Pepsi «new-old logo» in the background is a large transformer logo
Ancient brands can always return to reworking their old images, but how effective will this be… For myself as a professional development.
«Brands with a long history can always look back. Using nostalgic imagery can have a very powerful effect. But companies need to be careful to make an outdated brand look fresh». /Tim Calkins, professor of marketing at the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University.
«Pepsi says the 2023 changes are distinctive enough to turn things around and highlight modern elements like the sugar-free Pepsi line». /https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/28/business/pepsi-new-logo/index.html/
So, on the pages of the press, Pepsi management justifies the «new-old» logo with a very convenient wording about the «initial result».
Note that one day, in the throes of «creative impotence,» you will be able to justify your work in this way, with the exploitation of successes from the past. The main thing is to spray, spray more background…

I don’t know about changes to the logo that «emphasize modern elements» (just changed the font a bit – the changes are definitely beneficial), but the backgrounds of the Pepsi 2023 logo are the essence of this redesign. As a matter of fact, we have observed all this over the last time… The so-called «diverging waves of energy» from the sign in the center of the composition are made in more modern numerous semantic variations (incl. for different places of sale of products).

It turns out that the backgrounds of the «Pepsi carpets» are a continuation of the transformation of the «new-old logo», i.e. this is generally such a large prefabricated logo («layer cake») with the main recognizable element («with a cherry on top»).
By the way, an instructive example for logomasters. The only thing that confuses me personally is the suggestion to the consumer through the media that in fact «new is not old», that they do not sell goods half a century ago, with tinting and in new packaging…

Images https://1000logos.net/pepsi-logo/
All of this is proof that an improved version of the Pepsi logo already existed in 1969, eclipsed by subsequent remakes, and now suddenly evolved. Naturally, any evolution of the identity will draw attention to the brand – this is the goal pursued.

P/S

My most vivid impression of the Pepsi brand is the Air France Concorde livery (Photo: Getty Images)
In 1995, I was trained at the Aviation Equipment Certification Center of the State Research Institute of Civil Aviation with a permit to perform exterior painting of civil aircraft using Scotcal 3M materials and technology.