Jif simply rebranded for the primary time in 30 years, and it’s a (uncommon) instance of modernize a beloved model with out killing its quirk.
The up to date branding will seem throughout all of Jif’s merchandise beginning this fall, and features a new wordmark, brand, fonts, and images. On August 10, Jif dropped a brand new marketing campaign referred to as “Each Jif’ing Factor,” which highlights the unfold’s many use instances—suppose smoothies, yogurt bowls, and peanut noodles. Collectively, these efforts are a part of a broader repositioning plan from Jif.
The model told Marketing Dive that whereas 85% of shoppers may acknowledge the Jif brand by its pink, blue, and inexperienced stripes, they largely related it with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. As Jif works on increasing its product portfolio into new improvements like squeezable tubes and peanut butter and chocolate unfold, the model’s new look is supposed to convey that it’s not only a element of your youngsters’ favourite sandwich—it’s additionally, per a press launch, “a pure complement to an apple slice, rice cake, cracker, and even merely loved from a spoon” (we’ve all been there).
In an period when model refreshes are in vogue, what stands out about Jif’s evolution isn’t what’s modified, however what’s stayed the identical. The model has neatly taken an ultra-subtle method with its wordmark, and, by staying true to its funky lettering, it manages to look extra fashionable with out shedding recognizability.
Jif will get a beyond-PB&J glow-up
In 2023, Quick Firm declared it the period of the “big rebrand.” In 2024, the rebrand was useless, changed with the “refresh”—ostensibly the identical idea, with a lighter, much less all-encompassing contact. At the moment, firms are nonetheless a lot faster to replace their branding in a bid to remain fashionable than they’re to carry off to take care of model recognizability.
In the case of logos, that may imply sacrificing established model fairness (as within the case of Eddie Bauer, Saint Laurent, and Johnson & Johnson) for the sake of modernity or legibility. Jif—which is without doubt one of the manufacturers owned by large $14 billion meals and beverage conglomerate J.M. Smucker—had the built-in benefit that its 30-year-old brand was already in a daring, easy-to-read font (no pesky scripts right here). Nonetheless, the earlier look had loads of quirks that the model may simply have smoothed out in service of a sleeker id.
The jot above the “i” was comically outsized and squished; the stems of the “J” and “f” have been so chunky that solely a sliver of area poked in between; and the crossbar of the “f” was disproportionately skinny and brief.
Slightly than eradicating these traits to excellent the emblem, the staff at Jif opted as an alternative for less-invasive tweaks. The brand new model appears to be like largely the identical, simply and not using a drop shadow or serifs.
“For all of our manufacturers, we concentrate on representing them in a fashion that’s genuine to the model, their historical past, and what they imply to shoppers,” says Kara Buckler, senior director of artistic and design at J.M. Smucker. “With the Jif refresh, we honored the long-lasting components folks know and love whereas additionally invigorating the model with a cleaner, bolder look.”
To sign its repositioning, Jif is counting on the packaging’s new images to do a lot of the heavy lifting. Throughout numerous SKUs, photographs of spreads on rice crackers, apples, celery, and pretzels assist cue clients in on Jif’s beyond-PB&J glow-up. Its tricolor brand has additionally been shriveled so that every SKU is outlined by its personal distinct label colour.
The brand new Jif winks on the model’s broadening ambitions with out alienating its cross-generational followers. It’s a reminder that oftentimes the most effective rebrands are about restraint.
