{"id":28852,"date":"2015-10-27T05:00:52","date_gmt":"2015-10-27T12:00:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/creativemarket.com\/blog\/?p=28852"},"modified":"2024-09-14T03:46:11","modified_gmt":"2024-09-14T10:46:11","slug":"20-rebranding-disasters-you-can-learn-from","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/creativemarket.com\/blog\/20-rebranding-disasters-you-can-learn-from","title":{"rendered":"20 Major Rebranding Failures and What They Teach Us"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Rebranding is a natural part of a company\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s life. You don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t wear the same stuff you did in high school, so why should a business keep the same image in maturity that it had at the beginning?<\/p>\n<p>More and more companies are engaging in rebranding campaigns. 20th century companies are beginning to hit their midlife crises, and as with people, that means lazy attempts to catch up with current trends. For a man, that might mean studying Urban Dictionary for too long and hitting up women his daughter\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s age on OKCupid. But for a company, it means slapping on a flat-design logo and hiring that man to <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BrandsSayingBae\">call their Twitter followers &#8220;bae&#8221;.<\/a> That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s why most bad rebranding campaigns are of the <em>trying-to-fix-what-ain\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t-broke<\/em> variety.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p data-pm-slice=\"1 1 []\">Sometimes it seems like certain designers are going above and beyond to screw up a rebrand. That&#8217;s why we&#8217;ve collected some of the worst rebranding disasters since Jefferson Starship, and classified them as either \u201cToo Bland\u201d, \u201cToo Weird\u201d, \u201cGood Idea, Bad Execution\u201d or \u201cBad Idea, Bad Execution\u201d.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Too_Bland\"><\/span>Too Bland<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"1_GapaE%E2%84%A2s_100_Million_Dollar_Gradient\"><\/span>1. Gap\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s 100 Million Dollar Gradient<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-29004\" src=\"https:\/\/d3ui957tjb5bqd.cloudfront.net\/uploads\/2015\/10\/09051424\/Gap-Logos-Final.jpg.webp\" alt=\"Gap Logos Final\" width=\"680\" height=\"158\" \/><\/p>\n<p data-pm-slice=\"1 1 []\">Kicking off our list of branding failures examples: the famed fashion brand, Gap.<\/p>\n<p>Gap used the same logo for longer than most graphic designers have been alive, so the decision to try out a new one was at least understandable. What I can&#8217;t understand is why Gap decided to replace the iconic stretchy serifs of their original logo with Helvetica and a little gradient box capable of pleasing nobody. And wait, it cost <em>how much?<\/em><\/p>\n<p>The outcry after their surprise unveiling of this new logo\u00a0from loyal customers\u00a0was so bad that\u00a0the company decided it\u00a0had to return to the original after just one week. Lesson learned: If your current look works, a redesign should enhance it or put a new spin on it, not turn it into a tasteless mush.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"2_MastercardaE%E2%84%A2s_Color_Blob_New_Logo_That_Simply_Didnt_Work\"><\/span>2. Mastercard\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Color Blob New Logo That Simply Didn&#8217;t Work<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-29005\" src=\"https:\/\/d3ui957tjb5bqd.cloudfront.net\/uploads\/2015\/10\/09051427\/MasterCard-Logo.jpg.webp\" alt=\"MasterCard-Logo\" width=\"680\" height=\"233\" \/><\/p>\n<p>In an era of <em>all-flat everything<\/em>, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s nice to see someone still trying to use gradients, but, you know&#8230; not in the worst way possible. Surprised they didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t toss in a few lens flares to finish it off.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-29006\" src=\"https:\/\/d3ui957tjb5bqd.cloudfront.net\/uploads\/2015\/10\/09051432\/MasterCard-Logo-Flares.jpg.webp\" alt=\"MasterCard-Logo Flares\" width=\"680\" height=\"595\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Worst of all, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not centered right. If you didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t notice that before, you will now. In fact, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s all you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll see. Your eye is twitching.<\/p>\n<p data-pm-slice=\"1 1 []\">Any new logo should have meaning. This one&#8217;s just a lazy redraw of the old logo without its good qualities.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"3_NBC_UniversalaE%E2%84%A2s_Text_Box\"><\/span>3. NBC Universal\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Text Box<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-29007\" src=\"https:\/\/d3ui957tjb5bqd.cloudfront.net\/uploads\/2015\/10\/09051435\/NBC-Universal-Final.jpg.webp\" alt=\"NBC Universal Final\" width=\"680\" height=\"436\" \/><\/p>\n<p>A loaf of white bread in text form, NBC Universal\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s new logo looks like it took all of two minutes in MS Paint. In fact, even a design that literally took two minutes in MS Paint would look better if you paid attention to spacing.