My Thoughts On The New Diet Coke Logo… January 30th, 2021
What makes Diet Coke delicious? Is it the flavor, addictive aspartame, or lack of sugar? Whatever it is it drives millions of people around the world each year to buy their favorite silver canned cola known as Diet Coke. Diet Coke was a secret mission only known by company execs till its launch in 1982. Since its debut it has become the number one diet soda brand in the US. “For aspirational adults, Diet Coke® is the smart solution that helps keep them at the top of their game.”(Dietcoke.com). Diet Cokes mission is to help adults stay ahead of their game, so in 2017 the company hired Kenyon Weston from Huddersfield North England to redesign their logo and packaging so they too could stay ahead of the game. Diet Coke has had 14 logos over the last 39 years that have all been similar to follow their brand identity. I believe the new logo while similar to many before it brings a new fresh face to the beloved sodas identity.
In 2017 Diet Coke executives sat down and looked at their sales numbers and noticed the diet soda wasn’t selling as well as they would like it to. Their target audience of adults was not selling well to millennials. They came up with the brilliant idea to hire a design firm that was out of house to redesign the logo and packaging for the brand. They decided to go with a small design firm of two men known as Kenyon Weston. I personally think the idea to go out of house was the best idea the Coca Cola Company made with this logo. The old logo (On the Left) reminds me of my grandmother’s house. The new logo (On the right) is slick, clean and minimalistic.
The new logo is hot. Red is a color that draws you in and makes you feel special. Red is sexy. By creating a logo that’s driven by a bright red color such as the one on the Diet Coke can, you are daring your target audience to buy it and drink it. Diet Coke is a diet soda, and the thin red stripe of the logo insinuates the cola is sleek and meant to keep you thin. I think the small changes from the original can/logo to the new one have elevated the drink into a status of more than just what your mother or grandmother buys for lunch, to now being what the cool hipsters in New York buy for an afternoon snack at a local bodega.
The brand identity in the new logo is important. They may have changed the logo but it’s still the recognizable Diet Coke we’ve all grown up loving. If the logo had new typography, colors, or name the rebranding wouldn’t have worked. The logo would’ve been a waste of time, but by keeping the elements from the past 14 logos and reinventing it the classiness of the original logos stays and gets a nice revamping. Through these changes Diet Coke can now reach a younger generation and stay just as stylish as the millennials who are drinking it.
Personally I grew up loving diet coke. My mother and grandmother always had it in their houses while I was growing up. I love the old logo and packaging but as a designer and a consumer the new logo and packaging has me rethinking what Diet Coke is, and that’s the whole reason to rebrand. Diet Coke is an icon to the soda industry because it’s refreshing, addictive, and has no sugar in it. The new logo for the company has elevated the soft drink to not just taste refreshing but look sexy. Now I kinda want a Diet Coke. Do you?
