Panera is embracing the weird this holiday season with a limited-edition collection of ‘ugly’ holiday cups.
The chain has partnered with TikTok star Emily Zugay on the collection, which features four reusable cups with intentionally bad designs.
Zugay went viral on TikTok this year for playing up her ‘passion for graphic design’ and redesigning the logos of big brands like McDonald’s, Amazon, and Apple.
The results — a mix of bad clip clipart, displeasing fonts, and misspelled names — left TikTok users in stitches and was quickly embraced by the brands themselves for maximum comedic effect.
Panera is embracing the weird this holiday season with a limited-edition collection of ‘ugly’ holiday cups
The chain has partnered with TikTok star Emily Zugay on the collection, which features four reusable cups with intentionally bad designs
One cup has a single snowflake and the word ‘Snowflakes,’ while a third has odd, boxy art of a gingerbread man, twinkle lights, and presents
‘We’re so excited to do something different from the rest this year with our 2021 Ugly Holiday Cup Collection launch in collaboration with TikTok sensation, Emily Zugay,’ reads a press release
Sweepstakes for a free set of the Panera Ugly Holiday Cup Collection can be found at PaneraUglyHolidayCups.com from today through December 6.
Only 125 fans will win.
One of the cups features a pink background with the misspelled word ‘raindeer’ written in a rainbow font, as well as a misshapen reindeer and several reindeer names — including incorrect ones like Donnar, Blixen, Cuppid, Dance, and Vickey — added all over.
Another has a single snowflake and the word ‘Snowflakes,’ while a third has odd, boxy art of a gingerbread man, twinkle lights, and presents.
‘We’re so excited to do something different from the rest this year with our 2021 Ugly Holiday Cup Collection launch in collaboration with TikTok sensation, Emily Zugay,’ Eduardo Luz, Panera’s Chief Brand & Concept Officer,’ said in a press release.
‘Our new holiday cups send a friendly message that while we may focus on décor, gifts and holiday cards during this busy season, it’s important not to lose sight of the things that come from within — joy, family, memories, traditions and of course, the Panera Coffee that will power you through the holidays.’
Zugay went viral on TikTok this year for playing up her ‘passion for graphic design’ and redesiging the logos of big brands like McDonald’s, Amazon, and Apple
The 24-year-old’s first went viral video came in September and has earned 15.9 million views
She hated the block design of H&R Block and made it round, but recycled the block design for an odd new Apple logo
For the Washington Post, she chose a jauntier font and added George W. Bush
Zugay, who is from Wisconsin, used Adobe Illustrator to make the designs, which she described as ‘repulsive but believable’
Zugay, 24, first went viral in September with a video that’s earned 15.9 million views.
‘I graduated college with a degree in design and I redseigned some popular logos I think we can all agree are ugly,’ she deadpanned.
She said that she didn’t ‘like anything about Starbucks’ logo and redsigned it with a ‘happier feel,’ revealing a choppy pastel logo with ‘Starbucks Cofee’ written accross it.
She also hated the block design of H&R Block and made it round, but recycled the block design for an odd new Apple logo.
When the video proved extremely popular, she shared several more, with redesigns for Target, the NFL (which she pronounces ‘niffel’), Tinder (renamed Tiddner), the Jonas Brothers, the Washington Post (featuring a photo of George W. Bush) and Doritos.
She said that she didn’t ‘like anything about Starbucks’ logo and redsigned it with a ‘happier feel,’ revealing a choppy pastel logo with ‘Starbucks Cofee’ written accross it
‘I graduated college with a degree in design and I redseigned some popular logos I think we can all agree are ugly,’ she deadpanned in the first video
‘Even folks who don’t know basic design principles would know that they are downright awful,’ she said
When the video proved extremely popular, she shared several more, with redesigns for Target, Ocean Spray, and more
Several brands were quick to embrace her work, including TikTok iteself
TikTok changed its logo on the app to the one Zugay made
Others included Nascar, Tampax, McDonald’s, Urban Decay, NASA, Funko, Adobe, and Ocean Spray.
Several brands were quick to embrace her work, including TikTok iteself, which changed its logo on the app to the one Zugay made.
Amazon made a video that put her new ‘Amason’ logo on boxes, trucks, and even planes.
The NFL team the Detroit Lions went so far as to create T-shirts with her redesign, which features several horizontal lines and the new name ‘Detroit Lines.’
The team also shared a video of members of the team opening up their new Detroit Lines T-shirts.
‘I try to take every beautiful design aspect and flip it on its head,’ she told Ellen DeGeneres, who called her ‘hilarious’
Others included McDonald’s, Urban Decay, NASA, Funko, Adobe, and the NFL (which she pronounces ‘niffel’)
The NFL team the Detroit Lions went so far as to create T-shirts with her redesign, which features several horizontal lines and the new name ‘Detroit Lines’
The team also shared a video of members of the team opening up their new Detroit Lines T-shirts
Zugay, who is from Wisconsin, used Adobe Illustrator to make the designs, which she described as ‘repulsive but believable.’
‘Even folks who don’t know basic design principles would know that they are downright awful,’ she told Insider.
‘I had been making ‘spoof’ style videos for a few months,’ she added to Newsweek. ‘I normally would choose an everyday task and make it harder or inefficient. The idea popped into my head while I was brainstorming one day. I actually do have a degree in design so, meshing the two world together sounded really funny to me.’
‘I try to take every beautiful design aspect and flip it on its head,’ she told Ellen DeGeneres, who called her ‘hilarious.’