Retroactive Post #2: Rembrandt Rebranding

This is kind of a cop out, but I don't care. I wrote this post a while ago for the JHI Blog while I was working there. Since most of what I've been posting is either recent work or personal updates, I thought this might be a nice change of pace. Of course, there's always quality stuff at the JHI Blog, so be sure to check it out. By clicking here or here. Link.

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Here at J H I, we use the first Monday of each month to discuss relevant, inspirational, or unavoidable events or work in the creative community that have captured our attention. We have aptly titled this forum event “First Mondays.” Everybody here has an assigned month during which they bring something before the group. We use this item to spark a conversation that can cover anything from ideas and execution to trends and relevance.

While I realize that this post about the first Monday of the month is being published on the last Friday of the month, I wanted to share our latest topic of discussion.

January was my month, and I chose to focus on the Rembrandt re-branding . While on a shopping trip a few months back, I turned a corner down the oral hygiene aisle and the new Rembrandt packaging was practically glowing from the shelf. I wasn’t even shopping for toothpaste, but in the sea of the blue, red and gradient toothpaste packaging, the Rembrandt products really leapt out to me.

Johnson & Johnson acquired the Rembrandt brand from Oral B and the makeover was driven by the idea that consumers were ready for a product that broke out of the normal oral care mold and transcended into a more sophisticated beauty product line. From seeing Rembrandt’s packaging, website and advertising, the rebranding effort by Johnson & Johnson along with Little Fury seems to have been very well executed, especially given this knowledge of the message they aim to project.

The previously mentioned points illustrate why this product stands out to me as a consumer. But there are elements to the rebranding that register on a different level to me as a designer. While this is not a completely flawless campaign, (I’ve heard that the actual toothpaste tube is pretty lackluster, and we’ve had our own conversation internally regarding the kerning of the logotype), there were still some great decisions made. The box opens from the top, instead of the side, so the customer feels like “they are opening a gift, like they are treating themselves to something,” according to Carmen Nestares, Product Director for the Rembrandt. While you may not hear many squeals of glee from people opening toothpaste, this does further the idea that toothpaste does not have to be completely dull.

Above all, the new Rembrandt logotype itself really impressed me. It is set in a modified version of Copperplate. I (and others) have very mixed feelings towards this particular font. I usually disregard Copperplate as a choice when selecting typefaces for certain projects. Not to say that it can’t be used successfully, but I feel it carries a certain stigma that is difficult to get around. When the movie Seabiscuit first came out, I couldn’t hear or read anything about it without thinking about Copperplate because it was on the movie posters. To me, Copperplate had become a font that was used when you didn’t want to think about what font to use. It was uninspired and a little tiresome.

But the new Rembrandt logotype takes Copperplate and completely erases all of those preconceptions. Suddenly Copperplate has the potential to be stunning. It rises to the top as a font worth a second thought. Maybe I’ll spend a little more time thinking about Copperplate and it uses. To me, that’s a great analogy for this entire campaign. It has taken something that used to warrant little thought or attention and brought to light it’s full potential and value. Brilliant.