Sins of Sunsilk Pt. 1: Nope and Nope Redux

I have been meaning to write this for weeks, even if it be for my own good. I wrote in my notebook notes about what i hated about this ad and that stupid "X" on the Jaguar '08 ads that i will talk about later, but first let's talk about the consistent bad visual situation over at Sunsilk. We will start in the beginning with a little conversation with some people behind the ever interesting world of package design.

I actually had the pleasure to meet and talk with some of the lovely ladies that are in charge of the design team over at Nexxus (TRESemme, VO5, among others) at my restaurant. We talked about the endurance of TRESemme's classic top-shelf look and the recent redesign for VO5. They asked me what products i use, which at least in the shampoo department, is Sunsilk. They all began to laugh. They told me that although they are Nexxus' main competitor, their design is terrible. Now this was at the time that Sunsilk used these awful little duds:


Now, this silly looking little collection is actually fine in that it gets the prodcut across. The text, as terrible as it looks (Is that "K" gonna escape....?), is concise and to the point about what it does. Although "hydra TLC(tender loving care), is a bit to goofball for me. The only real problem is the unwieldy, and again I emphasize SILLY, picture of a very content Caucasian woman. In real life the image is literally a 4-color print and looks like utter dog garbage.

So all of that said, after my little run in with the lovely ladies, I ended needing some smoothing cream because i had run out. I went to the local Vons and made my way to the hair section. I was then greeted by the little line of bottles:

So I look at this little row, and try to make a decision. I had a hard time making out the assorted differences as there is literally 3 different ideas being presented in the central line of sight. You have the Brand name, the cute little product description, the exclamation point logo and the awful little "hairapy" tag line climbing up the side buried behind the Logo type.

Now, understand that this image is just that, an image. It is nothing like the real bottle with it's reflective glossy finish and different inks. The white "hairapy", due to its placement and color is very difficult to make out in a lighted area, which is again hindered by the cluster of text in that tiny space. It has no relation to any of the text elements and the message is unnecessary, as it is basically a tag line. So....why the hell is it here. I honestly thought these were ALL different kinds of hairsprays, because at first glance that is the white text seems to convey. All in all one should not have to double check and re-check a package to understand what the hell is going on.

What needs to happen here is:

A. Get rid of the vertical "White" text...NOW!
B. Use the ENTIRE space...let the eye scan from top to bottom in one stroke and know exactly what is going on here.
C. Don't fix a problem by making another problem (Stupid face image replaced with cluttered text...etc.)

Now, just when you think they will come back with something at least an iota better, the "lifecan'twait" ad campaign surfaces on TV, My semi-daily trek to work (in 2 forms!), and magazines. It's far more criminal than either of the aforementioned travesties and simply an eyesore in a city where billboards are as common as cigarette butts.

I'll save that for next time though.

Split Completmentary Cat Powered Jukebox

I have always been quite fond of Chan Marshall's music. Her recent "image" makeover starting at about that time that one sexy photo shoot for Magnet (I think that's what it was) surfaced is a debated issue....at least theoretically. The once shy "cry on stage" antics have been replaced with photo ops with Chanel designers, so only time will tell if everybody hates her soon. That all aside though, I really liked this cover design for Cat Power's Jukebox. In terms of complexity, there is no calculus here, just some tasteful split complementary 1,2,3 images, pencil thin type, and a slightly metallic silver background that fits perfectly into her secret handshake with haute couture. The album itself is a pleasant collection of covers and a pair of originals that don't command much. Her voice is one of my favorite in this style of music, modern but still clinging to the ragged timbres of Dylan and Joni Mitchell. To bad the aforementioned folk icon's recent record covers, Modern Times and Shine! (respectively), looked like bad ideas left out on a rainy day and then some.

-P

Let There Be Toothpaste....

In 2007, a whole new field of interest hit me in the face like anything worth paying attention to should. I found myself obsessing over something I would never have dreamed of, one faithful day in a Los Angeles Target. The object of the said infatuation was, naturally, Rembrant Toothpaste.

There was something terribly exciting to me about a predominately classic white rectangle accentuated with vibrant stations of color and a commanding centered Logo type. There I was in the toothpaste aisle spending far more time than any other in history secretly fascinated with a box of, and i emphasize, Toothpaste. It was a silent and clandestine appreciation, as I darted back and forth between the army of red/blue foil encrusted packages promising 24 hour this and that, whiteness, mint, lemon, grape and all sorts of dental improvements that a simple paste could never hope to achieve. There it sat like a well dressed gentlemen, polite and inviting, as a room full of loudmouths promised with shouts of everything you could ever think of applying to your little mouth.

It took me up until last week, to finally purchase a box of that toothpaste (as it's not cheap), but it holds its own against the best and even tastes better than any toothpaste i have had yet. That aside though, Rembrandt Toothpaste set something off in me I am ever so grateful. That gift is the appreciation for and desire to create things like this to take something like an indifference for toothpaste and literally transform it into a conscience awareness and heightened interest in a product or concept.

The design team behind this fantastic redesign opened my eyes to the importance of package design, advertising, and elements related. They have lit a fire and near obsession with things i never gave a second thought too. This isn't the first time, to be entirely honest, but we will talk about those later, for now let's just talk about toothpaste, ok.

Oh and look at the old design:












What do you think?





-Paul C.