans and logo, but I am surprised that they changed the white band that goes through the red and blue halves so drastically. It just seems they my have gone too far with that one small design element, but only time, and consumer spending will tell.
  • Important to keep in mind the distinction between "brand" and "logo" here. The post is about logos, and I'm with Chris on them needing to evolve over time. A brand is the set of associations people out in the world have with these visual icons, and they've been remarkably consistent over time, as all great brands are.

    The brand is the *response,* if you like, the logo is the stimulus. Over time the stimulus needs to evolve to stay visible, relevant, and evocative of the same emotional response, and the link within the post makes that pretty clear.
  • Thanks for the post Chris. I like to think of it as a price paid for thought leadership in product design.

    As soon as I saw it I knew I'd find a ton of articles omparinign it to a "mirrored" Obama logo. And since 'tis the season for this type of thing, here's one of the better ones.

    http://bit.ly/1w4AgS
  • I personally think the new can looks kind of retro. Is that just me? I might imagine using that can in the making of a 70s cop drama. It just reminds me of that era for some reason.
  • Personally I would not buy Pepsi no matter what the can looks like. I know what it tastes like and it is far too sweet for me. And I am a Coke fan. But they did not change that can for me for they know someone like me will never care about what is in that can. They should have sent the cans to a bunch of kids on Facebook instead of a bunch of adult bloggers. The kids are the one's who will care about the new can and will decide to try out Pepsi for the first time because of it.
  • I wrote about this the other day and I do see both sides of the "can" on this one. If Pepsi wanted to update and refresh their design, great. Go ahead and do it. Every significant brand does and should keep their look fresh. But to go out and try and call so much attention to it just seems desperate. Pepsi sure knows how to get people talking about their product, they just have a problem getting people to drink it rather than Coke.
  • I agree with Seth - and with Amber's last thought, though time will tell.

    There's freshening up and reigniting and then there's sucking up and copy-catting, and this just might more of the latter...
  • What if they did it stealth? What if they did it completely the OTHER way? Just put the cans on the shelf, whistled, and walked away. What do you think would happen then?
  • Maybe I'm slow or not in the know ... One thing I can appreciate is the effort and creativity put in. Sending things to bloggers to get the 'buzz'- good or bad - is a risk, but one I can appreciate a large co like them taking.

    --
    http://twitter.com/franswaa
  • What fascinates me is the process in which things become dated and need to be updated. What is cause and what is effect? -- eg. How did lower case get to be hot? Evolve, but in which direction?
  • If Pepsi really wants to stay current and intend to work with contemporary customers, then they should drop the last vowel in their brand.

    Just call it Peps

    You know, like Flickr, Tumblr, Pluggd, Talkr, Anothr
  • Pepsi loses the cola wars not because of their logo - or possibly even their taste - it's because they're not The Icon. You drink a Coke, and Pepsi is the "oh, that's fine" when sitting at the restaurant.

    It made about zero budge on my drinking habits. I think too many times brands, people, and companies forget the foundational core - Putting themselves in the consumer's shoes and asking honestly, "What's in it for me? / Why do I care?"
  • I agree with your thoughts Chris. They definitely had to do it as they're trying to evolve with current trends. Typography and colors, as you mentioned, effect a consumer's experience with a brand and could factor in whether they're viewed as innovators or not.

    Does it greatly increase the word of mouth for the brand or company? I don't think so; but, it's important to keep up with current design trends so brands can stay 'fresh' in their audiences' eyes.
  • "What if they did it stealth? What if they did it completely the OTHER way? Just put the cans on the shelf, whistled, and walked away. What do you think would happen then?"

    I think the effect would have been the same. The way they did it was giving 25 influential bloggers the new can designs, which ultimately kept the voice of the new design within the echo chamber and not 'outside' and within Pepsi's actual community. Outside of yours and the other blogger's communities and Twitter, I don't think many people will know about the design change until they actually see it on the shelves.
  • Pepsi has a Design your Can on their rather super interactive website. So I'm willing to bet that they had some input from their considerable customer base as well as their agency.

    Even if they didn't, I see no problem with a multi-billion $$ company a)changing their brand and b) talking as loudly as they can about it.

    It cost enough, so why not? Most companies do. Shell comes to mind. I'm not and never have been a Pepsi fan, I don't like the taste. So I really don't care either way. I'm not their demographic yet their brand is still recognizable and that's what counts.

    And as for them sending cans to bloggers to create buzz - with all the complaints that businesses aren't using social media avenues enough and not willing to risk negative comment - I think they should be given some credit for at least trying.
  • “What if they did it stealth? What if they did it completely the OTHER way? Just put the cans on the shelf, whistled, and walked away. What do you think would happen then?”

    I guess the question is, what is their strategy? Is it short-term buzz that they're getting right now by doing this great social media-based PR push, or is it a piece of a long-term effort to chip away at Coke's market share?
  • Usually a company rebrands or repositions because they are trying to distance themselves from something negative. Why did Pepsi do this? Because they can, really. It has nothing to do with negativity. It won't make anyone buy the product more. But they are trying to look more "hip" perhaps, to a younger generation...to say, "hey look at us...we can stay current and hip."

    I personally think it was a waste of money. As most folks have pointed out, 'if it aint broke, don't fix it' applies here. There was nothing wrong with Pepsi's former brand, but it is "fun" to see a new one. And they probably had marketing dollars marked that had to be spent, and someone talked them into the rebrand.

