Saturday, February 28, 2009

Design Gone Sour

Maybe you're like me and saw the new Tropicana containers and thought, "are those from Sam's Club?"  They just looked so generic, even though they were channelling a Helvetica-like font (I am no good at identifying fonts), which some people would love.  But, the brand name is small and off to the side and the emphasis seems to be on "100% orange," which, last I checked, is just a color.  I am not sure how many people out there have been worried about their OJ being a different color than orange.



I kept seeing these cartons on the side of buses and thinking that that they were so odd looking, coming from a major company.  I don't buy orange juice, so in the end, it didn't really matter.  Apparently (according to the NYT and Slate Cultural Gabfest), it did matter to a great many people.  Moms were in an outrage, upset that they couldn't easily find their favorite brand, let alone tell the different pulp types apart.  Design snobs couldn't stand the cartons either.

The packaging, that was introduced in January, was so reviled that Tropicana will be going back to the old carton in March.


Was this a publicity stunt?  Are people going to try to buy as many of these "collecter's item cartons" before they are all gone?  Or will people buy Tropicana in droves once the old carton comes back?  I don't actually care that much, except bad design is just irritating to be around.

2 comments:

JPH said...

Hey there,

I have something to say on this topic. As an OJ buyer, I hate the new tropicana packaging and agree it's impossible to find the "some pulp with calcium" container (my pick). I think it's an attempt to get on the Obama "change" wagon. I'm sure you've seen the new Pepsi design. This is also very Obama-ish - you can tell they're using his colors and graphic feel.

Check it out- let's discuss!
xo
Jenn

samkay64 said...

That new label truly is terrible! Love that they're going back to the old one.

Although I used to be a consumer of Tropicana, there is nothing better than Simply Orange, or whatever that stuff is that comes in a carafe and is not loaded with stuff that isn't orange juice.