What Are the Best
Company Logos?
The recent backlash against the Gap's rebranding served as
a reminder of how effective -- or disastrous -- logos can be.
From McDonald's and Nike to Sears and Mercedes, a look
at some of the best and worst of all time.
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The Gap has found itself in a little marketing hot water, after replacing its longtime logo with a new one that Ad Age
described as "something a child created using a clip-art gallery." And that was one of the kinder reviews. After more
than 20 years, the emporium of denim, khakis and other casual wear decided to shelve its iconic blue-box-with-whitetext logo -- and was immediately slammed across the Internet, even spawning parody Twitter accounts. To stop the
bleeding, the company announced a crowd-sourcing project, inviting consumers to offer alternative logos. The fate of
the new logo remains unclear.
It's not the first time a major brand has faced backlash for fixing what may or may not have been broken. Last year,
Tropicana was forced to abandon new packaging after a near-universal panning.
Both examples serve as case studies about why logos are such an important part of an overall brand message -- for
companies of all sizes. "A logo is some sort of graphic mark, an emblem utilized by many large corporations and
organizations to promote public recognition of their firm and products or services," says George Cook, an executive
professor of marketing and psychology at the Simon Graduate School of Business at the University of Rochester. "The
logo helps the firm initially gain attention and then continue to keep the company and its products or services at the
consumers' top of mind when they're in the buying process. Some firms do a magnificent job of this, while other logos
leave a lot to be desired."
The Best Company Logos
McDonald's. The key is "memorability," says Walter Guarino, an advertising and branding professor at Seton Hall
University and president of SGW, Montville, N.J.-based integrated marketing firm. "If upon seeing the logo once or
twice, I can remember it and what it stands for, it's a winner in my book." And those billions and billions of customers
McDonald's has served, whose eyes light up at the sight of those Golden Arches, can't be wrong.
Nike. The iconic swoosh is probably the most famous company logo out there, and just for that, it deserves high praise
and a place on our list. "Nike's brand essence of 'Just Do It' is captured in its famous swoosh," says Betsy Jordyn,
president of Windermere, Fla.-based Accelera Consulting Group, which has worked with numerous Fortune 100
companies, including Walt Disney World. "The name Nike and the swoosh represent the Greek goddess of victory,
which is a perfect fit for a company that is the world leader of sportswear provided to competitive athletes."
"The logo is 100 percent effective," raves Ricardo de la Blanca Brigati, CEO of the DLB Group, a multinational
advertising company that works with clients including the Cartoon Network and Kraft Foods. "The way the symbol is
positioned gives consumers a sense of speed, a quality that obviously reflects the spirit of the company." Cook notes that
Nike "paid a student $35 for their enduring logo. What a buy!" (Years later, as a thank you, Nike CEO Phil Knight gave
the same design student an envelope full of stock options.)
The Geico Gecko. The famous insurance lizard is celebrating his 10th anniversary as a spokesman for Geico, and
clearly, he and the company are doing something right. As Cook says, the logo is "cute," and the related advertising
generally features "humorous stories that we all can relate to and laugh about."
FedEx. What is it about their logo that's so impressive? True, it's been part of the advertising landscape for so long that
it's probably hard for a lot of us to see it, but the way Ms. Jordyn explains it, "FedEx changed the shipping industry
when it promised its customers 'when it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight.' Its logo communicates this
promise with a hidden arrow -- between the 'E' and the 'X' -- which is a symbol of both speed and precision."
You'll be hard pressed to find any marketing executive who will say a bad thing about FedEx's logo. "The use of the
negative space to create a subliminal arrow signifying forward motion is brain-brilliant," says Adam Hanft, a branding
guru and CEO of Hanfts Projects.
Slogan Trivia
1. "Sometimes you feel like a nut. Sometimes you don't.”_____________________________
2. "Cars like us. People love us."_______________________________________
3. "Driver's Wanted"_________________________________
4. "Head for the Border."____________________________________
5. "Think different"__________________________
6. "The ultimate driving machine."______________________________
7. "Reach out and touch someone."____________________________________
8. "Once you POP, you can't STOP!”_____________________________________
9. "The Un-Cola"_________________________________
10. "Have it your way!"________________________________
11. “Taste the rainbow."___________________________________
12. "Don't hate me because I'm beautiful."______________________________
13. "Snap! Crackle! Pop!"___________________________________
14. "The other white meat."_____________________________________
15. "No more tears."_________________________________