Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Similac —Yet Different




This was meant to follow Daryll's series of characters that never made the cut.

Several years ago, a local branding firm asked me to create some character designs for Similac baby formula. Similac had been using a pretty generic teddy bear on their packaging since the 90's. The design team thought it was ripe for a reappraisal. (I agreed that the bear was a bit short on personality and resembled too closely the teddy bear from Snuggle fabric softener.)

I created about 4 or 5 quick color concepts in a matter of days —all pretty different; but in the end, it was decided that there was too much equity in the existing character, and they didn't want to risk a radical change. The design firm knew going in that the chance of a redesign was slim, so they didn't budget much for my art. I met their price, but kept the rights to all the unused work —so if anyone out there knows a company in need of a bear character, let me know!

10 comments:

  1. Those are too cute for me to use as a BEARman

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  2. Those are so sweet. I have to say I'm know what the snuggle bear looks like but not the similac. That is an unusual agency situation where you own the rights-good negotiating!

    I really like the second one.

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  3. These are great!

    I looked up the Similac bear currently in use, and think yours are soo much better! (I agree--it looks too much like Snuggle, and needs an update!)

    I'm all for sprucing up old logos! I think the newer BP & KFC logos look great. (I know I saw a new design recently that I really liked! I'll keep thinking....)

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  4. Thanks, Christina!
    Seriously, if you know what the Snuggle Bear looks like, you DO know what the Similac bear looks like. We think alike —the one with the butterfly was the one I had my hopes on. Not perfect, but I think there was potential there. Oh well.

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  5. Thanks, Paula! (for some reason, I'm getting these comments one at a time.) I'm with you on KFC and especially BP. I understand companies not wanting to go to square one with established trademarks, but that teddy bear should never have been greenlit in the first place.

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  6. These are fantastic Chuck! So much personality and great body language along with being cute.

    The bear on the bottom left is my favorite. Also your slightly loose color treatment is also a winner.

    You still own these guys so maybe something will come up in the future.

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  7. Excellent work, Chuck! These are excellent, so much character. I really enjoy the lines a great deal.

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  8. I know he looks like snuggles but I don't care, I like the guy on the bottom right darn it!

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