From CNN's dumbest business moves of 2009:
Tropicana drinkers, it turns out, are as passionate about packaging as they are about pulp. That's why they rebelled when parent company PepsiCo and consultancy Arnell overhauled the juice line's packaging in January as part of a $35 million branding campaign called "Squeeze."Do people really waste their time complaining about their orange juice containers? I find it hard to believe OJ is a status symbol but what explains people taking the time to complain about the box cover. Like with protesting, I am without a good social science theory to explain it.
Tropicana fans said the simplicity of the new design reminded them of store-brand generics. And who wants to be mistaken for a generic consumer?
Within a month, the public's flogging by e-mail, phone, and blogs forced PepsiCo to bring back the old straw-in-an-orange cartons. Other parts of the campaign remain, but PepsiCo will probably think twice before it tries updating this icon again.
2 comments:
I, meanwhile, get annoyed when the Tropicana and the generic are identically priced (which they often are).
I have a God-given constitutional right to a cheaper generic! I want my two-cent price differential!
;-)
Wouldn't this seem to be a death blow to Arnell? They are hired for the sole purpose of avoiding exactly what happened.
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