Companies Changing Product Labels to Confuse/Deceive Consumers

[Xaelai]

This is something that is really annoying me lately.

I type this as I sit here eating a spicy Teriyaki Beef Chow Mein. I don't really particularly like spicy foods, but I wound up with this one because of a family member accidentally buying a whole case of this stuff instead of the regular Teriyaki Beef.

Anymore, it seems that companies are changing labels of their products so that their various flavors all look the same. I remember when a Cherry Pepsi had two large red stripes around the entire bottle, and you could easily tell from a distance that it was Cherry Pepsi and not Regular Pepsi. Now, both Pepsi and Cherry Pepsi look exactly the same, except for a small little cherry icon on the bottle.

Old Cherry Pepsi: http://www.avacoffeelv.com/shop/imag...20-%2020oz.jpg
New Cherry Pepsi: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...ew_bottles.jpg

How about Throwback Pepsi vs Pepsi? Before, Throwback Pepsi had the old logo, a white label, and it was labeled, in giant letters, "THROWBACK" on the bottle.

Now, Pepsi and Throwback Pepsi look EXACTLY the same, except on the side of the bottle, it says "Made with Real Sugar". Otherwise, the bottles are identical.

Old TB Pepsi: http://pics.drugstore.com/prodimg/416913/220.jpg
New TB Pepsi: http://dg6qn11ynnp6a.cloudfront.net/...ar-231x300.jpg

Not only does this deceive customers who buy the stuff, but oftentimes I find personnel working at the store making mistakes and accidentally putting things where they don't belong, because all the labels are too similarly marked.

Back to the Chow Mein example... the Regular Beef vs Spicy Beef? One tiny little icon that says "Spicy" in the upper corner of the packaging. Otherwise, it looks exactly the same.

I wish companies would go back to the way things used to be, back when you could actually tell stuff apart without having to scan the entire packaging to find the tiny little difference so you can tell which is which.

[Lodreh]

Or you know... actually read the packaging instead of giving it a sideways glance before going back to texting on your mobile phone.

[Xaelai]

Or you know... actually read the packaging instead of giving it a sideways glance before going back to texting on your mobile phone.

Way to stereotype, there.

I don't use mobile phones, 'cept a prepaid I keep in the car in case I break down or need to make a call away from home. Nice try, though.

Also, there are people who don't have the best eyesight and to these people, these tiny little icons and things are hard to see and they end up grabbing the wrong kind because they couldn't read it very clearly.

That's no excuse for making everything look the same. Is there some reason we couldn't have kept things the way they were? Name one good reason all of the flavors should look exactly the same except for very minor, tiny changes.

[Lenonis]

This is great! This is the free market at work! Now if we could only do away with regulations entirely so companies can just outright lie instead of be deceitful all will be well in the glorious free market. /s

[babalou1]

Now, both Pepsi and Cherry Pepsi look exactly the same, except for a small little cherry icon on the bottle.

Old Cherry Pepsi: http://www.avacoffeelv.com/shop/imag...20-%2020oz.jpg
New Cherry Pepsi: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...ew_bottles.jpg

How about Throwback Pepsi vs Pepsi? Before, Throwback Pepsi had the old logo, a white label, and it was labeled, in giant letters, "THROWBACK" on the bottle.

Now, Pepsi and Throwback Pepsi look EXACTLY the same, except on the side of the bottle, it says "Made with Real Sugar". Otherwise, the bottles are identical.

Old TB Pepsi: http://pics.drugstore.com/prodimg/416913/220.jpg
New TB Pepsi: http://dg6qn11ynnp6a.cloudfront.net/...ar-231x300.jpg

Pepsi: https://ioneelev8.files.wordpress.co...05/pepsi13.jpg
Cherry Pepsi: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...ew_bottles.jpg

They are similar~ish but not EXACTLY a like. Not even close

Same with throw back and regular. They are similar.

Actually look at the items instead of just blinding snatching something off the shelf.

[Mifuyne]

Yeah dude, they do it to deceive and confuse people - making sure they don't buy their products.
Wait, what?

