I’m not a brand expert. I will state that right up front. But I know the importance of branding and being consistent in applying your brand. I struggle with the idea of updating your brand because if it is strong enough to begin with, you should never have to update it to “keep up with the joneses.” Case in point, a sampling of logos that have remained true to their original design as time has marched on.

Over the holidays I spotted some drastically different Pepsi boxes at Target. I documented the former Pepsi logo at my grocery store here in San Francisco a few weeks later. The change is apparent immediately. Why is it that changing a design to a lowercase type solution makes it more “hip, cool and modern”? And the slight “squiggle” to the letter E…unnecessary. Pepsi has been in an uppercase type-setting for as long as I can remember. Why change now? Was it not strong enough to begin with?

A coworker of mine sent me this link the other day. This image cracked me up:

My biggest thing with a brand as global as Pepsi – how will you ever update every iteration of your logo to make it consistently represented? Or is it part of the charm to have a history of your logo strewn across the mini-marts of the world?

(images courtesy of The Upstairs Room on flickr)

I prefer diet pepsi to diet coke, but as far as brands go…Coca-Cola has my vote.

And while we’re on the subject of brands – did you see the change in Baskin Robbins a while ago? I spotted two different logos still in use across town in Knoxville, TN. Now, I don’t know about you, but if I’m going to change my identity, I would want it to be changed across the board.

A good mark should be strong, unique, memorable and able to withstand time. There are some communication mediums that thrive on change – the worldwide web is a good example. But a company that constantly changes their identity…I don’t know what that says about the company. Ice cream at Baskin Robbins doesn’t really change. And the Pepsi soda itself is not changing. Why does it need a facelift? Why can’t you rely on your consumers to just choose what they like? And not be confused when they are looking for their trusty soda or ice cream joint.