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-28867\" src=\"https:\/\/d3ui957tjb5bqd.cloudfront.net\/uploads\/2015\/10\/09051438\/Nailed-it.jpg.webp\" alt=\"Nailed it\" width=\"680\" height=\"179\" \/><\/p>\n<p>See?<\/p>\n<p data-pm-slice=\"1 1 []\">This is a clear example of a rebranding campaign gone horribly wrong. The original logo was bold, almost iconic, forming a huge part of the brand&#8217;s visual identity. The new terrible logo design, meanwhile, is bland, basic, and sure to bore both a new audience and existing customers alike.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"4_Best_Buy_DoesnaE%E2%84%A2t_Even_Try\"><\/span>4. Best Buy Doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t Even Try<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-29008\" src=\"https:\/\/d3ui957tjb5bqd.cloudfront.net\/uploads\/2015\/10\/09051441\/Best-Buy.jpg.webp\" alt=\"Best-Buy\" width=\"680\" height=\"263\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Best Buy\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s logo encapsulates what they are: a big blocky building full of reasonably priced stuff. Their short-lived one from 2008 encapsulated jack squat. No meaning or purpose could be extracted from that chunk of flat design blandness.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"5_The_BuccaneersaE%E2%84%A2_Vector_Trace\"><\/span>5. The Buccaneers\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Vector Trace<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-29009\" src=\"https:\/\/d3ui957tjb5bqd.cloudfront.net\/uploads\/2015\/10\/09051445\/Buccanners.jpg.webp\" alt=\"Buccanners\" width=\"680\" height=\"290\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Maybe I just can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t resist the urge to get in a dig at my home city\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s team, but their new logo is completely devoid of the original\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s hand-drawn character and grit.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p data-pm-slice=\"1 1 []\">They at least tried to maintain consistency with this logo change, sticking with the same core values and iconic logo they&#8217;ve always had while attempting to add some modernity to it.<\/p>\n<p>Unfortunately, it looks like something a first-year design student came up with in Illustrator on hearing the print shop next to the Chinese take-out will do a custom tee for 1\/5 of the price of a jersey.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"6_Whatever_Sony_Calls_This\"><\/span>6. Whatever Sony Calls This<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-29010\" src=\"https:\/\/d3ui957tjb5bqd.cloudfront.net\/uploads\/2015\/10\/09051450\/ffw5n0rryliwcq7kzqqr.jpg.webp\" alt=\"ffw5n0rryliwcq7kzqqr\" width=\"680\" height=\"462\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Every now and then, in the world of marketing, you come across something that makes you think \u00e2\u20ac\u0153they got college degrees for THIS?\u00e2\u20ac <a href=\"http:\/\/gawker.com\/sonys-embarrassing-powerpoints-are-even-worst-than-thei-1666403941\">Recently, the internet got a glimpse of Sony\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s branding strategies<\/a> that explain why movies not based on 80&#8217;s cartoons will soon be a thing of the past \u00e2\u20ac\u201d because they see film not as art or even entertainment, but \u00e2\u20ac\u0153an ecosystem of content and brand initiatives.\u00e2\u20ac<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Too_Weird\"><\/span>Too Weird<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"7_Cottbus_GermanyaE%E2%84%A2s%E2%80%A6_Uh%E2%80%A6\"><\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.brandinfection.com\/2009\/01\/21\/probably-the-worst-city-logo-ever-designed\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">7. Cottbus, Germany\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s&#8230; Uh&#8230;<\/a><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-28878\" src=\"https:\/\/d3ui957tjb5bqd.cloudfront.net\/uploads\/2015\/10\/09051453\/logo_cottbus-595x3471-1.jpg.webp\" alt=\"logo_cottbus-595x347[1]\" width=\"680\" height=\"397\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Going for complete abstraction isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t a good idea for a logo. And neither is making something this complex. If you can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t draw it from memory, you should at least think twice about it.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"8_Anything_PricewaterhouseCoopers_has_Touched\"><\/span>8. Anything PricewaterhouseCoopers has Touched.<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-29011\" src=\"https:\/\/d3ui957tjb5bqd.cloudfront.net\/uploads\/2015\/10\/09051456\/Strategy-and-Co-Final.jpg.webp\" alt=\"Strategy and Co Final\" width=\"680\" height=\"544\" \/><\/p>\n<p>When professional services company PricewaterhouseCoopers, an odd name itself, dropped their consulting wing, it was left looking for a new name, it found \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Monday.