    A little silly, but it happens. In my professional (and humble opinion), it was wasted money and time when the corporation could have been working on other things with that money.
  • I really dont pay much attention to the can or bottle, probably because I been drinking it so long. I personally chose it for the taste over coke.

    With all the new drinks coming out all the time I dont think it will help establish new customers. Ad now in the grocery store I buy Faygo same product half the price.

    Gary McElwain
  • Becky
    I work for sport&health (gym chain in md,va,dc). I always wondered why they went lower-case.
  • Since I am a Coke only person I wouldn't have noticed the difference. Put a different way the new logo for Pepsi has no effect on me at all. Other than seeing it here I wouldn't have even noticed. In fact, Pepsi has done very little advertising in recent months / years while Coke still runs its ridiculous variety of ads that confuse whatever message they try to get across anyway. Well, really, what does it matter anyway because we are just talking about drinks here. How about someone rebrand "politics". Now that would be a real achievement!
  • kat brogan
    i think a lot of folks think the design change is aimed at them
    i don't think it is
    it's aimed at those who haven't chosen yet
    the kids who can't read
    but get drawn to shiny bright swirls
    think they want to know what a bunch of old people care about?
    they already have you
    they want the new crew
  • I like the new logo (though it hasn't rolled out in Shanghai yet). It says "eh, it's cool, you know who I am, let's not be all pretentious, hey?" I don't like my soda with pretension. ;)
  • Dan
    thanks chris... the link to the logos past/present was crazy! After viewing the progression of logos throughout the years, you are dead on... It is about being current and that the brand fits the time. As for the Pepsi logo, I dont think much of it, I think they could have achieved what they were looking for without changing the shape of the original logo stripes/interior...
  • In response to Frank Reed, I'm also prefer Coke to Pepsi (am actually a snob when it comes to this) but I find it hard not to notice a huge brand changing its logo. And as far as rebranding politics, I think -- despite my political views -- Obama is a great example of a new form of politics, simply by how he's refused to accept money from lobbyists and has a huge youth following; basically like a company terminating unfair trade agreements and refocusing target markets.

    I do find it difficult to remember Pepsi's last string of commercials, though.
  • I bet because of the 'fanfare' Pepsi have shifted an increased amount of cans off shops shelves recently.

    Is the new rebrand because Coka Cola have just rebranded though? Pepsi always seem to be one step behind.
  • Chris, thank you for the post. As I read the comments here, I find it fascinating that brand with the biggest impact in opinion, it seems, out of the three brands you mentioned (Jiffy Lube, Pepsi and AT&T) seems to be the Pepsi one. The Pepsi brand change has caused *such* a response ?!! I just blogged about the Pepsi brand change a few days ago myself because the comments about it on another blog were *extremely* negative and far, far less politically correct than the good, constructive comments shared here. Not sure what it is about the Pepsi brand that has folks so fired up ?!?
  • You did exactly what they wanted you to do.
  • super 8 motels also recently(?) updated their logo.

    it is fun to look at brands that need logo tweaks. i was at a college football game over the weekend and i couldn't help but notice how the school (northwest missouri state) had modernized everything about its brand but the logo.

    of course, the cost for a school to change colors or change a logo is pretty high, and fairly prohibitive for Div. II schools like northwest.
  • Chris, great point. Companies like Pepsi are always re-designing packaging, there's nothing new or exciting there. The "Madonna" effect (@David Armano's example).

    For the same effect, Pepsi could have plopped the cans on the shelf and sent a direct mail piece with a coupon to customers and given them a website to provide feedback on the design (albeit one that allows for comments back, thus making it a two-way conversation). They would have been much more successful getting their loyal customers to respond and provide feedback.
  • I agree in the evolution of the logo to keep up to date, but am sometimes amazed at how much a company spends in order to change something that may not be broken. Cokes logo has never changed, and although dated, is synonymous with the brand. I even bought a t-shirt while abroad that said Coca Cola in a different language because the image was so translatable.

    Two trends I don't understand in current branding, lower case letters and merging two words together. These seem like fade choices that are not going to last.
  • Looks very similar to Obama's campaign logo. Just saying...
  • Why is it disturbing to me that you write all of these amazing posts about social media, and you get 8 zillion comments on the one post about the Pepsi can?

    Seriously... does the logo change the taste? No? Okay. Cool. Still buying Coca-cola then. :)
  • A friend once said that the at&t logo looks like the Death Star (this was right when the wiretapping story was big in the news).

    I think the Pepsi re-brand works because it makes the logo look more iconic, but I agree with the above, it seems that Pepsi is always one step behind Coke....
  • Anthony Richardson
    I think it looks like the girl scouts of america logo ...
  • I dont love it or hate it. Its modern and simple, i think. And i dont really care much for the logo, as long as it tastes as good as it does im ok with it. :)
  • Matt W
    The Pepsi logo/trademark should never have been changed. People looked at it and thought thirst quenching soda. Now I look at it and think..... sailing...? on salt water.... nope NOT thirsty! But the dark blue wrapper looks dope.
  • YourLogoMatters
    I personally don’t like it.

    Before & After magazine has an interesting take on this topic: http://www.mcwade.com/DesignTalk/2009/02/does-p...
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