The Challenge

The role for semiotics was to conduct an analysis of gum pack and advertising codes in the gum market in the US. This was juxtaposed against emergent themes in youth culture in the mid 2000s. This revealed that gum was polarised between naïve and childish or adult and formal cultural codes. No brands captured the essence of the teen target. The cultural analysis generated the edgy areas of ‘colourful macabre’ and ‘gothic neon’. Strategic extrapolation led a creative design brief designed to appeal to ‘experience junkies’.

Semiotic Role

The role for semiotics was to compare and contrast pack and advertising codes in the gum market in the US emergent themes in youth culture in the mid 2000s. This yielded an insight into the childish or overly formal gum codes and precocious adult codes of the teen market. The juxtaposition yielded design thinking inspiration areas.

Outcomes

Wrigley’s 5 has been a fabulously successful product. At time of writing the client estimated that the brand had garnered a 10% share of the multi billion US dollar US gum market. Its packaging, inspired by semiotic insight has won a number of awards.