OMG you guys!! Pepsi finally ditched their wimpy lowercase extra lite typeface after 15(!) years and have officially rebranded back to their dark bold capital letter logo. This change (upgrade) was announced earlier this year and I was hoping for a summer unveiling, but the truth is we need it now more than then. In either case, the 21st Century seems to've just started pulling its weight.
A little over 5 years ago Pepsi released a "Throwback" label that most closely resembled their late 70s/early 80s graphics and I used that limited time prick tease to profess my love for that particular design. Now I'm back to say that while it may not be an exact duplicate of that artwork that I so adored, it's the best they've done since '91. If you're into the Diet Caffeine Free variety like me (you're not) I'd say that label is the Flux Capacitor in this time machine.
In the very least, this new Pepsi look could pass for a stunt double of my nostalgic aesthetic. But in one very important area, they've gone above and beyond a simple font glow up and blessed us with something that, while derivative, is a work of art nonetheless - and it was the area that needed the most work.
For most of this century Pepsi's branding has been laughably subtle and visually boring. And that's fine, I'm a Coke guy, but outside of complacent loyalty, I'd always preferred the taste of Pepsi's Wild Cherry over Coca-Cola Cherry, and even at Coke's blandest low point of labeling (which is where they're at now), their sleek familiarity still had Pepsi beat all to hell when it came to "The Cherry Look."
Granted, throughout the 1990s, Pepsi had a firm grasp on what the idea of a Cherry Cola should look like, as did Coke, as though their competition were continually lifting the other up into greater heights of rainbow bliss. Actual mouth taste was irrelevant at that time, because as I more recently discussed, the mid 90s Cherry Coke label was and is such an unvanquished masterpiece of modern art that they coulda filled those bottles & cans with baby powder and cilantro and I still would've preferred it. But, ladies and gentlemen and other, today I'm here to tell you that Pepsi Wild Cherry has made a bold and viable attempt to follow the path of beauty and distinction previously forged by their competitor.
It looks pretty good and tastes even better. But beyond the 90s nostalgia and ignoring Coca-Cola's achievement, Pepsi's winning execution here is one of my greatest surprises of 2023. Sure it feels like some sorta sexual release after years of their dreadfully dull composition, but even forgetting that too, it's raining goddamn cherries on the can! It's busy and sexy and colorful and everything that everything else isn't. Burger King destroyed McDonald's this Halloween season as far as I'm concerned, and now Pepsi has spanked Coke's novelty-flavored ass - not with any Limited Edition gimmickry but with what appears to be a fixed status quo. We now live in a world, for however long, where soda cans are pretty again. Act accordingly.
- Paul
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