April/May 1998
Addison, New York City, designed an entirely new environment; including storefronts, interior design schemes and unique counter designs that deliver on a fresh, consumer-friendly brand promise. The new retail identity includes the addition of a blue arch to the top of what had been a squarish, boxy storefront design. To generate motion and action, the logo (the Domino game piece) was tipped 45 degrees, the edges were softened, and it was moved to the side of the sign. A red line underneath the name adds visual impact and serves as a dynamic background for the brand’s tagline, "The Pizza Delivery Experts."
"This latest agreement provides additional strength to our branded sandwich program, which is a key part of our company’s home meal replacement activities," said David Clark, WSMP President. "We expect this program to create excitement with retailers who will now provide customers a full line of ready to heat and eat sandwiches under one of the nation’s best known restaurant brands."
The new product line will include cheeseburgers, chicken and other lunch and dinner sandwiches. Earlier this year, WSMP announced that it had joined forces with three other national restaurant companies to introduce new lines of sandwiches and burritos to be sold in supermarkets and other retail outlets.
The new look, billed as "retro-future," is described as more "neon-intensive" as part of an overall upgrade plan called Sonic 2000. The "retro-future" design program incorporates new signage, a redesigned parking canopy, additional neon, new colors, decorative pylons and fiber-optic lighting.
Sonic’s new look was designed by Lippincott & Margulies, an identity consulting firm. Said Patty Moore, Sr. V.P., Marketing, Sonic Corp., "Lippincott & Margulies understands that the drive-in restaurant is part of our cultural history. Together, we have developed a design that offers customers the positive images associated with the ideal drive-in restaurant of the past, while incorporating made-to-order, fast-food service for today’s on-the-go lifestyles."
KFC plans to distribute 6 million of the original toys. With the purchase of each meal, KFC will offer a wrist squirter, glowing goo "slime" in a Slimamander case, a water-spraying top, a bubble blowing wand, a Leap The Frog launcher and body tattoos.
KFC will showcase Slimamander in its stores with a poster visible at the drive-through area and another at the pick-up window. A static cling sticker of Slimamander will be displayed on the door, while a counter display will feature actual toys and a dimensional cutout of Slimamander.