Popeyes Chicken & Biscuits' President and CEO Cheryl Bachelder announced the launch of a new name and look for the international fast-food chain in 2008. The refreshed brand identity developed by Pentagram is part of an overall effort to update the restaurant's image and to make it more appealing to a younger generation. Popeyes, which is known for its spicy Cajun-style fried chicken and red beans and rice, has a rabidly enthusiastic following, but the brand was beginning to look generic and tired to the fast-food loving target audience of 18- to 24-year-olds.
The new identity emphasizes the restaurant's rich Louisiana Gulf Coast culinary heritage and distinguishes itself from the stiff fast-food competition. The designers created an evolved logotype that updates the easily recognizable word-mark originally inspired by the "dancing" letterforms used in old Popeyes comics. A simple icon based on the single dancing "P" of the original letterforms and a new crest featuring the words "Louisiana Kitchen" are designed to be additional components of the flexible identity system.
