Baskin-RobbinsCopied

Baskin-Robbins, the Inspire Brands chain famous for '31 flavors', a flavour for each day of the month, had refined its logo and typeface in late 2020 but had not truly relaunched in the US and Canada for nearly two decades. Marketing Dive read the 2022 move as a shift from counting flavours to consumer storytelling.

Vice-president of marketing and culinary Jerid Grandinetti framed it around small moments: made your bed, put on trousers with real buttons, reasons to celebrate. The new tagline was 'Seize the Yay'. He said the brand wanted to reflect the modern yet nostalgic feeling of enjoying ice cream at moments big and small.

ChangeUp, a retail experience agency, designed the logo and identity system. It leans into the brand's long use of circus imagery with circus-inspired lettering, cleaner lines and a less busy typeface, a vintage feel recalling the early days, according to Print, and it keeps the number 31 tucked inside the BR monogram. A new colour palette underpinned the makeover of packaging and employee uniforms. The positioning and campaign came from agency of record 22squared, starting with two 15-second spots, including a girl racing her bike like a truck ad and a child surviving the first day of school.

The Drum described the 76-year-old brand's bike spot in detail: a determined girl rides to a hard rock tune, the music cuts, and her mother is revealed clapping as she pedals past at a leisurely pace before they share pink ice cream. Grandinetti said the rebrand was grounded in authentic emotion and the happiness ice cream brings. The ad is charming in a way the tagline is not.

It launched on 11 April 2022 with three new flavours and, from 18 April, the brand's first line of merchandise, including clothing, hats and a bike. Marketing Dive placed it in a wave of 2022 legacy refreshes alongside M&M's, Coca-Cola and Anheuser-Busch.

The hidden 31 survives, which was the one thing that mattered. The circus lettering is warmer and more ownable than the bland version it replaced, and the longstanding pink and blue still read as Baskin-Robbins from across a car park. 'Seize the Yay' is forgettable, but the logo is a genuine improvement.