Paul Newman was a very famous movie star. This will seem obvious to readers above a certain age and fans of classic films, but it is apparently not that obvious to all grocery shoppers. While you’d think that the late star’s Newman’s Own line of organic food that turns over profits to charity would be a hit with civic-minded foodies, that guy on the label may as well be Duncan Hines or Chef Boyardee to younger shoppers. [More]
rebranding
CVS Unveils First Store-Within-Store Pharmacies At Target
By 2.3.16
Target customers will soon see what $1.9 billion can buy, as CVS has officially started rebranding the big box store’s pharmacies into its own mini drugstores. [More]
Deal$ Stores Will Be Rebranded As Dollar Tree
By 10.13.15
Dollar Tree pumped up its namesake portfolio earlier this year when it completed the $9.2 billion takeover of rival retailer Family Dollar, converting many of those stores into Dollar Trees. Now the discount chain will be bestowing its name on more than 200 smaller Deals (or Deal$) branded stores. [More]
Subway Hoping A New Look Will Help Turn Things Around In 2016
By 8.31.15
Even before the public face of Subway became embroiled in a child pornography scandal, the nation’s largest fast food chain was facing sagging sales and concerns from franchisees about management. The company is now hoping a new look and refreshed menu can help put Subway back on track.
[More]
No More “TargetExpress” Or “CityTarget,” Just Small Target Stores
By 8.4.15
Between TargetExpress and CityTarget, the country’s No. 2 big box retailer appears to have the mini urban store market down. But when you operate three similarly named stores, there’s bound to be a bit of confusion, right? Apparently that’s the case for Target, which now plans to rebrand its smaller-format stores to, you guessed it: Target. [More]
East Coast Supermarket Chain Price Chopper Renaming Itself Market 32
By 11.11.14
Shoppers in six states used to making a quick run to the local Price Chopper will soon be frequenting a new supermarket, as the company behind the supermarket chain unveiled plans to rebrand and rename the stores Market 32. [More]
Sunbelt Granola Bars Class Things Up, Shrink Bars Along The Way
By 10.17.12
Brad is a daily eater of Sunbelt brand granola bars, so he’s someone who would notice when something changes. As part of a recent rebranding, Sunbelt shrank their bars by quite a bit, increasing the total price per ounce. Reader Brad noticed this and was disappointed. He complained, and got a refund for his trouble. What’s interesting, though, is how the packaging changed in other ways. It’s like the brand got a makeover before it seeks out a classier upscale clientele. [More]
J.C. Penney Employee: 'I Fear We're Turning Into Sears'
By 5.2.12
H. is just an ordinary employee of one city’s flagship J.C. Penney store somewhere in America, but tells us that since the company’s “fair and square” rebranding effort began, things are looking grim. According to H, without coupons to lure them in, the customers just aren’t coming, and quiet layoffs have begun. [More]
New Gap Logo: Next Tropicana-Style Redesign Flop?
By 10.7.10 — Updated: 5.11.16
The marketing geniuses at The Gap seem to have fiddled around with Photoshop for a few minutes and designed a new company logo that’s as bland and uninteresting as jeans and a black t-shirt. It’s not ugly, but it’s not memorable or creative, either. What were they thinking? [More]
And Now… The Reader Submitted Comcast Xfinity PornLogos
By 3.1.10
Xfinity is Comcast’s new name for itself. We said it sounded like a porno company and you agreed. We tried our best (or at least the best we could do in, like, 15 minutes) to make the logo as porn-o-riffic as possible. You guys took it to the next level. Comcast, here are three new logos for you to chose from.
AOL Rearranges Deck Chairs, Introduces New Logo
By 11.29.09
Close to severing ties with Time Warner and fresh off announcing that they plan to cull almost a third of their work force by the end of the year, AOL has debuted–why not?–a new logo and branding campaign. The new logo has a variety of backgrounds, but always the new name in a sans-serif font: “Aol.” Yes, with the period. [More]
How Radio Shack's Rebranding Makes It Even More Uncool
By 8.14.09
“Names, like fashion trends, often don’t age well,” notes Chadwick Matlin over at Slate’s The Big Money. In this week’s “Broadband” video segment, he looks at Radio Shack’s weird rebranding effort to get people to call it “The Shack,” even though it’s not changing its name, and even though “The Shack” isn’t any better. “Radio Shack has hedged its bets,” Matlin writes, “Splitting its identity in two and not choosing either. What’s worse, neither is especially impressive, or especially modern.”
"ThinkBread" Is A Clever Attempt To Re-Brand Matzoh For The Off-Season
By 8.11.09
This here is a box of Streit’s “ThinkBread,” a “big cracker” that is “ideal for people who prefer an active and healthy life style.” We’re no Talmudic scholars, but we swear this is one big cracker we’ve seen before. Let’s see…. It’s made by Streit’s, a matzoh company. It comes in a matzoh box. It looks like matzoh. It tastes likes matzoh. So, ma nishtanah; what is it?
Pizza Hut Tries To Avoid Blame For Its Pizza, Shortens Name To "The Hut"
By 6.19.09
Update: To clarify, Pizza Hut isn’t changing its name. It’s co-adopting “The Hut” is a secondary branding mark, or something like that. (Thanks to William!)
This Dollar Store Taunts You With The Past
By 8.28.08
Can there be any sadder indication of our toilet-water economy than a dollar store that references its own happier, cheaper past? This New York City dollar store has pulled down its old sign, “Everything 99¢ Or Less,” and rebranded.
