New Girl On The Rock

In the disposable gallery of commercial art, whose canvases are cake-mix boxes and soda cans, masterpieces are fleeting, constantly redesigned in a quest to keep up with modernity. In a reversal of what happens in real life, the passage of time has made the Old Dutch Cleanser woman grow svelter, Betty Crocker less dowdy, and Aunt Jemima less mammyish. Unlike all these, Psyche, the White Rock girl, has never had the slightest reason to be embarrassed by her old yearbook pictures. That’s why she has had only one major overhaul, in 1947, since her 1894 debut.

Yet Psyche is now showing her age. “Psyche is a great logo, but she’s definitely dated,” says Larry Bodkin, White Rock’s vice president of marketing. “Our challenge is to take June Cleaver and turn her into Cindy Crawford.” To give Psyche a makeover, the company recently invited art students to submit designs for a new logo. The judges included the ageless caricaturist Al Hirschfeld and the 1960s poster king Peter Max, no doubt chosen for his experience with pop art. The panel selected four finalists, including an abstract line drawing and a detailed hyper-realistic rendering. Soda-drinking Psychologists can vote for their favorite at www.whiterockbeverages.com/contest.html, with the new logo to appear on drink labels starting early next year.