Often heralded as many millennials’ first gulp of alcohol, the Bacardi Breezer was launched in the 1990s and was one of the original Ready-to-Drinks (RTDs). Sweet, fruity and alarmingly colourful, they dominated the market for two decades until they were discontinued in 2015 in the UK.

However, a RTDs renaissance is currently in full swing with pre-mixed cocktails and hard seltzers not just handy for cheeky train journeys but these days an easy accompaniment to the joys of staying in. In 2022 the RTDs market was estimated to be valued at $36.42bn, and so in a bid to show everyone who did it first, the original alcopop is back but now simply called Breezer, with a rebrand that aims to celebrate its heritage. 

London-based agency Knockout, which specialises in drinks and spirits, was brought on for the Breezer rebrand and tasked with creating a refreshed global identity to “recruit the next generation of drinkers” having had a relatively soft launch first in 2019. From packaging to OOH advertising, the approach has been to play on the drinks’ refreshing characteristics. 

“Breezer had been enjoying great popularity in markets like India, Scandinavia, South Africa and Canada,” says Dominic Burke, founder and creative director at Knockout.

“The brand saw an opportunity to showcase a visual confidence that more powerfully established it as a stand-alone player in the category that it had helped to pioneer. This rebrand amplifies that legacy, giving Breezer the iconic assets to demonstrate its authority in the RTD category.”

Gone is the classic Bacardi bat, and instead a new crown icon has been created as a nod to the brand’s heritage. The crown has been made to look like it’s been splashed onto the packaging to signal “playful refreshment”.

The wordmark has also been updated with a more contemporary typeface, and sees rays of sunshine emanating from behind to echo the sun rising from the horizon and “bring the daytime drink occasion to life”.    

As part of the bottle design, the neck and bottom half of the label contain colourful abstract patterns that mimic the flavours of the range, of which there are a kaleidoscopic 17 different choices available. 

Influenced by street art, the patterns combine dotted screenprinting and varnish texturing to add a tactility to the packaging that intends to look and feel like fruit skin. Overall, the rebrand hopes to demonstrate the evolution of Breezer and reposition it as a premium product. 

knockout-design.com