The Pepsi Logo

As a follow up to a lecture on Branding & Logo's, i've decided to look further at how companies have adapted and transformed their logos over the decades. There are many examples too choose from but I found one of the most interesting to consider was Pepsi.

Found on Orphicpixel.com

First of all, this timeline of the evolution of the Coca Cola & Pepsi brands speaks volumes about the rivalry between the companies. Whilst the iconic Coca Cola logo has stood the test of time, unchanged for well over a century, the Pepsi brand has essentially been rebranded on numerous occasions. 

The earlier Pepsi logos were calligraphy based, like Coca Cola. The earliest design looks a lot like something off a Treasure Island book cover or on the side of a pirate ship, which is cool, I guess. But why Pepsi decided to use the colour red like Coca Cola is beyond me. 

They seemed to get it all wrong from the start in my opinion, imitating Coca Cola rather than trying to differentiate themselves, and it looks like they've been trying to fix it ever since. 

Their logos of the early 1900's look even more like the Coca Cola logo, but perhaps with more of a 'College' theme, the idea of a scarf coming off the 'C' and the block lettering. Their 1950's logo is a beautiful piece of illustration, but perhaps Pepsi felt it looked like too much of an illustration rather than a clean, defined logo, which in all fairness is true. From that point onward they focussed more  and more on streamlining that idea with clean lines, block colour and bold fonts. But unfortunately, in my opinion, the companies brand has got steadily more tacky and the brands message has become clouded and uninteresting from around 1998 onward. If I was the head of Pepsi, I'd have sticked with the 1991 logo, its bold, the colours and composition are great and it would have worked on a number of forms of media as well as physical items like the cans themselves.

Personally speaking I would say that the majority of the Pepsi have their merits, apart from their latest logo, which I think is absolutely appalling. If you look at the logos Pepsi have had during my lifetime (So from 1992 onwards) the Pepsi brand has always been portrayed as being bold, graphic and even loud and exciting. The latest rebrand essentially goes against all of the concepts and now looks far more refined and sleek. I'd go as far to say that it has put me off buying Pepsi altogether. That might sound quite a childish response, but I think if you were to take a survey, many would feel similarly. Brand identity is so vital, and I think, like myself, many would no longer feel like they connect with Pepsi.