Pepsi is updating the soft drink’s logo ahead of its 125th anniversary – while paying tribute to the pop in the brand’s classic labeling.
The new logo, which replaces one used since 2008, has a bold “PEPSI” centered in a black-bordered circle over red, white and blue stripes. The current logo displays the word “pepsi” in a leaner font, alongside a globe with more muted colors.
The goal in reimagining the logo was to infuse “great energy and confidence and boldness,” PepsiCo chief design officer Mauro Porcini told USA TODAY.
PepsiCo will begin using the new logo this fall in the U.S. and Canada on “electric” blue and black cans and in promotions. PepsiCo will roll out the logo internationally in 2024.
Revamping Pepsi logo: Several years before it was in the can
The company began rethinking its branding over the past few years. Focus groups liked the past logos with the word “Pepsi” inside a globe, Pepsi chief marketing officer Todd Kaplan said.
Consumer research revealed a preference for those Pepsi logos from the ’70s and ’80s. “So there was this implicit connection that we thought was not even out there today,” Kaplan said. “The challenge was: How can we take something that was part of our heritage and our past and project it to the present and the future?”
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The richer “electric” blue and black (now the color of Pepsi Zero Sugar cans) will be used across the portfolio to bring “a contemporary edge” to the brand’s color scheme, the company says in a press release.
The new logo lends itself to artistic renditions not only on delivery trucks, hats and merchandise but also in vibrant animations in video and online. “It looks like a badge that you can wear or put on equipment (but) is very aligned to the latest trends in terms of visual communications,” Porcini said.
An unveiling video shows what look like waves of energy, sound and lights radiating from the new logo and cans. Similar artwork is shown on sample social media posts, 12-packs and delivery trucks.
The ‘Pepsi pulse’ recalls brand’s connection to music
A “Pepsi pulse” emanating from the logo or can is a reminder of Pepsi’s connection to music, Porcini said. “Music is in the DNA of the brand,” he said.
- TV commercials. A who’s who of musicians have made Pepsi commercials over the years, including Michael Jackson (1983 marked the first of several ads; Pepsi also sponsored his concert tour), David Bowie and Tina Turner (1987), Kanye West (2005), Mariah Carey (2006), Elton John (2012), and Nicki Minaj (2012). Beyoncé, Britney Spears and Pink starred in a three-minute 2004 mini-epic Pepsi commercial as gladiators singing Queen’s “We Will Rock You” in the presence of emperor Enrique Iglesias.
- Super Bowl halftime show. Pepsi had sponsored the Super Bowl halftime show for the previous 10 years, before Apple Music became the sponsor for the 2023 event.
- Artist development. The Pepsi Music Lab, created in December 2021 to provide mentorship, training, and exposure opportunities for rising stars, is working with a dozen aspiring artists. Among them are five who were on 2022’s “Becoming A Popstar” series, co-produced by MTV, TikTok and Pepsi.
The new logo is better suited for a digital world and “can bring new energy … (and) endless potential and opportunities in licensing in the worlds of music and in sport,” Porcini said. “It is something we can leverage to convey that idea of unapologetic enjoyment once again.”
More adaptable messaging is important in a competitive marketplace. PepsiCo has a 22.9% share of the total volume of soda sales in the U.S. compared with Coke, which has 43.4%, according to Euromonitor International. Coke has increased its market share from 42.7% in 2021, while Pepsi has declined from 24.2%, the market research firm said.
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