Brand Evolution – Pepsi

3. Pepsi

Founded by Caleb Bradham in the 1890’s, Pepsi is now one of the biggest soft drink companies in the world.  Originally named Brad’s drink the name quickly changed to Pepsi-Cola, visible in the first logo in 1898, striking a distinct resemblance to Coca-Cola’s 1885 logo.

The first Logos were custom made by Bradham as the company became more famous. In 1933 Pepsi was bought by Loft Inc and bottle sizes were changed from 6oz to 12oz along with the tagline ‘Refreshing and Healthful’.

The breakthrough into how we see the Pepsi logo today came about by the CEO of Pepsi in the 1940’s, Walter Mack. With a new bottle design came the idea of the crown featuring the logo. The ‘Pepsi globe’ we know today was instilled through Pepsi’s support of the US in their efforts fighting in WWII. The patriotic sense of red, white and blue became hugely popular and a pride in this connotation developed into the 1950/1962 logos.

Although the typeface changed in 1962 to a bolder font the prominence of the bottle cap design remained. Between 1973 and 2003 the logo adopted an almost flag-like design, developing through the decades in similar formats but clearly differing in design styles, perhaps ascribed to ever changing techniques and technology.

To date, Pepsi has done away with all text and banners, solely concentrating on the updated bottle cap icon, also known as the globe. It is internationally recognised as a leading global brand and is synonymous with the values that form the foundation of the business.

Coming tomorrow….. Brand Evolution – Nike

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