JKR

Recession friendly branding generally seems to chime when it evokes nostalgia for happier times – as the return of the Hovis boy and Milky Bar kid attest to (along with brands from Persil to Heinz bringing old ads out of the archives, reminding us that they are reliable constants in our lives). So Sherbet Fountain bucking the retro trend and revamping its seemingly unchanged-forever pack could be viewed as a brave choice.

Sadly, this move on feels like a step backwards – the paper packaging, which has served the brand proudly for over 84 years, has been abandoned in favour of a plastic tube with a shrink sleeve. Whilst delivering tamper proofing and re-sealability the new pack has lost some charm and, presumably, some sustainability credentials. It calls to mind the revamp for Kit-Kat, where the ritual of opening the paper and foil pack was sacrificed in the name of progress. Visual equities are one thing, but at the heart of both brands was a ritual, and what brand wouldn’t kill to own a distinctive ritual in consumers’ minds?