When I first saw these on the shelves, I was a little shocked. I still am. Why is Herbal Essences channeling “preteen sunscreen” in their packaging? Where is the “herbal essence”?
I have this weird nostalgia about this brand being my grandma’s favorite shampoo back in the ’90s, and I think she was sold on the original packaging, the one with the herb decals showing through the honey-colored shampoo. Even when I was 9 years old, I was sold on it too. So was my mom, who bought it pretty regularly. It was so great, why in the world would they replace it with artificial coloring, cheesy Illustrator brush swirl, and this weird shiny emblem? What happened to the brand?
I wish I knew what they were thinking. It’s like they outsourced their marketing department to a freshman business class in some average state school. Harsh, I know.
What really kills me is their apparent attempt at cross-selling the shampoo and conditioner. They’re trying to get you interested in a complementary product with a trivia question, what is this! As you’ll see in the picture, the shampoo has a trivia-type question aimed at the 18-24 female crowd. You’re supposed to find the answer on the conditioner bottle, and vice versa.
Who in their right mind would actually care??
They’re lucky the shampoo works well for my hair type at the price point I don’t mind. But still, what are they thinking?
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why Herbal Essences is just silly.