I need to lodge a consumer complaint.
Target, what the heck are you doing? This is what you call branding? Or store marketing? Or is this what you call, give your customer a freaking headache?
Am I the only person that finds Target’s new packaging for their Up&Up product line a complete failure? If I would have handed in one of these graphics in my packaging class way back in the day when I wanted to be an Industrial Designer my professor would have laughed in my face and then told me NO, try again!
In the photo above you might be led to believe that you are looking at baby products. Why? Because of the naked baby on the wipes box. But in fact you are also looking at cough drops, sunscreen, reusable food containers and yes, baby formula. The arrow? Not helpful. The font, what font? Why don’t they just put everything in a white box and have us guess what’s inside, oh wait….they did.
Goodnes, grascious , great balls of dookey, this is an epic marketing failure if I’ve ever seen one and why didn’t they realize it? Why? What am I missing? Is it just me? Maybe it is. Okay, never mind then.
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I agree . . . the “new” labeling for both Target and WalMart is pathetic. It’s confusing, it’s obviously geared toward “lean &/or green”, and misses the mark big time. I have almost stopped trading at Wal-Mart completely as they cut more and more corners and charge more and more for it. I could honestly shop for less $$$ for the staples there in the past but now as they increase pricing on almost everything(and cut back on the products that they offer their GV label on) I can honestly purchase at my Kroger or sometimes even Target for less. After seeing the new Target packaging I fear they are headed down the same path that Wal-Mart chose. That would be truly sad.
I agree…really a silly move. I saw it a few weeks ago in an ad and I thought “What are you doing?!”. I’m not a big fan of Target or Walmart…I shop at Meijer…a big chain store in the Indiana, Michigan, Ohio area. I love my Meijer!!
I thought it was totally me that felt the same way but I am glad another intelligent human being has let the world know the truth!
Oh.My.Goodness. What were they thinking?! The first thing I thought was “Up & Up as in Up & Up in price”. Bad graphics and tiny font make me want to put the item back on the shelf.
I am incredibly fond of Target, but dislike the new branding very, very much. Thank you for giving me a safe place to vent this displeasure. I feel better now.
No, it’s not just you – I’m with you on this one. I got their coupons in the mail for these and thought at first, like you, that it was all baby products. Crazy Target!!!
I actually like it. Minimalistic.
Let me start by saying that I love Target…however, I was weirded out the first time I saw the “Up and Up” products on the shelves. I don’t exclusively buy Target brand items, but I was used to looking for the bullseye logo when I wanted to save a few bucks. My feeling is that by taking the store logo off the label, they’re trying to make you feel like you’re not buying a store brand, and they’re trying to take away whatever stigma is they feel is associated with buying ‘generic’. I resent this! I’m proud of buying store brands…it gives me a ‘the joke’s on them’ feeling when I can get a non-national brand product that’s just as good, if not better than the one with the big ad campaign! I’ll buy “Up and Up”, but I was perfectly fine with the bullseye.
Wow, April, with the number of comments on this, I’d say you struck a nerve here! As much as I like Target, I never shop there…seeing as it’s about 125 miles away…so I never would have known. I would say thanks for broadening my horizons, but, well, I have to agree with you that the labels are pretty ugly!
(And CJ, you’re pretty funny)!
The Wal-Mart label is the one that really bothers me! The all white label with the black print, it reminds me of the generic labels from my childhood!
Oh my gosh, I totally agree with you! I got the little packet of coupons in the mail the other day, and I was so frustrated trying to figure out what the heck the products were. As my 15 year old son would say, EPIC FAIL.
It is absolutely not you, unless it is just “us.” Have you seen their coupons they send in the mail? Oh my goodness, I can’t tell what the coupons are for. It is horrible. I love Target but they need to rethink this one.
I have to agree, April, that it is pretty sorry marketing. I guess color is more expensive these days… brain cells too.
BUT I have to tell you, everytime I glance and the name of this post, I giggle. It reminds me of this joke I heard when I was a kid, so I’ll just HAVE to tell you!
How do you kill a polar bear?
You cut a hole in the ice, set peas around the hole, so when he comes to take a pea, you kick him in the icehole.
I couldn’t help myself.
http://www.musingsofamanicmama.blogspot.com
wow, i am soooo glad it is not just me!!! when i received the coupon book in the mail, i was so confused i just threw the whole thing away. another bad idea of target is their “method” brand. the bottles all look alike and you can’t get the product out easily at all. the dish soap dispenser is a total waste of time, most of it runs down the outside of the bottle.
love your site by the way.
I keep waiting for the target jokes, missed the mark, no bulls eye, bad aim…ok then.
The colors are another problem. I use the plastic (gasp plastic) baggies and the flipin boxes are so similar in color they’re hard to tell them apart.
I agree it sucks! Marianne is right coupon books= automatic headache and you can’t even see what they are for because you are so dizzy.
amen! it looks like a whole bunch of high schools were given cheap clipart and told to “design”. it’s embarrassing and insulting to design professionals everywhere.
some little kid is going to grab something he shouldn’t and eat it because of the vague – i liked the old logo – it was so inyourface like the good ‘ol mr. yuck stickers of days gone by.
take care!
I’m with you completely. I was so confused when the coupons came in the mail. It’s really hard to tell what each product is.
I love it. I really do. It is so easy to find the generic brand when I’m there and I don’t need to rifle through all of the other flashy packaging looking for it. I really do love it. Clear, consise, easy.
I got coupons in the mail and after squinting, trying to figure out what they were for, I tossed them. And I shop at Target often. I’m with you. TERRIBLE packaing.
Doesn’t bother me. I’m there to save money on generics, and I’m not afraid for anyone to see!
But seriously, I think the point is to be minimalistic and it’s easier to find amongst all the over-colored, eyesore name brands. I’ll keep buying as long as the quality inside stays the same. (And I’m an official WM-hater, and there’s only so many places to shop and time to worry about stuff.)
I love Target’s own brand of products, but can’t stand the new labels. They look cheap, and are very confusing. You can’t tell what’s inside the package without your reading glasses on.
nope. i like the new packaging. i hate packaging that seems to be trying to prove itself. keep it simple and let me decide if i like the product.
I detest the new marketing, too.
No coupons in my mail! Guess I don’t rate, huh ?
What is bugging the holy heck out of me though is the fact that Wal-Mart and Target (probably everyone, really) are giving us less product (ounces, count, etc.) and putting it in smaller packages while raising the price! It has been going on a long time but seems to be getting worse! I am so broke I am literally reusing my tea and coffee bags. I don’t think I am the only one, either.