As I was passing by EDSA the other night, I noticed the newly launched Pepsi ads and finally caught a glimpse of the local campaigns for their global re-brand. I saw the launch of the logo a few months ago getting attention over blogsphere, but the image that was embedded in my head was this artwork by Lawrence Yang:
"Get in my belly!"
According to an article in bevreview.com the market share for carbonated softdrinks has been steadily dropping for 3 years now – the biggest reason why Pepsi is pushing for a new branding direction. Dave Burwick, the Chief Marketing Officer for Pepsi said “If we don’t change quickly, we run the risk of being a footnote to history.” The new “Pepsi Globe” logo claims to embody a smile.
Say "Chos!"
The company also has plans to rename Mountain Dew to the more tweet-friendlier-facebook-ier “Mtn Dew” while Diet Pepsi Max will simply change to “Pepsi Max” – a move to face off with Coke’s Zero.
I actually went through the WIP document of the Arnell group (the NY-based design firm commissioned to create the new logo) which was a 27-page-long design brief with very detailed discourses varying from universal design principles to what seems to be logo forensics. It was wild. I’ve never read anything that lengthy and academic to justify a logo – which is quite remarkable and something that we can all emulate. At points in the brief, the process just seemed too, well, processed – like maybe they tried a little too hard. However, I understand their point-of-view, we are in the business of design, and if we don’t want the clients to prod our work to a bunch of average joes in a focus group, then we do what we can to provide all ways of impressing the client to see that design is a cumulative process and scholastic judgment.
But what does that new logo remind you of? Well, some of them are here:
The Korean Air Logo
Screenshot of the Pepsi logo from their website
Get Obama-fied!
What I do like about the new logo of Pepsi is the glaring simplicity they moved on to. I seriously hated all the beverage bottles with fake water drops (as if you couldn’t get that in real life on the same bottle) and shattered ice. We don’t need depth here, really, it’s just a drink. I also like custom font they made for the logo, it’s very Horatio/Chalets-eque, groovy and simple, but personally, I would’ve fixed the S, but I really liked how they treated the letter E.
The general direction the company is going for is the cleaner, more streamlined visual direction. Finally, Apple’s handsomely designed objects have inspired the suits over at PepsiCo to adapt what John McWade calls “the new simplicity” as the megabrand readjusts itself to something more pure and simple to standout amidst the visual clutter.
Pepsi logo and type treatment
What I do dislike about the Pepsi logo is that the smile doesn’t translate as a smile to me. In fairness to the Arnell group and their 27-page WIP dissertation on the legitimacy of their work, the smiles look clumsy – I mean, of all the talented illustrators and graphic designers in the world, or even Behance, or heck – even Multiply, you couldn’t get someone to create better face dynamics? Have you guys seen those yellow pop-up smileys on Yahoo? Those faces look awesome. And they can even hug >:D<.
All in all, I would like to congratulate Pepsi by putting in (allegedly) $1.5B dollars into this whole rebranding bonanza. It would pump up more work for designers and agencies in the midst of the slump – while getting people to talk about you. You know, $1.5B could go into diabetes research or technology modifications to make Pepsi’s production and products more eco-friendly, and ultimately more beneficial for mankind… I’m just saying that’s a lot of money to put into a logo that still reminds me of this:
"Get in my belly!"
sources:
“Pepsi to redesign core products icon”
“News: Pepsi redesigning logo, products”
“Does Pepsi’s new logo work?”
