Last time I talked about drugstore makeup, I got a lot of emails/messages asking me what CVS stands for. Come to think of it, I don't actually know what CVS stands for...some sort of bastardization of ConVenience Store, maybe? CVS is a chain American drugstore: like the white version of Mannings/Guardian/Watson. (Except multiplied by a hundred times because it's in America, the country where land is cheap & shit like "Bumpits: Hair Volumizing Inserts" exists.)
Similarly to most drugstores, CVS also makes its own versions of many household products which they market as a cheaper alternative "comparable to XXXX brand". But I never actually noticed just how closely they rip off the original designs of branded products until today, when I was browsing around (like the drugstore hunter I am).
Now, I'm not above CVS making cheaper versions of products that are usually just as good. I mean, I'm as cheap as you can get, and when it comes to picking towards the $8.99 Band-Aids or the $6.99 CVS Bandages, I'm gonna go with the CVS. And my cuts and scrapes are not going to sense any difference. But when it comes to blatantly copying product design and packaging, that's another story.
All photos taken covertly and giggle-ly with my iPhone, since I didn't want to arouse the wrath of the tattooed CVS employee prowling the aisles.
Lets start in the skincare aisle:
Neutrogena knock-off; similar colors and tube
Dove soap knock-offs, cleverly sandwiched between the real stuff. They clearly didn't even bother to think of their own product names: "deep moisturizing", "gentle exfoliating", and "sensitive skin"
L'Oreal refreshing toner in exactly the same shade
The Aveeno knock-offs were among the most convincing. It'd be so easy to just casually grab the wrong thing.
Sunlotion wasn't safe either, with all three shades of Coppertone getting jacked
It's pretty clear which one's the crappy Ponds remix here, but still: ballsy copy
CVS Collagen vs L'Oreal Collagen
CVS stealing Olay's distinctive black-clear packaging
But it's not just the cosmetics and skincare that's getting remade. Some other random stuff too:
Robitussin, meet "CVS Tussin." This one is actually quite hard to distinguish quickly.
Clorox with bleach...or CVS with bleach?
Would you shove CVS copied fungal antibiotics up your vagina? Didn't think so.
Even the CVS tampons rip off the same green-yellow-purple ribbon coloring. AND the distribution of 8 supers, 20 regulars, and 8 lights. Come on CVS, we don't mind you producing tampons but isn't this a bit much?
Tissues also follow the same color scheme and rustic floral design as Kleenex
Zantac acid relief vs the CVS stuff - both with same distinctive aqua coloring
My favorite: the comparable CVS enema! Somehow I have trouble imagining that there are enough people in Providence who buy enemas to justify CVS creating its own brand...
There are a shitton more, but I didn't want to overload this already-very-image-taxed-post with even more photos. I feel like it's kind of cheap for CVS to just rip off some other product's design (no matter how crappy it was to begin with) in hopes of capitalizing on their gains, and I guess I'm just a little shocked at how blatant all of this is. Do they really think people are just going to grab the wrong thing off of the shelves? I'm sure the products themselves are probably pretty comparable at cheaper prices: but come on, CVS. This is just laziness and borderline theft, now.
Eh, at least it made for an interesting hunt.
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Thursday, December 10, 2009 at 3:16PM 
Reader Comments (8)
HAHA I WANNA GO TO CVS TAKE ME TAKE ME TAKE ME TAKE ME!
Then we'll go crazy buying dirt-cheap makeup & testing it on my sensitive skin!
(The Loreal one was bad, they even copied the LID).
WAHHHHHHHH yvonen has uncovered a mass (conspiracy isn't exactly the right word) but anyways this was like a drugstore version of where's waldo...i really had to hunt to see which one was the cvs one sometimes. i'm surprised they haven't been sued, how much more obvious could they be haha
FUN!
lol i would never stay in a cvs for that long :P hahaha you and your simple american joys
cool post yv! seriously had to hunt to find the original "tussin".
sort of envy the person who gets to copy all the packaging... it must be really satisfying to "design" something that's so close to the original that it confuses customers.
i actually think CVS is being smart. having similar packaging reminds customers that both the discounted and the original products are probably of exactly the same quality - perhaps even made in the same factory (maybe?). i think l'oreal only costs so much because it's l'oreal.
plus, i'd feel better buying a discounted brand if it looks good - almost as good as the original. more effective than using generic, often boring packaging that enforces the idea that you are buying a second-class product.
then again, i haven't tried the knockoff stuff - maybe the quality is crappy? lol sorry for ranting oh and I SENT YOU SOMETHING COOL IN THE MAIL TODAY! - tara :) (be a bit creepy to sign that as anon)
@Chien Teng hhaha you are discovering my love for drugstore makeup! :P
@Sarah LOVED WHERE'S WALDO. Me & my friend literally ran through every aisle of CVS giggling at the copies...we are cool
@Thomas KEWL!
@Christina what can I say, you know how easily amused I am :P
@Anon/Tara I agree that CVS is being smart...because if I was buying a rip-off I'd probably want one that looks similar, and I think that in most cases both products will probably do exactly the same thing...but I feel like this kind of copying isn't really fair to the people who designed the original product. I don't know if it's actually infringement they could be sued for, but I'd rather CVS spend money on good and unique design -especially since when you put the CVS product next to the original, the CVS product still comes out looking cheaper :P
This is hilarious. I mean, I thought it was completely natural when I first saw it, but when you boil the mimicry down to a single, sharp blog post, it's pretty hilar.
Love you Maymay
LOL, I SAW THE BUMPITS AND SERIOUSLY CONSIDERED GETTING ONE. But then I thought I would probably look like Tracy Turnblad if I installed it with my hair, and decided against it.
Oh my god, the enemas. And fungal antibiotics. I thought they just stopped at the skincare and Kleenex, but how woefully wrong I was. D: Although, no matter how cheap the packaging is, there hasn't been news of name brands suing CVS over ripping them off, so I suppose it must be a loophole in copyright packaging law. ><