Wednesday, August 10, 2011

MONKEYING AROUND

Constellation has changed the label of Monkey Bay.
The original label took the market by storm with its clean background with a striking green image and the curve-cut with strong black background. This was all done to dramatically stand out on shelf and table and proved to be a phenomenal success. Ok, I am close to it and it is a favourite but ... it worked.



The brand team at Constellation changed the label because (I quote from an e-mail I received):

" Essentially because we were getting  lots of comments that the old label made the wine look a bit cheap and gimmicky"

I wonder what aspect of 'critter-branding', 'commercial propositions' and 'cheap and cheerful' they don't understand.
They changed the label to this:



Now I understand branding and the need to refresh labels, logos and images  but they should all be positive and forward steps not regressive. The new label while clean and tidy has lost the strong image and replaced it with a weak sketch. The loss of curve in the label and dumping of the strong black background has weakened impact. 


But I could be wrong.

2 comments:

Richard (of RBB) said...

"But I could be wrong."
Cheeky!
I agree. I noticed the new label at the RSA last weekend - it felt less defined; less obvious. The original monkey picture never struck me as cheap.

Anonymous said...

I noticed the new label when I was shopping in Pak and Save. I agree with you it is a pale imitation of the original