In addition to new advertising support, the 43-year-old Diet Pepsi brand received a makeover that features a blue and silver design. A bold new “diet” font and logo were created to make the graphics jump off the can. It’s a “modern, slightly more masculine look that helps the brand appeal to emerging Diet Pepsi drinkers from Generation X while staying true to loyal fans of all ages,” the company says. Pepsi-Cola celebrated the new look by handing out more than 3 million samples and conducting double-blind taste tests through an outside research firm in cities nationwide on May 3.

Celsius Holdings Inc., Delray Beach, Fla., added 12-ounce cans to the packaging options available for Celsius. The calorie-burning soda’s can features a sleek design with the same graphics found on its bottle. Like its bottle counterpart, Celsius cans are available individually, and also are sold in four-packs.

Beam Global Spirits & Wine Inc., Deerfield, Ill., developed a new package for Ronrico Rum. The crest and the year 1860 on the existing Ronrico labels have been preserved to become the focal point of the new shield-like label, a move away from the standard rectangular-shaped label used now. The upgrade will be included on the entire Ronrico line, including its Silver, Gold, Citrus, Vanilla and Pineapple-Coconut marquees.

Graphic Packaging International Inc., Marietta, Ga., matched the advertising slogan for Milwaukee’s Best beer — “Brewed For a Man’s Taste”— with a carton for the beer’s Regular, Light and Ice products that are “packaged for a man’s hand.” Miller Brewing Co. wanted an opening feature that would achieve three objectives: appeal to the male target audience of Milwaukee’s Best, improve access to the product and have minimal impact on production costs. The solution was a variation of GPI’s Fridge Vendor. The new easy-opening feature, called Rip & Grip, is promoted to consumers on the package exterior. Additional production costs are minimal because the 12-can package maintains the existing three row by four can configuration.