Things just ain't what they use to be!

[darren]

Re: Things just ain't what they use to be!

i cant remember this white packaging at all.
was the the first ever packaging for maltesers then the red one we all know followed.
this white packaging must not have been around for long
anyone know when this design started and finished.

[sf1378]

Re: Things just ain't what they use to be!

Packaging.....it is dire now. A few weeks back walking along I remembered the old cellophane style Walkers bags with the window in them so you could see the crisps...yum. As said before by many, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. I'm currently studying graphic design at Uni and one area I'd like to work in is packaging eventually....I'd love to bring back the original Smarties tube for one thing. I blame a lot of chocolate stuff and foods in general going downhill after Nabisco stopped manufacturing in the UK by 1986. They owned a lot of the classic brand names like Jacobs, Rowntree Mackintosh etc...when Nestle bought up their brands when they left the UK the taste, quality and packaging all went downhill...To me, Rowntree's Fruit Pastels and Wine Gums and all their lovely chocolates now under Nestle taste cheap and nasty. Mars Bars, Milky Ways, Cadbury's its all naff now and smaller! Oh for the glory days....

[darren]

Re: Things just ain't what they use to be!

what chance have u of bringing back the old packaging mate.
it seems to me since nestle bought the companies there beautiful colourful packets have went downhill.
its like nestle do not care.
its about making as many products as possible never mind taste and how the wrapeers look.
its money money money.
ill be honest if us members here had our way we would have out own company retro sweets and make a fortune doing so.

[matt]

Re: Things just ain't what they use to be!

A DYR brand...now you’re talking Darren. I think I started a joke thread a while ago about what products we would bring back if DYR had a spin-off food company. Using a co-operative business model, all the members could pool their knowledge and resources and rake it in with some class products. Happy daysJ

[matt]

Re: Things just ain't what they use to be!

Oh and I have to agree with you about the likelihood of these manufacturers changing their game. The fact that virtually all packaging is as bad as it is reflects a deeper issue where companies are in it for the immediate profits instead of the long-term benefits of reducing excessive profit margins and upping quality. If there isn’t the willingness by execs to invest in design, ingredients etc then the people lower down in the chain cannot do anything but continue to churn out inferior products.

[Heather74]

Re: Things just ain't what they use to be!

Oxo cubes in little individual cardboard boxes, anyone remember those? They looked so muck more classy to the eye.Yes I know its only gravy lol.But they did look good!

[matt]

Re: Things just ain't what they use to be!

Hi huggie,

Do you mean each cube came in its own little cardboard box? Don't remember that but I do love Oxo tins. In fact, I found a few knocking about in the loft just the other day when clearing things out.

You probably have seen all of these before but they certainly brought a smile to my face so I thought they were worth the upload. Apologies for the signs of wearing.

[matt]

Re: Things just ain't what they use to be!

Here's more. I love how they've worked the Oxo branding in to the imagery which takes you over the course of a day.

[matt]

Re: Things just ain't what they use to be!

...and the final tin. I really like the family imagery in this one.

[Heather74]

Re: Things just ain't what they use to be!

Wow those are great Matt

Yes back when I were a lass each cube came in its own little box.
These maybe a liitle older than the ones I remember but pretty much the same


Does it really say water or MILK!!!???!! Well I never did! Eww

[matt]

Re: Things just ain't what they use to be!

That’s interesting huggie...wasn’t aware of that packaging. Anyways, better get the kettle on. Anyone for a milky cup of Oxo to dunk their digestives into?! I have sugar if you want - I find it complements the salty, meaty undertones beautifully.

[darren]

Re: Things just ain't what they use to be!

A DYR brand...now you’re talking Darren. I think I started a joke thread a while ago about what products we would bring back if DYR had a spin-off food company. Using a co-operative business model, all the members could pool their knowledge and resources and rake it in with some class products. Happy daysJ

----------------------------
i knew you would like that suggestion mate.
yes i remember those oxo cubes coming in there own box individually.
may only be oxo cubes but even for these they put in a lot of effort.
and it just looks so seventies that oxo packaging.
but so classy.
if we here at dyr brought all these back and raked money in i bet the big companies would follow suit.

[matt]

Re: Things just ain't what they use to be!

I think companies are trying so hard these days to keep up with trends, be socially responsible, drive down calories etc that they end up confusing themselves and the brands. With the amount of ‘free from’, ‘now x% lower in fat’ and ‘100% wholegrain’ type health messages now plastered very prominently across packaging I don’t know whether I’m buying a health product or a tasty treat.

A fine example of this is, again, Tetley. Originally Tetley was a class act with a very British feel to it and a warm, friendly identity courtesy of the Tea Folk. It then got rid of the Tea Folk, redesigned its packaging to convey a healthy/fresh look and focused its advertising budget on the health benefits of drinking tea. Of course, these health messages said nothing about why we as the consumers should buy Tetley, sapped all the fun and warmth out of the brand and totally missed the point of why the British drink tea in the first place. Of course, people became indifferent, sales dropped and years later they’ve had to bring back the Tea Folk.

Good business is pretty common sense stuff at the end of the day but what I have discovered over the years is that common sense is increasingly becoming one of man’s rarest qualities.

[sf1378]

Re: Things just ain't what they use to be!

what chance have u of bringing back the old packaging mate.

Hmm, more chance than you mate...it takes revolutionaries to make things work again....everythings gone to pot. Are there ANY ads on tv even we like these days? Not really, sometimes you get the odd one that stands out but its all the same dross, q.e.d with food and packaging thesedays. Things need to change in that industry, if it doesn't their profits will flounder over time....I expect now Tetley have (rightly) brought back the Gaffer et al, PG Tips will bring back the Chimps.

[matt]

Re: Things just ain't what they use to be!

sf1378,

“bring back the Chimps”...lol, I think a few of us here would like to see this but I don’t think it will happen or needs to happen. Admittedly, PG Tips packaging isn’t what it used to be with the tea lady on but at least they haven’t switched over to plastic and have tried hard to keep the brand fun with Johnny Vegas and the ‘monkey’ character. This has reflected itself in the brand’s ongoing success through the period of Tetley’s decline.

Of course, it’s great fun to see the revival of things like the Tea Folk but, at the same, it is sad that they have to resort to such strategies as it makes you wonder where the creativity has gone that created such characters in the first place. I love your determination to change things and really hope you do as I feel it might just take a new entrant to the market to show everyone the way. A recent hope for this was Cadbury heiress, Felicity Loudon, who promised to launch a British owned chocolate company in response to the Kraft takeover. Maybe I was being over optimistic – usually the case - but from what I heard Mrs. Loudon saying I was hopeful.

Regards,

Matthew