News round-up 20.05.11
20.05.11
The Big Picture’s famous news round-up is here once again: picking choice nuggets from the worlds of marketing, design and research.
So the Royal Wedding, Easter and all the associated fun and games from the recent bank holiday binge are over. Don’t despair, though, because The Big Picture’s news round-up is here; providing everything you could wish for from a slightly tongue-in-cheek, faintly irreverent round up of design, marketing and research news.
The Cogs of Industry
Carlsberg has updated its beer bottle as part of a broader push to “help the brand unleash its full potential” – and double its profits by 2015 to boot. The new pack – which subtly updates the bottle and its labelling – de-clutters the pack for a more contemporary finish.
Cadbury are partnering with beauty brand Anatomicals to launch a range of pampering products as a means of promoting new flavours of its Bliss chocolate bar. Oh, and if you haven’t seen the latest Cadbury ad yet, it’s here.
Bulmers are launching a new variant. The enigmatically-named No 17 is a 4% apple cider with red berries and a shot of lime. Consumers are encouraged to ‘interact with the brand’ via QR codes and Facebook if they want to learn the origin of the titular digit.
And while we’re on inspiring names for new alcoholic beverages: here’s WKD Purple, a new limited edition mixed-berry variant. Owners Beverage Brands aren’t risking their marketing campaign sailing over the heads of their core demographic so have plumped for the highbrow strapline, “It’s new. It’s WKD. It’s purple”.
Little Chef has been completely overhauled and repositioned by Venturethree consultancy. Despite our continued commitment to cynicism on these news round-ups, we have to admit that the work is absolutely brilliant, making the brand feel suddenly very relevant, contemporary and with just a dash of kitsch charm. Additionally the new logo brings into sharp focus that the previous figurehead appeared to be wearing nothing but a chef’s hat, gloves and a neckerchief. Rather less impressive is McDonald’s revamp, which brings it kicking and screaming into the early noughties.
Ready meal fans will be excited to see that a new innovation in plastic trays cuts out that laborious ‘stirring half way through’ business, and also introduces a new feature whereby the tray whistles when the food is cooked.
Sainsbury’s is set to launch a new ‘by Sainsbury’s’ range in the biggest-ever own label revamp. The move involves the redesign of over 6,500 products and their packs, with a desired roll-out date for early 2013. Sainsbury’s group commercial director, Mike Coupe, commented on how the chain “aren’t just changing the packaging on the products. All of the new or to be improved products will be benchmarked to be at least as good, if not better, than the category leader.”
The retro trend continues to gather speed like a Brylcreem-greased Leica camera tumbling down a mountain of Raybans, and accordingly Heinz has decided to package its ketchup in its classic glass bottles for the US market. A vintage packet of tomato seeds inspired the design of this limited edition Tomato Ketchup bottle, which gives a nod to the product’s 135-year history, and also aims to “bring some nostalgia to the summer barbecue season”.
Commentary Corner
So the Royal Wedding is over and even this cynical news round-up compiler has to admit it was a good old show. Design Bridge have posted a fine blog compiling and commenting on all the tat brand extension materials associated with The Big Day.
TrendWatching’s latest briefing focusses on what they’re called ‘The F Factor‘: the increasingly important role of Friends, Followers and Fans interacting with your brand.
Brands: struggling to get consumers to love your brand? Perhaps you have an unpleasant number in your name. Research shows that consumers are more on board with brands and products which have ‘nice’ numbers, like 10, 12 and 24. So that’s why 5ive was such a disaster…
An interesting short article on The 3 Habits of Highly Effective Brands.
Air Innovation‘s excellent Fresh Air email circular focussed this month on food innovation, looking at trends such as the take-home gastro pub and the ready-meal lunchbox.
An interesting post on LogoDesignLove on the history of the iconic NBA logo
Design agency Dragon Rouge have made this e-zine on packaging design, and we think it’s rather good.
Pretty Packaging
This revolutionary redesign by Cowan design caught our eye
Roll back the years with this vintage cereal packaging.
This rather smart modular packaging by Landor for beauty brand s.he stylezone allows the company’s young consumers to combine units together to create “her own personal make-up kit”.
This is the new Adnams Southwold Bitter, by Cookchick
This is the rather beautiful Tempt Cider by DDB Denmark.
Some fantastic concept work for insect exterminator Raid here by student Steven C. Huang.
Viking – you know, the stationery people – is having a massive overhaul courtesy of Lippincott, including a new logo and illustration style which is to roll out over all their products. Though it’s not a new idea (Design Museum, anyone?), Viking feels like a brand with the justification to do it, and it’s been nicely executed to boot.
This bit of minimalist packaging by TACNStudio is simple and to the point: Killer Russian Vodka.
And Finally…
‘Honest logos‘ is exactly what it sounds like: Photoshop tomfoolery to take a number of well-known brands’ logos and adapt them to describe what the brand really offers.
Nokia is fighting to update itself after its CEO’s infamous “burning platform” memo outlined its myriad problems. While unlikely to solve their problems, their new font, ‘Nokia Pure’, is certainly a start, finally moving away from the ‘condensed’ font they’ve employed on their phones since what seems like 1864 but is actually probably only a decade or so.
Brian Cox has recently been explaining on his Wonders of the Universe programme how Time Will Eventually Destroy Everything – so why not pass the time by watching it happen in front of your very eyes in this amazing video, ‘Worn Out’.
Here’s a great bit of original thinking. Rather than sticking the ‘shocking’ approach of most road safety ads, this Australian road safety ad by 303 Perth focusses on the benefits of … slowing down.
Here’s another smart bit of advertising: Austrian agency PKP BBDO developed this billboard to take advantage of the snow cannon for Wrigley’s Orbit.
Ok so hardly the world’s best-known brand, but this new logo for Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle by Phinney Bischoff Design House is simple but effective.
In architecture news, might this cable car be the best way of making your way to the Olympics next summer?
I think everyone knows someone who is a bit, shall we say, OCD particular about their work space. Those people might enjoy this link: Things Organised Neatly.
This music video for Wolfkid’s Iron is rather beautiful; found via Adam Buxton‘s Bug.
Name That Brand
The last Name That Brand was a tricky one, it seems! Well we can put you all out of your misery: it was Harley Davidson. Here’s a new one to ponder…
And – hey, this is new! – the first one to tweet us with the answer will get their name published on this very internet and enjoy all the riches and adulation that will inevitably follow.
Until next time, folks!