Sometimes a brand has to reinvent itself.
And sometimes a brand thinks it has to reinvent itself only to realize that the old way was working just fine. How do you know the difference?
So hard to know. Almost impossible. Just ask Nike. 10 years ago, they gave it a shot and strayed from “Just Do It.” Remember?
Probably not. And Nike hopes you don’t either. After their red faces regained their color, they quickly scrambled back to their vaunted tagline faster than you can say “Ooopsee!”
One thing that’s certain is that a brand that’s strongly established and firmly established in the consumer’s mind with a likeable, consistent campaign is a beautiful and rare thing and money in the bank, even for brands that depend on coolness and hipness to stay current and contemporary.
And another thing that’s certain is that change is good, especially for brands that depend on coolness and hipness to stay current and contemporary.
Gatorade is about to become the poster child for either change or constancy. They’re going through a massive overall of…well, just about everything, including positioning and advertising. We’re getting our first looks at the packaging, which is a radical departure from the classic bolt (this is just a redesign of the basic logo; extensive packaging do-overs are to come). The new logo is mostly getting raked over the coals. Mindy McCready would probably get a better reception at the Clemens house for Sunday dinner.
I have a particular interest in the saga, having worked on the brand for 15 years, writing some famous ads and having been very emotionally connected. So I promise, more to come on this one, for sure.
If you hear or see anything, please pass it on.
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5 comments:
The new Pepsi logo reminds me of Obama's campaign logo, which clearly was a huge success. I wonder if Pepsi did that on purpose...
It's also amazing how not one person seems to approve/like the new logo's for any of the brands. It's as if it wasn't tested.
-JMcNitt
Or just not thought through all that well. It's almost as if one person did them on his own without anyone else even working them to make them better. But that's crazy talk! They would never do that, would they...?
Or there was just nothing wrong with the old logos and companies are smart enough to know that the younguns want change but dumb enough to figure out what kind of change it is they want.
What's the first thing a new brand manager er CEO does? Change the logo. And at Pepsico, they have lots of them!
I think the new Gatorade logo looks like a high school letter jacket...
I've heard a bit about the way they're rolling out the new "G." Not just flavors, but moods. Just wait til you see them all. It'll be easier to keep track of Larry Brown's coaching career.
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