So lately I've been hearing about how Pepsi paid a flambillion dollars to have their logo redesigned. The other day I saw the new logo for the first time. My first reaction was, "Oh, it's the same logo, but they made it ugly. Clever."
All they did is take a perfectly good logo and make it asymmetrical. Good move there. It's a basic axiom of design that asymmetrical images are more attractive and memorable than symmetrical ones. This principle explains the enduring appeal of these symbols:
My next thought was, "I wonder how much the dude who originally designed that logo for the Grateful Dead is getting for this."
Of course, the guy who did the grateful dead logo at least had the sense to get someone who wasn't stoned to take a look at the rough draft and tell him, "Dude, the lightning bolt has to be symmetrical or it's going to look like crap."
Then there's the fact that the can looks like something somebody in 1982 might have thought soda cans would look like in 1998. It's cool! It's futuristic! It's badly dated!
The font basically says, "Hey, um. I'm, uh, Pepsi. Do you want to maybe... oh, you're going with Coke this time? That's cool." And why is "Pepsi" sideways? They should at least get some mileage out of that gimmick by calling it Pepsi 90° or something.
"Hey Bill, what are you drinking?"
"Oh, it's, um, shit. Do you have a napkin? F*cking sideways Pepsi."
As for Mountain Dew, the text is oriented properly, but it's now evidently called "Mtn Dew."
Because, you know, where would you fit all those other letters?
If they want to shorten the name, I wish they would just come up with a shorter word rather than abbreviate it. Something like this:
The absolute best, though, is the new Sierra Mist can.
Sure, it's sideways and out of focus to boot, but what I like about it is the creepy forest silhouettes reminiscent of the
Blair Witch Project. I'm hoping for some kind of horror movie tie-in sometime in the near future.
I should totally be in marketing.
Labels: Doctored Photos, Pop Culture