Wal-Mart will also lose it's ubiquitous hyphen

Will it lose its superfluous apostrophe, too?

/nitpick'd

Guess there'll be no more calling it Wal(star)Mart like my friends and I have been. It'll now have to be Walmart (star). Or maybe I'll just call it hell...

This feels like a decision they will regret in the coming years when pastels and sepia tones fall out of the current fashion spotlight.

Reading this immediately made me think of an old analogy... I guess you can give an old dog a haircut, but you sure can't teach an old dog new tricks.

Why would you want to totally revamp one of the most recognizable logos? It's one thing to tweak it, it's another thing to totally change it. This will be a major FAIL. Target looks more upscale and people think that they are more expensive. Does Walmart want to perpetuate this? NO. Compare grocery prices between Super Walmarts and Targets. They are inline with each other, yet many think Target is more expensive. You need to look inexpensive if you base your whole marketing experience on being inexpensive.

@The Count of Monte Fisto: I'm bothered by that kind of stuff, too. It's nothing that a good proofreader can't fix.

@The Count of Monte Fisto: Lol. Thanks.

That isn't a starburst. It's a puckered sphincter. THey are just putting honesty into their advertisements.

I look forward to it, especially if it means a partial makeover to the front of the store near where I live, which looks rather ghastly when I drive by it.

Now that WalMart is upgrading to a gentrified looking logo, does that mean we'll all start pronouncing it with a silent "t" like they do Target?

The new logo has been used in Walmart's commercials since this past holiday season. I believe it was actually introduced when Sam's Club revealed their new logo.

Reminds me of the old Zayre logo.

@anibundel: You pronounce Target as "arge"?

Tsk tsk tsk, switching your font to Helvetica does not a successful rebranding campaign make. (Even though everyone else does it.) I think of all your branding issues, your logo should be somewhere near the BOTTOM of the list.

I guess your marketing department must really be digging for stuff to do since they milked that last creative gem, what was it..., oh yeah, the smiley face.

P.S. - Burnt Orange? Seriously?

If they use burnt orange, it will be a sad day for the university of texas.

@AceKicker: They already started renovating one of the Walmarts near me. They made the whole front of the building orange. I do not think it is a good change.

Um that was exactly the Zayres logo, orange and all. Has wal-mart stooped to copying defunct big-box retail?

[en.wikipedia.org]

@anibundel: Stephan Colbert might have to switch grocery providers.

This seems like an idea made in fail. Our store recently got a make over, and is now full of fauxwood floors and fancy greeting card shelves. I guess they want it all to match.

@MayorBee:
No, you say it "Tar-ja" with a long A at the end as if it's French, like ballet.

Perhaps I took his question to literally....

Interesting. The burnt orange in the picture sort of looks like dogshit.

Truth in advertising.

@Mayor McRib:

Target looks more upscale and people think that they are more expensive.

I don't know why that is but I feel the same way. When I go to Target (pronounced 'tar-jay'), it feels more expensive. I don't know why...maybe because it's neater...or the soft music in the background...or the fact there aren't kids running everywhere. But even though the prices aren't that much different, when I think "low prices" I think Walmart (much like the slogan).

@linus: You just said all the reasons I go to Target. It's quieter, fewer unruly kids, it's cleaner, and just seems a bit calmer than Walmart. Every time I go to Walmart (it's closer to my house so for quick pick ups it wins) it feels cramped, noisy, and dirty.

Walmay!

Can't wait to see if they choose avocado green or baby-puke yellow as their accent color.

I noticed there little funky yellow apostrophe clock on their gift cards a couple weeks back and knew something was up.
Oddly enough, just outside of my town, there is a walmart that has been mistakenly painted green instead of blue.
I always thought it was funny, I mean, how did that conversation go?

and isn't the orange going to encroach a little on Home Depot?
They can usually be found right across the road from each other in Ga, in at least 4 instances I know of personally....
Bah.
I'd rather them stick with the blue and yellows from the card.

@Mayor McRib: Target gets the "We're too good for Wal*Mart, crowd.

