Blandification
I agree with Steven Heller, the new Tropicana redesign is a good example of redesigning something to make it boring. Taking away the brand’s iconic imagery — the orange with straw in it — makes the packaging bland, and then I look at the package and think, “The orange juice tastes is bland, like the design.” Seriously, which would you want to drink? Sad!
Images courtesy of The Daily Heller
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February 24th, 2009 at 10:42 am
Carla,
You were ahead of the curve on this one, but it was just announced that Pepsi is ditching the new design (by Arnell) and will return to the former packing (originally developed by Sterling Brands) next month. A small victory in the fight against design blandification.
February 24th, 2009 at 4:45 pm
Ha Ha! Brand equity 1, blandification 0. Apparently, even marketers will not salvage blandification in the face of overwhelming Tropicana loyalty.
New York Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/23/business/media/23adcol.html?_r=1&ref=media
April 28th, 2009 at 8:42 am
The company i work for uses a Blander. It’s a committee-powered device into which every piece of design is pushed, no matter how unwilling it might be to meet its fate. On with the lid and a flick of the switch and “Voila!” Instant design smoothies. Nothing new, nothing daring or out of the ordinary is allowed out into the world, lest it stand out. Goodness me, that would never do. Blandification is a blight that must be stamped out!
Let us rebel!