Lewis Lazare: Last time we checked, the Coca-Cola Co. wasn’t cash-strapped. So it’s surprising the company couldn’t come up with a more compelling look for the revamped Fresca design hitting grocery store shelves this week.
Fresca’s new bubble-inspired design strikes us as something you’d be more likely to find on a third-rate generic cola. Rack it up as another misstep in what has been terribly uneven marketing and advertising across a range of Coke products in recent years.
In addition to the packaging overhaul, Fresca is getting two new flavors — Sparkling Peach Citrus and Sparkling Black Cherry Citrus — both introduced as sugar-free, caffeine-free line extensions.
To tout all the changes, Campbell-Mithun/Minneapolis is launching a new ad campaign with the tag “Discover Fresca. Again.”
I’m no ad person, but I have a thing for good design. What is so bad about this design? I like it. It has a retro 70’s feel, and Fresca is exactly that beverage. It is much better than that extreme effort we see time and time again of being hipper than thou through design. We tried so hard to look hip, it hurts. Are we hip yet?
Doesn’t Lazare have anything better to dissect in the land of plenty o’ advertising blunders and mishaps?