Pepsi Explains Creativity Posted on March 05, 2009 Post a comment

I’d rather be rich than stupid. – Jack Handey, Deep Thoughts

When Pepsi’s updated logo design was recently released, the advertising community didn’t give it the warmest of welcomes. Soon a document surfaced that purported to explain the detailed thinking behind the design revision. Take a look for yourself: Breathtaking Design Strategy

One particularly well-written piece describes the document this way:

“The document, called ’Breathtaking Design Strategy,’ is littered with historical, philosophical, scientific and mathematical ideas dating back to 3000 BC. It references the Golden Ratio, Feng Shui, and Einstein’s Special Theory of Relativity.

“At one point, the presentation compares ‘Planet Pepsi’ to the earth’s magnetic pull, with diagrams showing Pepsi as the gravitational force between the end of the aisle and the checkout stand.”

Whether this document is real or fictional really doesn’t matter. Anyone who has been around the high-stakes and high-flying world of brand identity and design for major commercial brands knows that this type of brand analysis actually occurs! This piece is a classic and should be required reading for any student of advertising!

With estimates placing the cost of Pepsi’s logo redesign north of $1 million, Jack Handey might have surmised that, “Logo design is like physics, only it pays better.”