Uh-oh, Starbucks simplified their logo. Will the consumer be able to handle rush hour? Aren’t folks’ Monday mornings hard enough? It’s rough out there for those fond of “their brands;” from the new Pepsi “smiles” and the Gap logo revamp fiasco to Starbucks bringing its little mermaid to the forefront. As we grow old and change, so do the products and services all around us. Even I remember a dark day in ‘03 when I saw that UPS was retiring Paul Rand’s “box tie” logo.
People tend to not agree with what they are not familiar, and may get p.o.’d when a brand they’re close to changes its appearance. And, as with most things in life, change can be great or it can bite you in the butt. Companies will continue to look into the mirror from time-to-time with or without the consumers blessing… but watch-out: social media has created an immediate response-vehicle from the masses.
My personal opinion matters not in response to these recent identity face lifts; for the most part I look upon others’ creative with a “glass half full” eye and I do like when companies throw a curve ball to shock the system. But I’ll end by saying as far as mega-corporations logos go, there have been the bad & good, but I sit here and think the last really clever rebrands seem as long ago as ‘94 (FedEx) and ’98 (Citi).
