My kids (13,9,7 years old) love drinking juice. Not soda. A good thing for which i have my superb wife to thank.
So recently i noticed that the cardboard Tropicana pulp-free orange juice had been replaced in our fridge by the brand pictured above. that’s a plastic bottle btw not glass. I also noticed that OJ consumption in our household had shot up. Turned out my wife had gotten a bottle of Simply Juice randomly one day and the kids loved it so she got more. it’s now “our” family brand. I also noticed that i’m drinking more orange juice. And the reason, i think, is simply the packaging.
every time i open the fridge i can see the delicious citrus juice swimming around in the bottle, beckoning me to dive in. And of course i do. because i am weak and cannot resist temptation.
And that of course is SIMPLY JUICE’s edge. And Tropicana et al’s achilles heel. A waxy cardboard box adorned with anodyne-looking corporate graphics on it simply isn’t as appetitizing or motivating as seeing the juice itself.
So rather than spend untold millions changing their OJ packaging, getting it spectacularly wrong apparently, and then launching an expensive ad campaign to publicize their mistake, Tropicana should have simply copied SIMPLY JUICE genius packaging. Why? Because sometimes there’s only one good idea in a category. Shorter-lasting batteries? Boo! Longer-lasting batteries? Yesss!
tropicana thought this was a good idea? oy. and vey. and a very deep sigh.
[UPDATE] Sales of Tropicana have plummeted 20% post redesign. How can you get something as simple as orange juice that wrong? And the worst part is that this was no impulsive decision. Countless man hours were devoted (wasted) to undoing what little brand equity and interest Tropicana had. Just quit guys. Seriously. Try organic farming or something. This clearly isn’t the field for you.
I see what you mean. It’s a bit like that when the Guinness arrives at the bar in a pint glass. Especially after Saturday’s Grand Slam.
Yes john, one of those moments when i wish i had a matter transporter in the house. but the guinness analogy is spot on.
In defense of the Tropicana designers the graphics are not bad. Nice touch to have the cap look like an orange and the glass of oj looks good but the Simply Juice does have more shelf impact.
When it comes to packaging the designer has to ask themselves firstly; do you conceal or reveal?
they’re not awful in isolation. but if you read the NY times article you’d see that they walked away from THE ONE identifiable thing the brand was asssociated with: the orange with the straw plunged into its heart (something that evoked something of a visceral reaction) in favor of what? and because it’s a pepsico product you know all of this was researched to death and beyond before anything was done. so much for research!
and then they go and bore people silly with a huge ad campaign announcing this non-event that is utterly devoid of human interest. american stock photo hell at its finest. multiracial families smiling and fondling each other etc. and that blows up in their face too.
seriously, does anyone over there have any clue what they’re doing? it’s orange juice guys. it’s just not that hard.
Why not have a Club Tropicana?
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