I thought I would kick things off with one of Britain's most iconic brands that has harked back to deliver us new packaging billed as its “biggest revamp in 19 years”.
THOUGHTS
Shelf standout: My
eye was definitely caught by the front panel’s confident, clean look. By
eliminating blue – which was always Tetley’s calling card - and returning to
the brand’s classic white colour scheme the product immediately stood in strong
visual contrast to neighbouring teas. Moreover, the tone felt unique with its
move towards a more premium feel in the everyday tea category.
Personality:
- Primary panels (front and top):
This is where the design exuded a significant
amount of retro charm for me with its smart text and white, stripped-back look communicating a strong, classic proposition.
A nod to a design of old...
Moreover,
by virtue of this look, it felt like a relatively mature, sophisticated design
that leaned much more heavily towards an upmarket positioning than its
predecessor. That said, upon closer inspection, the cheery, fun personality of
the brand’s mascot did shine through in the subtle Monkey graphic worked in to
the lid’s heritage design element.
- Side
panels:
Taking the box off the shelf, the sides surprised me little as a more contemporary look was exposed. The panels delivered bold red and green statements together with icon-based graphics and slightly more playful type. Plenty of visual cues linked these panels back to the primary ones but the classic-contemporary split kept them disjointed in feel for me.
This was where the design let its hair down a bit with some of the fun we have come to associate with the brand. The text wasn’t too exciting but the brand’s much loved Monkey character finally got a showing with a large graphic showing him sporting some nifty Egyptian gear.
SUMMING UP
Cons: Whilst positive
on the whole, I thought there was room for improvement in making the design
more congruous with the fun and warmth the brand’s advertising communicates. The
primary panels were a strong statement for me but I thought the others could
have benefited from being relaxed to give us more charm and sense of homeliness.
Indeed, it might be argued that the one key property through which most people
now identify with the brand, Monkey, should have been given a more salient role
in the design.
Pros: Personally I loved the return to all white panels just for the interesting nod to the past they represented. But nostalgia aside, I felt shelf standout was improved, plus the clean look struck me as a confident statement amongst its competitors that
spoke a bit more loudly of iconic status and quality. Moreover, the slightly
cheeky, fun-loving facets of the modern brand persona were expressed – albeit in
a conservative manner. Indeed, in trying to make the product ‘relevant’ to a
broad spectrum of consumers, I thought there were elements that, stylistically at least, could play to young and old alike. Furthermore, credit should be given to those involved
for being brave and, for better or worse, producing a very interesting design iteration.
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