As an orange juice consumer, I have observed the uproar over the new Tropicana cartons with bemusement. Even before a revolt blew up, I wondered what on earth Tropicana was thinking.
For those unfamiliar with this storm, Tropicana has just been forced to go back to its original packaging in the US for its orange juice because so many people dislike the new style.
The company is correct to retreat because the new packaging had the effect of making Tropicana look like a European private label brand, while lacking the European virtue of functionality.
I carried out a consumer survey of my own this morning by asking my seven-year-old daughter about the cartons. “They’re silly. You don’t know what kind of orange juice it is,” she replied.
Indeed. Take a look at the image above (via Jeff Bercovici). You will note that the original packaging on the left immediately informs you that this is “no pulp” Tropicana.
It does so by having a big orange block on the top and an orange carton top. If you wanted one of the many other varieties – high pulp, calcium etc – you could pick it out on a supermarket shelf simply by looking at the colour of the package.
Apart from this, the original Tropicana packaging told you want it was by having a photograph of an orange and had pleasantly bouncy lettering, which converyed a Florida theme.
The new packaging, however, removes all these signals. Every carton is roughly the same colour and relies on a few words to signal the different varieties.
It is also oddly European-looking, with its lower-case sans serif lettering. In general, I am more of a fan of European than present-day US design, but this is a poor example.
The affair has done little good to the reputation of Peter Arnell, a Madison Avenue guru who worked on the redesign for Tropicana. For those who want a bit of Schadenfreude, here is a video of Mr Arnell discussing his agency’s work before the debacle emerged.