[Darsithis]

Anymore, it seems that companies are changing labels of their products so that their various flavors all look the same. I remember when a Cherry Pepsi had two large red stripes around the entire bottle, and you could easily tell from a distance that it was Cherry Pepsi and not Regular Pepsi. Now, both Pepsi and Cherry Pepsi look exactly the same, except for a small little cherry icon on the bottle..

Except they don't. Wild Cherry Pepsi still has red lines. Pepsi does not.

[chazus]

I remember when a Cherry Pepsi had two large red stripes around the entire bottle, and you could easily tell from a distance that it was Cherry Pepsi and not Regular Pepsi. Now, both Pepsi and Cherry Pepsi look exactly the same,

Old Cherry Pepsi: http://www.avacoffeelv.com/shop/imag...20-%2020oz.jpg
New Cherry Pepsi: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...ew_bottles.jpg.

I'm confused.

You said that you could tell the 'old' cherry pepsi by the two red stripes... But now regular and cherry look the same.

But the biggest difference between regular and cherry now is... the two red stripes. In the picture. That you linked.

[Kujako]

So is the theory that a company has warehouses full of products they can't sell without tricking their customers by making their labels (and thus their brand) similar? All based on the assumption that consumers wont actually read the labels and will just blindly buy products based on colors?

[Mayhem]

Now that´s a random topic you don´t see often. Companies trying to piss off their customers by creating logos that all look somewhat similiar.

[Super Kami Dende]

I believe people like OP are why they have "do not drink" labels on the side of Cleaning products.

Infracted

[Kalis]

The reason they're doing it to get rid of all that crappy cherry Pepsi they made.

Or perhaps they want to trick people into buying a bottle of their minging cherry Pepsi in the hopes that someone actually likes it and buys it in the future.

Or maybe it's to trick people into buying a cherry Pepsi, which means they have to go back and buy a regular Pepsi, which probably makes them a gazillion dollars each year from double sales.

Or it could be they think people actually look at the labels.

Who knows?

[Mayhem]

I'm confused.

You said that you could tell the 'old' cherry pepsi by the two red stripes... But now regular and cherry look the same.

But the biggest difference between regular and cherry now is... the two red stripes. In the picture. That you linked.

But they´re not large anymore!!

[Sykol]

Good, at least real life finally stopped catering to casuals.

#randomcensorshipisbrainrape

[Revi]

Why would they deceive costumers who are already buying their product into buying the wrong one?

It's branding, not deception. I'd be more concerned with the ways they rig the content label to seem healthier.

[Archonite]

Im trying to find the benefit for the company in selling you the 'wrong' product. You still got an entire product, and since people have to eat something, i assume they eat the 'wrong' product instead of throwing it away and buying the right one. Personally i believe its more to do with marketing and labelling. Selling the same product and packaging makes it boring. Designing a new label seems a good way to make the product appear updated and new, without actually having to change anything to the product itself.

[chazus]

I'd be more concerned with the ways they rig the content label to seem healthier.

Yes, like putting on the label "Sugar Free" ... but when you actually read the nutrition facts, it still has "Sugar Alcohol" which is the same thing when it comes to calories, but for some reason doesn't have to be labelled as 'sugar' due to FDA loopholes.

[Revi]

Yes, like putting on the label "Sugar Free" ... but when you actually read the nutrition facts, it still has "Sugar Alcohol" which is the same thing when it comes to calories, but for some reason doesn't have to be labelled as 'sugar' due to FDA loopholes.

Yeah, or using different types of sugar to make it seem like fruit is the majority ingredient in smoothies and juices

25% fruit, 10% (chemical name of sugar 1), 10% (chemical name of sugar 2), 10% (chemical name of sugar 3).
vs.
30% sugar, 25% fruit.

[Independent voter]

I remember one day I suddenly realized I had been sitting in front of the computer for three hours without moving or having a thought. What the hell was wrong with me? Was I losing my mind?

Then I noticed on this cheap brand of instant coffee I bought, in tiny letters it said "naturally decaffeinated".

They should've used bigger lettering.

[Gheld]

People actually buy caramelized, caffeinated corn syrup water? I thought it was just put on the shelves so that if vermin were to eat the containers open they would die of type 2 diabetes.