Trading up to a modern design
There are those brands that nobody wants to mess
with after many years. Two things can happen if a
package design is left alone too long. It can either
become stale and get left behind by newer brands,
or it can unwittingly change by default, as new
designers and brand managers put their own little
touches on the package. With older, well-known
designs, it’s extremely important to figure out the
valuable equity and find a way to build the makeover
around that element.
Old Spice is a brand that’s been on the shelves
for generations. Unfortunately, its original product,
aftershave, hadn’t changed much since the days when
little boys bought it for their fathers and grandfathers.
Subsequent product lines, such as deodorants,
picked up a few more modern elements, but still
retained the old-fashioned clipper ship logo, the traditional
script, and the deep, mature reds and blues
of the original packaging.
Research showed that the Old Spice package
was surprisingly recognizable, especially among
young men who had purchased the aftershave for
Father’s Day, so it was important to retain the most
recognizable element: the clipper ship. Manufacturer
Procter & Gamble worked with Interbrand
to design a more modern
take on the design that would appeal to teenage
boys. Interbrand leveraged the original packaging’s
reliance on the color red, pumping it up to a truer
red for a more masculine, aggressive visual message.
The designers transformed the logo to be a sleeker
and less stodgy sloop, and added muscular, motioninfused
type to present the product name.
