Top 10 Revamped Logos and Trademarks
The brands you love always have logos you never forget. But, did you know that some of the most memorable logos actually changed significantly over the years. Pizza Hut, Ford, Microsoft, all began with different logos for their brand that look nothing like their current branding. This list is all about those logos you probably didn't know were changed over the years.
List rank and entries:
10. Microsoft
9. KFC
8. Cadillac
7. WWE
6. Major League Soccer
5. Pizza Hut
4. Reebok
3, 2, 1. ???
#brandstrategy #logos #MarketingStrategy
#10: Microsoft
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When Bill Gates and Paul Allen founded their computer software company in 1975, they made sure their logo was era appropriate, with a groovy disco style font and the company’s name split into two. This stuck for the first five years of the company, until it was redesigned looking more like a logo for Metallica, followed by a more traditional design that endured until 1987. The company then introduced the so-called “Pac-Man” logo, with a speedline through the “O”, which led the company through iconic rollouts such as Windows XP and the XBox. The Windows emblem was later included when the logo was redesigned again in 2012.
#9: KFC
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Since its inception, the face of Kentucky Fried Chicken has been none other than Colonel Harland Sanders, whose smiling, white haired head has been featured in every logo for the fast food giant. The Colonels’ image remained more or less the same from 1952 into the 90s, with the iteration using just the acronym. Then in 1997, the Colonel was given a new face and even shoulders. In 2006, he was redesigned again, resulting in a more defined image with an apron, which according to Gregg Derick, president of the company’s US division, communicated “the realness of Colonel Sanders and the fact that he was a chef.”
#8: Cadillac
The logo for the luxury American automobile maker has primarily been based around the coat of arms of Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac, the founder of Detroit, Michigan. The company’s crest has gone through many variations since its founding in 1902, appearing early on as a detailed recreation of the coat of arms. In the 1950’s, the logo began to evolve into the more stylized version we know today, taking on a shinier feel while losing some of the more detailed elements of the original crest. While the glossy, stretched out Cadillac logo of the modern era is markedly different from how it began, it remains a sleek symbol of opulence throughout the auto industry.
#7: WWE
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The evolution of the WWE’s logo corresponds to distinct periods in the company’s history. When the league began as the WWWF in 1963, its logo featured basic lettering and a bodybuilder. This stuck until 1979, when it became four interconnected green W’s. As the league exploded in popularity in the 80s, the logo got a shiny chrome makeover. A slanted variation was used for the New Generation era in the mid 90s, until the so-called “Scratch” logo was introduced for the “Attitude” era, to symbolize the edgier, more realistic direction of the league. The “F” was later removed after a dispute with the World Wildlife Federation, but the scratch logo is still used today in an altered form.
#6: Major League Soccer
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When the biggest football league in America was founded in 1993, it introduced an iconic logo that stuck with them for their first 20 years. The image of a cleated foot kicking a soccer ball was instantly recognizable, and wasn’t radically changed through the years, only receiving minor alterations and updates, such as more defined artwork and color changes. That is until 2015, when the logo finally received a major redesign as part of the “MLS Next” branding initiative. Resembling more a coat of arms then the rectangular foot and ball that came before it, the league says the red and white logo represents the next phase of the MLS’s vision to be among the best sports leagues in the world.
#5: Pizza Hut
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This popular quick-service pizza chain wasn’t always recognized by its distinctive red roof. When the company was founded in the 1950s, it was represented by their mascot Pete wearing an ascot and a yellow hat, and dangling the company’s name by strings. This logo lasted a surprisingly long time given its obscurity in modern times, until it was replaced in 1974 by the iconic logo that juxtaposed the restaurant’s name with a red roof. Variations of this logo have been commonplace since then, with additions including a more stylized roof and font, a yellow streak underneath, and in 2014 a red, pizza-like background.
#4: Reebok
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The original logo for this athletic-wear company endured for decades before becoming the iconic, recognizable graphic we know today. From 1958 to 1986, Reebok was represented by its name beside the Union Jack. In 1986, the Union Jack gave way to “the vector”. Variations of this symbol were used until the turn of the millennium, when the company started going by their name alone - no symbols needed. While the vector made a comeback for a few years, the symbol was eventually lost, along with half the letters in the company’s name, for a rebranding known as “Rbk”. Thankfully, the vowels got reinstated in 2008 in more traditional font, and a delta was added on the side in 2014.
#3: Mercedes-Benz
The logo for this luxury German car maker was just its name inside a black oval for the first years of its existence. But the company introduced what would become a marketing icon in 1916. That was the year that the company presented the three pronged star in a circle as its trademark, which is said to have represented founder Gottlieb Daimler’s ambitions for universal motorization: on land, water and air. The star received its current silver incarnation in 1980, which since 1990 also features the name of the company underneath.
#2: Apple
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This tech giant’s first logo, introduced in 1976, definitely wasn’t representative of the glossy, high-tech world they’d pioneer. It did symbolize innovation though, picturing Sir Isaac Newton sitting under an apple tree. A year later, it was replaced by the iconic emblem of a rainbow apple with a bite taken out of it. While the bitten apple has remained the defining aspect of the company, the colors have changed in accordance with the company’s direction. The apple got a black paint job with the release of the iMac, an aqua version in 2001 to go along with the iPod, and the current chrome version in 2007 with the device that took them to the top: the the iPhone.
#1: Pepsi
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For the first 50 years of its life, the iconic soft drink’s logo was just its name in stylized fonts. That name was pressed onto a red, white and blue bottlecap in 1950, introducing the brand’s equally iconic color scheme. The bottlecap logo was redesigned in 1962, and again in 1973, when it became a flat image, now known as the “Pepsi Globe”. The name broke free of the globe in 1991, and was done up for the modern era several times in the 90s and 2000s, with a 3D globe and condensation added in 2003. It was simplified back to two dimensions in 2008 with a new, sleeker-than-ever minimalist look.