\u00e2\u20ac Not even Monday Consulting. Just Monday. It didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t last very long, possibly because no one could Google it.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>But, as evidenced several years later, they didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t learn: when you buy a company called Booz &amp; Co, then the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Booz\u00e2\u20ac guy leaves, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s pretty easy to come up with something better. How about\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 Anything? Well, almost anything. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s pretty impressive that PricewaterhouseCoopersCalifragilisticexpiolodocious managed to pick one of the worst ones possible: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Strategy&amp;\u00e2\u20ac.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>What comes after the ampersand? Nothing but disappointment. They said they picked it because the company adds value to their brand, but that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s misunderstanding how ampersands work on a basic level.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"9_That_Whole_New_Coke_Brand_Identity_Thing\"><\/span>9. That Whole New Coke Brand Identity\u00a0Thing<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-29012\" src=\"https:\/\/d3ui957tjb5bqd.cloudfront.net\/uploads\/2015\/10\/09051500\/New-Coke.jpg.webp\" alt=\"New Coke\" width=\"680\" height=\"634\" \/><\/p>\n<p>I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want to do New Coke. New Coke jokes are the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153What\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the deal with airline food?\u00e2\u20ac of design articles. But due to that same ubiquity, paradoxically, no article on massive design failures would be complete without it.<\/p>\n<p data-pm-slice=\"1 1 []\">In a way, Coca-Cola is admirable for its willingness to keep throwing flavors at the wall and seeing what sticks. After all, when you&#8217;ve already built the world&#8217;s most iconic brand, why let it stagnate?<\/p>\n<p>And\u00a0according to many customers,\u00a0the new version of Coca-Cola\u00a0tasted better than the original.\u00a0That&#8217;s obviously good news for boosting brand loyalty and brand value, too. But the problem here is that they tried to fully replace it. However, people like what they like, and taking it away from them because you think your new thing is better isn&#8217;t a solid strategy.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Good_Idea_Bad_Execution\"><\/span>Good Idea, Bad Execution<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"10_Yahoo_Changes_Very_Little_In_Its_Rebranding_Process\"><\/span>10. Yahoo Changes Very Little In Its Rebranding Process<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-28881\" src=\"https:\/\/d3ui957tjb5bqd.cloudfront.net\/uploads\/2015\/10\/09051504\/yahoo-logo-large-e1443622029729.jpg.webp\" alt=\"yahoo-logo-large\" width=\"680\" height=\"340\" \/><\/p>\n<p data-pm-slice=\"1 1 []\">If any site needed a rebranding effort, it was Yahoo. From their boxy and cluttered web design to their AOL-ish compulsion to do a thousand jobs at once, everything about the site screams \u201c90&#8217;s\u00e2\u20ac. (Except for the opinions of Yahoo News commenters, which scream \u201c20&#8217;s\u00e2\u20ac)<\/p>\n<p>They are the internet&#8217;s ultimate <em>jack-of-all-trades-but-master-of-none<\/em>, a throwback to the days when you went to one site for email, news, and your horoscope because loading another one would take an hour. So, why didn&#8217;t their rebranding attempt address any of that?<\/p>\n<p>Instead of finding what they do best and rebranding themselves with a focus on that, Yahoo just changed their visuals, as if that was all it took to attract a new base and bolster their brand reputation. That&#8217;s putting a body kit on a car with no steering wheel, then wondering why it doesn&#8217;t turn heads when you fail to pull it out of the garage.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"11_SeattleaE%E2%84%A2s_Best_Blood_Drive\"><\/span>11. Seattle\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Best Blood Drive<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-28882\" src=\"https:\/\/d3ui957tjb5bqd.cloudfront.net\/uploads\/2015\/10\/09051508\/SeattlesBestCoffeeLogoNewa.jpg.webp\" alt=\"SeattlesBestCoffeeLogoNewa[\" width=\"680\" height=\"316\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Overlaps with \u00e2\u20ac\u0153too bland\u00e2\u20ac. The idea to simplify Seattle\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Best\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s busy old logo into something more iconic was a good one, but they ignored basic color and shape symbolism \u00e2\u20ac\u201d when people see red and a drop, they think \u00e2\u20ac\u0153blood\u00e2\u20ac, even if the drop itself isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t red.<\/p>\n<p data-pm-slice=\"1 1 []\">A simple wrong color choice completely wrecked their rebranding efforts, making this one of the most visually disappointing rebranding failures of all.