Lay’s Chips and Helvetica?

This has got to go down as one of the most patently offensive uses of Helvetica (Helvetica Neue, specifically) that I have yet to come across. I don’t pretend to know what their multi-million dollar marketing dept was thinking, but this is terrible.First of all, it’s too narrow – are they suggesting that people will feel less guilty about eating these chips if the font face is thinner? There is no character, no appeal, no message in this packaging concept other than “don’t worry – you can eat these and stay thin.”The use of Helvetica here almost makes me imagine that these chips taste like concrete. To me, this looks like a font failed to open when printing to post-script. I see it on this package, and I almost see Courier. When I first saw this, I thought it had to be some kind of mistake…seriously. I laughed out loud, until I realized that it was intentional. Then I was somewhat disgusted.The rest of the packaging concept is good…I like the potato flaking off into chips – it suggests freshness and reminds us that the humble potato is still king of snacks. There is a certain wholesomeness to this image for me – but the bland, corporate, “unobtrusive” Helvetica just ruins it. Maybe something a little warmer and friendly? Like a bold Humanist or a Souvenir?

Tags: Graphic Design, helvetica, lays chips, packaging design