Progression of Pepsi
July 13, 2004
It’s always interesting to see how a logo has progressed throughout the span of time. Over the years new designers have their own take on how the logo should look and their goal is to prevent too much deviation from what was originally conveyed.
In this Pepsi logo example (from yayhorray.com) you can immediately see the changes that have occured to the logo from its inception in 1898 to the more recent 2003 version. Up until 1962 the logo retained the scripty font look, eventually replacing the bottlecap in 1973 for the cleaner three-toned look that we all are familar with.
12 comments
I actually like the 1950–1992 era better than the 90’s and up.
by Colin D. Devroe on July 13, 2004 at 1:38 pm. #
I’ve got an Andy Rooney Pepsi sign reproduction. It has the 1940’s logo on both a bottle cap and blimp. These days, it’s the battle of the hip soda. Download this, or rap that.
The sign painters of that era were true artisans, and they were the graphic designers too.
by Mike on July 13, 2004 at 2:14 pm. #
Is it me or does the 1989 version look like cryptic Halloween script? As if the mailroom boy turned graphic designer came up with it after a rather gloom afternoon.
My favorite is the 1950 bottlecap version, however, the 1940s version seems the most iconic of the group. The latest incarnation (2003) looks like a sign from Back to the Future.
by kartooner on July 13, 2004 at 2:39 pm. #
All looks very nice here Kartooner as always. I would be very happy to have one tenth of your ability with graphics. Ive just released a production quality three column template for WordPress if anybody is interested. Details on my blog.
by Root on July 13, 2004 at 9:46 pm. #
While I prefer the 1940 version, I think the 1973 logo stands out for me, it’s the one I grew up with (if you can grow up with a logo). I think subconsiously, it’s the one I still look for when I go to the supermarket and have to look twice before I recognise Pepsi now.
by Andy Mac on July 14, 2004 at 4:36 am. #
I have to agree that the original logo has a sort of “Halloween-creepy” vibe going for it. I don’t know if I could drink a soda that creeps me out.
I remember when the big revision happened in 1991–92. It was quite a change and really stood out to me. That’s when they began their “New Generation” campaigns and it fit perfectly with the image.
The bottle cap of 1950 is my favorite though…it would be nice to see it come back in some way.
by Todd on July 14, 2004 at 8:55 am. #
Haha.. I love the 90’s was on last night and they were talking about Pepsi Clear.. God, soo funny.. I guess one of the slogans was “Everything you want, nothing you expect”, and the comedian commented “Mm.. Pepsi Clear, Its everything I expect and nothing I want..” Hahaha..
God I love that show.
by Matt (Brother) on July 14, 2004 at 11:46 am. #
The 1950s bottlecap version makes me swoon like a teenage girl being asked to dance at the sock hop. That is by far my favorite.
The 2003 version looks like an alien Death Globe from the pages of Heavy Metal.
by max on July 14, 2004 at 4:58 pm. #
Max: Or better yet, the movie Heavy Metal.
Here’s some Heavy Metal (the movie) trivia for you; The characters Hanover Fiste and Dr. Anrak were voiced by Rodger Bumpass, who is apparently voicing Squidward in the upcoming Spongebob Squarepants The Movie. Imagine having a name like that in high school. Poor guy must’ve endured all kinds of torture.
by kartooner on July 15, 2004 at 8:41 am. #
The movie did have a death globe! I bet it could morph into the Pepsi logo pretty easily.
When I was in high school, I collected as many of those old issues of HM as I could find. The movie still rocks, too.
by max on July 15, 2004 at 5:48 pm. #
If I had my hands on a screencap from the movie, the scene you’re speaking of in particular, and a picture of the Deathstar I’d use off-the-shelf Morph software to try to demonstrate your opinion.
However, I think it would be right up there with the morphing sequence in Michael Jackson’s Black and White video.
by kartooner on July 16, 2004 at 8:46 am. #
I like the 1962 version the best. Exemplifies good use of texture I think. Nowadays, most logos fit into some orb shape of some form or another, the new AT&T one being a perfect example. I don’t think everything necessarily needs to look like it’s made of glass, and have a highlight on the top, but maybe that’s just me.
by Nathan Smith on December 5, 2005 at 5:39 am. #