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"12_DeviantArt_Instantly_Loses_Brand_Recognition\"><\/span>12. DeviantArt Instantly Loses Brand Recognition<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-29013\" src=\"https:\/\/d3ui957tjb5bqd.cloudfront.net\/uploads\/2015\/10\/09051511\/deviantart_logo.jpg.webp\" alt=\"deviantart_logo\" width=\"680\" height=\"101\" \/><\/p>\n<p>This would be a decent logo for a company that starts with a Z, but as a D and an A, it comes off looking very forced. Not to mention the ongoing debate over whether it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s plagiarized, being almost exactly the same as <a href=\"http:\/\/platzkart.ru\/\">Platzkart.ru<\/a>\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"13_Dr_PepperaE%E2%84%A2s_Testosterone_Overdose\"><\/span>13. Dr. Pepper\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Testosterone Overdose<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-28885\" src=\"https:\/\/d3ui957tjb5bqd.cloudfront.net\/uploads\/2015\/10\/09051515\/dr-pepper-101.jpg.webp\" alt=\"dr-pepper-10[1]\" width=\"680\" height=\"514\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Problem: men aren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t buying enough diet soda, possibly because it has too womanly a stigma attached to it. Solution? If you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re Dr. Pepper, you make a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=qRuNxHqwazs\">Powerthirst<\/a> ad, but without the charming silliness. Dr. Pepper 10 ads could have been funny if they hadn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t started the campaign out by declaring the soda \u00e2\u20ac\u0153NOT FOR WOMEN\u00e2\u20ac and pulling stunts like posting a flash game on their site where players shoot at makeup and other symbols of femininity. The ads alienated one gender and made the other not want to try it for fear of looking like the idiots the company thought they were. So treat your viewers with some respect instead of dumbing down for them.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"14_PepsiaE%E2%84%A2s_Dan_Brown_Novel\"><\/span>14. Pepsi\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Dan Brown Novel<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Pepsi\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s new logo doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t look bad, per se, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s just not different enough to justify the million-dollar price tag.<br \/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-29014\" src=\"https:\/\/d3ui957tjb5bqd.cloudfront.net\/uploads\/2015\/10\/09051518\/Pepsi-Rebrand-Before-and-After-e1444014332530.jpg.webp\" alt=\"Pepsi-Rebrand-Before-and-After\" width=\"680\" height=\"340\" \/><br \/><em>Image from <a href=\"http:\/\/www.canny-creative.com\/2013\/10\/10-rebranding-failures-how-much-they-cost\/\">Canny Creative<\/a><\/em><br \/>So that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s what they tried to do with <a href=\"http:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/pepsis-nonsensical-logo-redesign-document-1-million-for-this\/\">its absurdly overwrought design document<\/a>, a collection of nonsense about the golden ratio, the cartesian coordinate system, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153energy fields in balance,\u00e2\u20ac the &#8220;Hindu tradition of numerical harmony as spatial organizer,&#8221; the Mona Lisa\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-28887\" src=\"https:\/\/d3ui957tjb5bqd.cloudfront.net\/uploads\/2015\/10\/09051528\/Pepsi_Magnetic-e1443624296172.png.webp\" alt=\"Pepsi_Magnetic\" width=\"680\" height=\"388\" \/><\/p>\n<p data-pm-slice=\"1 1 []\">The moral? Don&#8217;t convolute your design decisions. It&#8217;ll only end one way: a total rebranding failure.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Bad_Idea_Bad_Execution\"><\/span>Bad Idea, Bad Execution<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"15_HeeeeeereaE%E2%84%A2s_Happy\"><\/span>15. Heeeeeere\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Happy!<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-28889\" src=\"https:\/\/d3ui957tjb5bqd.cloudfront.net\/uploads\/2015\/10\/09051532\/1400614252-01.jpg.webp\" alt=\"1400614252-0[1]\" width=\"680\" height=\"654\" \/><\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Your mascot proposal, Steve?\u00e2\u20ac<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20acIt\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a human being sealed for eternity in a smiling cardboard prison, in constant agony but unable to scream, only his eyes and teeth left as reminders of what he once was.\u00e2\u20ac<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Bold. I like it. But he needs a motivation. Does he want to bring in new customers? To motivate kids to eat healthier? That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s popular these days.\u00e2\u20ac<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153To blink, sir. He wants nothing more than to blink.