Comments on: Generic is . . . Cool! Did Tropicana Make a Mistake?

By: ECR

ECR — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 20:42:42 +0000

This was the same firm that redesigned the Pepsi logo. I think it’s a step in the wrong direction. They don’t mention Tropicana as one of their clients though. They wouldn’t want any bad publicity.

By: package designer

package designer — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 20:05:08 +0000

Generic is cool? Since when? I see this as a lame attempt to fool the public into thinking the product is a better price when it is not. So as a consumer I pick-up the generisized product thinking it’s going to cost less. Then I check out and discover that it isn’t cheaper at all. Now I feel tricked and swindled. Brand looks have value and consumers don’t like change, not with the products they have grown to trust through the years. Tropicana had a great icon in the orange with the straw, why mess with it? I see this as a fad that will fade away after the economic panic has passed. The brands that jumped on this band wagon are going to lose their unique place and blend into the crowd that tried to scam the public. I agree with what others have said here. Cut your costs not you identity.

By: craig shully

craig shully — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 13:50:17 +0000

So you want to look less expensive, be less visible on the shelf, blend in with the others, but still charge a premium price?

Why not reduce the prices for an extended period, rather than compromising all the built up brand equity with phony “value perceptions”.

Be a true leader and actually give a “real value”

Packaging and a product’s identity and personality are long term propositions and should not be changed on a whim.

By: Chris Lowe

Chris Lowe — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 00:37:21 +0000

In general, I think looking like a private brand isn’t a bad way to enhance value perception. People are becoming more price and value conscious so in general I think your idea has strong merit. I’m just not sold on the particular way they executed it. I think they took it a little too far and made it too generic. It looks less like a premium private brand (O Organics, Private Selection) and more like a cost cutting private label (Kroger Value, Great Value). For me, it seems like they were aiming at the right target but failed to hit the bullseye.

As for Whole Foods 365 my one quibble with that brand is that it looks way too much like Safeway O Organics. No great surprise since the same agency did both projects.

By: David Burney

David Burney — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 23:15:26 +0000

/This was a brilliant strategy. The whole idea behind the repackaging was to reinforce the idea of value, and there was no better way to do that than by making Tropicana pretend to be a half-gallon of Safeway’s O Organic brand./

/”Consumers recognize such brands for value, of course, but consumer packaged goods manufacturers are realizing that some shoppers actually prefer store brands because generic is . . . cool, these days.”/

I’m trying to figure out what the opposite of putting lipstick on a pig is…

Perhaps a more brilliant strategy would be for Tropicana to BE more valuable. Keep the quality up; reduce the cost to the consumer.