Fresh design for a brand revival

Royal Intervention: Jonathan Crisp
When Ziggurat Brands created caricatures for the redesigned Jonathan Crisp packaging it didn’t expect to attract the attention of Buckingham Palace. The original packaging was trying to convey crisps with their skins, or jackets, on.

However, the result was busy and unsophisticated, with the explanation of the jackets and ties on the packs tucked in a corner.

The brand was launched in 1993 and was struggling to get beyond distribution in the food service category. Ziggurat Brands had to create an identity that would enable the crisps to get listings in major multiples, without any promotional investment.

The aim was to create a range of ‘crisps for snobs’, which was engaging and would encourage customers to stop and investigate the packs.

Eight gentrified cartoon characters were created to portray each of the different flavours. The on-pack copy is tailored to each snob; for example, the vicar’s pack reads: We may be preaching to the converted, but we believe these crisps are simply divine.

Paul Baker, one of the designers of the Spitting Image TV series, was chosen to illustrate the characters. This created an unexpected hiccup, when his first-draft caricatures resembled various political and royal figures and so had to be redrawn.

When the new packs were unveiled, with what the company believed to be suitably anonymous characters, Buckingham Palace requested that the horseradish and sour cream variety be withdrawn due to the character’s resemblance to the Princess Royal. This created widespread media coverage for the new packs.

Sales doubled in the first five months after the relaunch, in November 2004.

Rejuvenating lotions: Vaseline
Vaseline was in a mess, visually. The brand’s identity had been lost as it expanded, with very little consistency across the ranges. Its medical heritage was not being communicated to customers and products looked functional and unengaging. But thanks to a refresh from Blue Marlin, it is now the fastest growing personal care brand in the Unilever portfolio.

The blue logo from the original petroleum jelly had been diluted, with different products carrying different shapes, colours and typefaces. Blue Marlin reinstated the masterbrand to create an instantly recognisable icon. Blue Marlin executive creative director Martin Grimer explains that a great deal of work went into ensuring that the branding colour used on the transparent self-adhesive labels matched the colour of the plastic used for the bottle caps. The logo was given a metallic finish as a premium cue. Designs and typography were standardised across all of Vaseline’s lotions, globally, creating a more coherent look when the ranges appear on shelves and making products easier to recognise.

Vaseline global brand manager Gustavo Lara says: The new designs build on the trust inherent in the brand.

Blue Marlin also designed the packaging for a new range of Vaseline Intensive Rescue lotions. The team created an icon based on the international rescue symbol, which works as a metaphor for the action of the creams and can be understood across the various markets that Vaseline is sold in. The range comes in matt white bottles to suggest purity.

The new designs hit shelves in August 2007. By the end of 2007, the Vaseline brand had increased its market share in the UK by 14.2%.

Alluring language: Waitrose Speciality Cheeses
It’s not what you say; it’s how you say it. Waitrose Speciality Cheeses were covered in unappetising product descriptions. The Reblochon read: The yellow pink rind conceals a paste that softens after four to five weeks, giving a nutty, fruity flavour. Lewis Moberly replaced this with the more evocative: Autumnal aromas, velvet rind, tones of walnut and fruit, all buried in a creamy, ivory paste.

The range had been selling well for a number of years, so the new designs had to retain existing customers and attract new ones. After the redesign, in October 2005, sales were up 37% by the end of the year. Sales increased by a further 22% in the subsequent six months.

The cheeses have to compete with the in-store deli counter, so Lewis Moberly sourced a waxed kraft paper that looks like parchment, which is used to hand-wrap the cheeses, to give the impression of an artisan product. A clear self-adhesive label was chosen with a matt varnish to match the wrap, giving the appearance of no label.

The new designs put the country maps centre-stage, to ensure each cheese’s provenance is clear. The packaging was designed to speak to customers who are well travelled and educated about food, and who select cheese in a similar way to wine – considering region, style and qualities.

The success of the redesign enabled Waitrose to expand the range and there has been minimal impact on sales of other top-end cheeses in the store.

Tourist takeaway: Cairnsmhor Biscuits
While the dark tartan-covered packaging was working in the Loch Ness Nessie gift shop, Cairnsmhor was less successful outside of the tourist market. The new packaging enabled the firm to gain its first listings south of the Scottish border. Sales doubled in the 12 months since the new packaging started hitting shelves. Artroom Design & Print wanted to create a range of biscuits that people would buy for themselves as well as for gifts. Using the tagline ‘an everyday indulgence’, Artroom decided the first thing to change was the product photography. Director Gillian Park explains: The old photography wasn’t very appealing – some of the biscuits looked like flying saucers. We needed a luxurious feel.

The same packaging was previously used across the range, with no differentiation between the different flavours.

Cairnsmhor managing director Ernie Parkinson acknowledges that he was less than keen when Artroom suggested using colour-coding to denote the varieties: We had to be dragged kicking and screaming down the colour route, but it has worked. The colour-coding made it easier for repeat customers to identify flavours and made merchandising the biscuits in-store easier.

Since the redesign, Cairnsmhor has moved out of the tourist market and into the speciality food arena; the biscuits are now stocked by a number of delicatessens, farm shops and hamper companies.

The redesign also had a dramatic impact for Artroom, which now does all of Cairnsmhor’s packaging. Packaging was a very small part of our business – we did mainly customer publishing. But since Cairnsmhor, other companies have come to us to do their packaging and it is now half of our business, says Park.

Power player: Coca-Cola
When you are asked to redesign the packaging for one of the best known brands in the world, it is essential to tread lightly. It is the ultimate ‘be careful how you handle it’ project, says Turner Duckworth’s co-founders Bruce Duckworth and David Turner. Before the redesign, Coca-Cola cans and bottles were covered in drips and bubbles – designed to emulate the fizzy refreshment inside. This is completely generic, every other soft drink can do the same. By taking this off you reveal the bit that only Coke can have – the lettering and the ribbon design, adds Turner.

As well as being an iconic brand, Turner explains Coca-Cola is particularly hesitant about looking new. In the 1980s, the drink itself was reformulated to be sweeter. The result was disastrous. Sales plummeted and the ‘new Coke’ was removed and replaced with the old formulation. Cans and bottles are still labelled Coca-Cola Classic to reassure customers it is the original product they are buying.

We had to make the redesign feel more like Coke than ever, it’s about amplifying the truth of the brand and then cleaning everything else off, adds Turner. The new design, unveiled in January, leaves the instantly recognisable logo uncluttered.

Coke has become cultural wallpaper. The trick is to jolt people back into noticing it. Turner Duckworth has also designed an aluminium bottle for the brand, which features nothing but the logo. It is being tested in the US, although Turner says the high production cost is likely to prevent it being used outside special promotions.

The refreshed identity has won a clutch of awards, including, in June, the first ever grand prix at the Cannes Lions advertising awards.

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