\u00e2\u20ac<\/p>\n<p data-pm-slice=\"1 1 []\">When McDonald&#8217;s debuted this creature last May, reactions to the new brand image were uniformly negative, even among the target demographic: younger consumers. We&#8217;re not sure if they tested this with their target audience first \u2013 but if they had, you think they&#8217;d have learned kids don&#8217;t like being reminded of what happens to those who defile Mayor McCheese&#8217;s tomb.<\/p>\n<p>The lesson here could be that It pays to know your audience, but we can&#8217;t imagine any demographic embracing that foul thing.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"16_The_ZaE%E2%84%A2%3EZ_Olympics\"><\/span>16. The Z\u00e2\u20ac\u2122&gt;Z Olympics<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-29015\" src=\"https:\/\/d3ui957tjb5bqd.cloudfront.net\/uploads\/2015\/10\/09051536\/2012_Summer_Olympics_logos.jpg.webp\" alt=\"2012_Summer_Olympics_logos\" width=\"871\" height=\"606\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The problem with London\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s universally hated Olympics logo is that it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s too bland and too weird simultaneously \u00e2\u20ac\u201d it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s abstract, but when you boil it down, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s just the year. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s no interesting concept behind it: it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s, in the words of Moe Szyslak, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153weird for the sake of weird.\u00e2\u20ac<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Wiggity_Wack\"><\/span>Wiggity Wack<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Corporate culture and street culture are direct opposites, but they keep trying to blend them. So much that bizness attempts to get swaggy with 2day\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s kids and their dank memes deserve their own #section.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"17_The_Sci_Fi_Channel_Skips_the_Research\"><\/span>17. The Sci Fi Channel Skips the Research<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-29016\" src=\"https:\/\/d3ui957tjb5bqd.cloudfront.net\/uploads\/2015\/10\/09051539\/Syfy-logo-copy.jpg.webp\" alt=\"Syfy-logo copy\" width=\"680\" height=\"733\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Nothing\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s cooler than alternate spellings \u00e2\u20ac\u201d if it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s 1997 and you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re selling a cereal shaped like skateboards and dinosaurs. Unfortunately, it was 2009, the Sci Fi network was a TV channel, and they accidentally renamed themselves after a slang term for syphilis. The lesson we can take away from this is to keep context in mind. Whether no one bothered to Google the term or they knew what it meant but figured no one would notice, apparently, they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d never met the internet.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"18_VegemiteaE%E2%84%A2s_Install_Fails\"><\/span>18. Vegemite\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Install Fails<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Crowdsourcing your design decisions can be a decent way to connect with your audience, but picking the right idea can be just as hard as coming up with it yourself. When Kraft\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Australian wing wanted to name a new sandwich topping, they held a nationwide competition and received almost 40,000 entries. But unfortunately, they handed the list to an exec who said \u00e2\u20ac\u0153name it after the most popular thing you can think of. You have three seconds.\u00e2\u20ac<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-28893\" src=\"https:\/\/d3ui957tjb5bqd.cloudfront.net\/uploads\/2015\/10\/09051543\/9347d44e-f5fd-4706-a281-a5c2a7f02829_BT_isnack-new-e1443625474179.jpg.webp\" alt=\"9347d44e-f5fd-4706-a281-a5c2a7f02829_BT_isnack-new\" width=\"680\" height=\"680\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Maybe the biggest problem with this is that it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s false advertising. The iSnack was a Luddite-friendly mixture of Vegemite and cream cheese: sound quality was awful, it had very little memory, and the only touch function was the ability to lick it off your fingers. The only thing it had in common with Apple is that <a href=\"http:\/\/www.cnet.com\/news\/australia-police-discourage-use-of-apple-maps-app-after-rescues\/\">its maps app worked just as well<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p data-pm-slice=\"1 1 []\">If we&#8217;re going to learn a lesson from this, it&#8217;s that coopting a trend for the sake of it and forgetting all about your brand&#8217;s values in the process is never a good idea.