Hey packaging and designers didn’t you read the blog I wrote a year ago about pineapples? Let’s try it again with these two cans of cranberry sauce.
1. Does the label announce what’s inside the package?
Ocean Spray does a great job of letting the customer know what is inside this can with an appealing visual design of sliced jellied cranberries and large bold lettering announcing what is in there. Yes, that is the main purpose of a food label – to let the shopper know what is inside the package. The red lettering jumps off the stark white background allowing you to easily read what is in there. Although Publix also choose read lettering on a white background it does not work! Why they choose to emphasize the word “ Jellied” when the item in the can is cranberry sauce is just mind boggling. They do tell you that cranberries are in there but in small, soft grey lettering. It is not even a competition here – the win goes to Ocean Spray.
2. Does the label attract attention?
When you walk down the aisle all you see is “Jellied” – not the attention I think the Publix brand cranberry sauce is going for. This line of Publix branded food products is intended to pass the savings from marketing and professional label designs onto the consumer. But really, some common sense would be an improvement here; emphases the food item not how it is prepared. The Ocean Spray label has a nice contract of their blue logo with the red lettering of this label. The farm in the background of this label conjures up images of delicious, farm fresh produce. Although this item does go through some processing it is still the image we like for our food. The Ocean Spray label catches the right attention. This one also goes to Ocean Spray.
3. Does the label instill confidence?
The Publix label actually makes me question the intelligence of their executives. It is an incredibly stupid mistake they seem to make on many of their labels – emphasizing the adjective they use to describe the food item instead of the item in the container. Ocean Spray has a wonderful repetition and emphasizes this in the professional quality of the label. Let’s be honest jellied cranberry sauce is all pretty much the same, so the quality or the appearance of quality is what get you to purchase this product. Ocean Spray wins here.
In the case of Ocean Spray versus Publix jellied cranberry sauce, Ocean Spray is the clear victor with much more professional label sweeping all three categories. Publix designers you are 0-2 against the competitors. Wake up – just a little bit of effort and common sense can go a long way to improve your labels.
The Ocean Spray design team takes labeling to a whole new level…. Look at the back of this label. The back of the Ocean Spray looks like the front label without the photograph – I don’t think I have ever seen that before and I can’t remember ever seeing anything like that. It is a lesson to be learned. Any potential Blue Ribbon customers, this is a lesson to remember when creating your next label.
I invite you to participate in the “Good Label, Bad Label” forum. We’ve all seen a bad label or twelve, so please feel free to send us some awesomely bad examples and your submission could be included in our series!
At Blue Ribbon, we have an art department of talented artists proficient in the latest technology and graphic design equipment. Yes, they also have common sense and vision. Blue Ribbon Tag & Label offers a wide range of services and products, including food labels, pharmaceutical labels, cosmetic labels, veterinary labels and expanded text labels. If you need a professionally designed label, call us at 1-800-433-4974. We’ll get the job done.
