The Reasons Behind Major Controversial Rebrands
One of the biggest difficulties in developing an effective brand is that it needs to have two aspects that appear to be mutually exclusive. A great brand needs to be a constant, unchanging and immediately recognisable piece of iconography that can be picked up from a distance in a busy marketplace, but it also needs to be adaptable and feel like it fits in the modern world.
As a result, rebrands are almost inevitable, with the rare exception of companies such as Disney, some of which are more dramatic and controversial than others. However, whilst the Gap’s ill-fated redesign was so poorly received it was recalled in a week, other rebranding exercises have been controversial but significantly more successful. Here are the reasons why major brands went through a rebranding exercise and why they worked.
Bacardi
A bizarre example of a rebrand that brought back older design sensibilities, Bacardi went from a highly stylised bat logo in 2010 to a much more highly-detailed depiction in 2013. Initially, people were taken aback by the move, which reversed 60 years of the logo gradually simplifying its iconography, but the reason behind it made perfect sense. In an alcohol world that is far more interested in craft beers and spirits, Bacardi’s more corporate identity is a disadvantage, but by returning to an established, sophisticated logo, the rum company fits the current industry zeitgeist far more.
Apple
Apple’s branding has remained largely consistent since 1977, with the bitten apple being the primary piece of iconography for almost the company’s entire existence. However, prior to 1998, the Apple logo featured a spectrum of colours that were suddenly removed in 1998, when Steve Jobs returned to the company. This was a statement of purpose for Mr Jobs, who made a raft of sweeping changes and turned around a company that was at one point months from bankruptcy. The shift to a simpler, minimalist logo matched the move to simpler, minimalist machines.
Google’s logo has always been pretty simple, and its changes have been an example of iterative refinement that has turned a good logo into a great one. You can see this iterative approach in action from the very first logo in 1997, which was a fully 3D affair before the chunky text was gradually slimmed down, the colours brightened and finally, the serif font was removed.
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