Bold new look for Valvoline

The introduction begins a phase-in of redesigned packaging for the Lexington, KY-based company's line of over 40 products. Reaching more than 100 countries with a variety of packaging, the 132-year-old company wanted to create a single package design with worldwide appeal. "We made a corporate decision to centralize our brand identity globally because we recognized we were having a big problem trying to control the brand regionally," says Valvoline president James J. O'Brien. For the U.S. market, Graham Packaging (york, PA) supplies the high-density polyethylene extrusion/blow-molded bottles, which have an easy-grip design. Design firm Libby Perszyk Kathman (Cincinnati, OH) repositioned the brand's signature "V" for added prominence, and made it slightly bolder, while keeping the brand's red, white and blue colors. Pressure-sensitive labels consist of a 60# coated-one-side semi-gloss paper with a UV-varnish. They are flexo-printed in six colors by Design Label (East Lyme, CT). In the U.S., the suggested retail price for the one-quart DuraBlend is $1.99. The product is planned to penetrate over 100 countries by fall '98.