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: revert; font-size: revert; font-weight: revert;\">19. O.co No Go<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-29017\" src=\"https:\/\/d3ui957tjb5bqd.cloudfront.net\/uploads\/2015\/10\/09051547\/20141110_mediapage_overstoc.jpg.webp\" alt=\"20141110_mediapage_overstoc\" width=\"680\" height=\"492\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Even more gratuitous and unnecessary than <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/egaZJjhbHhw\">that \u00e2\u20ac\u0153It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s all about the O\u00e2\u20ac commercial<\/a> was that time Overstock spent millions to become O.co, a term not even the laziest texter would\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve thought of to refer to them. Of course it flopped, due partially to the use of a ridiculously short URL with a non-standard extension. In general, we prefer when our URL\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s are words, not the emoticon for a scared cyclops with a beauty mark.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"20_FridayaE%E2%84%A2s_Takes_a_Bad_Pun_Way_Too_Far\"><\/span>20. Friday\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Takes a Bad Pun Way Too Far<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-28896\" src=\"https:\/\/d3ui957tjb5bqd.cloudfront.net\/uploads\/2015\/10\/09051550\/Untitled-1.jpg.webp\" alt=\"Untitled-1\" width=\"680\" height=\"308\" \/><\/p>\n<p>This is perhaps where my bias is showing. This campaign was launched just a few days ago, so it hasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t had time to pull results yet. But it says a lot that, as of the time I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m writing this, Googling its name in quotes (&#8220;Appley Madison&#8221;) brings just 18 results.<\/p>\n<p>This is a bold move by Friday\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s, at the least &#8211; one that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s either going to be a sleeper hit or quickly buried in the tryhards\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 graveyard. But personally, I think it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s an example of how not to do \u00e2\u20ac\u0153edgy\u00e2\u20ac advertising \u00e2\u20ac\u201d tasteless piggybacking on a lurid news story that has nothing to do with your field.<\/p>\n<h2 data-pm-slice=\"1 3 []\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Summing_Up_What_We_Can_Learn_From_Rebranding_Disasters\"><\/span>Summing Up: What We Can Learn From Rebranding Disasters<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Rebranding is necessary from time to time. Companies can&#8217;t just stay the same forever. That&#8217;s a surefire way to stagnate. They have to evolve, grow, change. But they have to do it the right way, maintaining their brand elements and not alienating their customers along the way.<\/p>\n<p>Unfortunately, the brands above got it all wrong!<\/p>\n<p>Whether it was picking the wrong color scheme, changing too much, too soon, or coming up with a new logo that was simply too boring, bland, or downright bizarre, they made decisions that actually harmed their brand identity, rather than helping it.<\/p>\n<p>To avoid making the same mistakes in your own rebranding efforts:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<p>Be original in your design.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>Don&#8217;t chase trends just for the sake of it.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>Simpler and more basic isn&#8217;t always better.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>Think about what your customers love about your old logo.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>Ensure your new logo is easy to understand and interpret.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>Convey your brand&#8217;s values and visual identity through your rebrand.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>Products Seen In This Post:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n\n    <figure id=\"card-201410-11161804\" class=\"product-card half no-pinit\" data-product-id=\"201410\" data-index=\"0\" data-width=\"half\" data-pin_it=\"no-pinit\" data-module=\"Product Embed\" data-block-id=\"11161804\"><\/figure>\n    \n\n    <figure id=\"card-56579-313981196\" class=\"product-card half no-pinit\" data-product-id=\"56579\" data-index=\"0\" data-width=\"half\" data-pin_it=\"no-pinit\" data-module=\"Product Embed\" data-block-id=\"313981196\"><\/figure>\n    \n\n<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Rebranding is a natural part of a company\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s life. You don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t wear the same stuff you did in high school, so why should a business keep the same image in maturity that it had at the beginning? More and more companies are engaging in rebranding campaigns. 20th century companies are beginning to hit their midlife [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":76,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[59],"tags":[1003,1004,1005,1006,1007,1008,46,51,52,299],"topics":[],"class_list":["post-28852","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-design-trends","tag-brands","tag-disaster","tag-fail","tag-name","tag-naming","tag-rebranding","tag-branding","tag-logo","tag-logos-2","tag-bad-design"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v28.4 (Yoast SEO v28.4) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>20 Major Rebranding Failures and What They Teach Us - Creative Market Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"This is how rebranding shouldn&#039;t be done! 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