Wow, I'll have to stop typing Wal*Mart and it will just be Walmart. Weird!

@GothGirl: LOL, I thought the same thing. Very 70s style to it.

Your Targets have music? All the ones around me are dead silent until you are near electronics, then every tv is playing the same annoying music. The eerie silence in Targets actually bothers me.

@badgeman46: To be fair, Zayre uses purely an asterisk, in red text.

@Mayor McRib: Well they are trying to make middle class people more comfortable with shopping there. Which seems a good idea, I mean a new walmart is actually a fairly decent place. Walmart moving forward knows it has to get middle class consumers to show any growth at all.

Oh and walmart is cheaper than target just not very much [www.cockeyed.com]

The white on burnt orange looks terrible IMHO. I think bright colors are the way to go. As for the starburst, it looks like a basic shape from Illustrator. There's nothing special about it.

It really does look awful. And if they really wanted to change things, why not change the inside? Perhaps cleaning the floor, putting stock on shelves, and overall not making it look like a dollar store.

@linus: I have found there are two distinct varieties of Target out there: The Tar-jay and the Tar-ghetto. The only Targets near me are, unfortunately, Tar-ghettos. Still beats WalMart.

Originality and creativity will take you nowhere. Is that the message that Walmart is trying to convey? LOL

Wow-- they put the asshole right on the logo.

Vonnegut would be thrilled.

@boss_lady: Actually, you can teach an old dog new tricks. I saw it on Mythbuters, really.

EW! I preferred the blue/white. :(

I don't like wally-world anyway.

Every time I see a Walmart* I'm going to look for the footnote.

*sucks.

@Fivetop:
I actually LOLed. You win.

@yasth:
Agreed, but most shoppers wouldn't know that they are that close in price based on the perception of the stores alone.

Middle class people tend to go more toward Target already, you aren't going to get them with your new logo. I am middle class and I go to both depending on how fast I need something (Walmart is closer). Your core customers are going to start thinking that Walmart is "looking" more expensive so they might as well go to Target where it's better anyway. These are all perceptions, but they are generally true. I remember when Target wasn't as nice and the merchandise is about the same.

They should have a smaller star on the floor in front of the front door with the following written on it:

"* new logo does not signify being any less evil."

That way it'll match the spirit of having a star after something.

I live less than 5 miles from this "new-signage-Walmart." There is still no guarantee it will even be built. The neighborhood adjacent to the land has been protesting for nearly 2 years now. They don't want property values to drop, more traffic, etc. Walmart has re-designed the store at least 5 times - everything from size, to color, to number of parking spaces. The main thing that bothers the people near the site is there are 3 other SuperWalmarts within 6 miles of that location - why do they need another?

I am sure they will be approved. It will bring more businesses to the area which equals increase in money to the city and county.

The SuperTarget we shop at is right next door to one of the SuperWalmarts - same entrance, T on the right, W on the left.

We affectionately refer to the area a Warget.

@AceKicker: It's a sans serif font, but it's not Helvetica. It almost looks more like a variation on Optima.

@GothGirl:

Ditto, although the font is different. I think the Zayre font was "Cooper Black".

@linus: There is no music playing in the background at Target. It was actually a company decision to try and keep things as peaceful as possible. They're also supposed to avoid making overhead pages, there are no middle-of-the-aisle pallets, and most of the restocking is done during non-business hours.

Forgot to add that the color/new font also made me think "McDonalds" when I first saw it.

@ThinkerTDM: Getting rid of the urine smell would be helpful, too. Maybe the new logo comes with a deodorizing disinfectant component.

@badgeman46: I LOVED Zayres when I was a kid. It was heartbreaking to me when they boarded up.

Looks like a puckered bunghole.

Wow... that new logo looks a lot like this company's logo:

www.lsi.com/

Which looks similar to both

www.etrade.com

www.fedex.com/us/officeprint/main/

Man- talk about eroding your brand equity- one of these guys needs to sue WAL*MART (I'm sure I won't be able to stop calling them that) to get them to stop!