The tale of two logos and one curious debranding decision...

The hot topic in marketing land this week is the rebranding by Johnson & Johnson - or debranding as some call it. It is being debated because, as those who've been around this industry a while know, nothing kills a brand faster than an unnecessary rebrand.

While I doubt J&J is going to disappear, the reason for changing will certainly occupy copious columns of conversation - like this one. Check out the comments for and against, in J&J CEO Joaquin Duato's announcement on LinkedIn.

Let's look at two iconic brands that were created in the same year - 1886.

Firstly, Coca Cola - from the brand's website:

1886 – What’s in a name?

On 8 May 1886, Dr John S Pemberton nailed the formula, but it was his bookkeeper who came up with the name "Coca-Cola?". Frank M Robinson, suggested that “the two Cs would look well in advertising”.

And with that, Robinson also designed the now world famous Coca-Cola script logo.

He wanted his name for the new product to have an effective and dramatic style of its own. He experimented with an elaborate Spencerian script, a form of penmanship characteristic of that time. After consultation, the others working at Pemberton’s company adopted the script by unanimous consent.

Drawn in flowing handwriting, Robinson’s elaborate script was very “of the moment”, and it remains one of the most recognisable trademarks in the world.

Interestingly, Coca Cola was originally a standard serif font in capital letters, but evolved to the Spencerian script - a script style based on Copperplate script that was used in the United States from approximately 1850 to 1925 as the preferred business correspondence script, prior to the invention of the typewriter.

Secondly, Johnson & Johnson - from the brand's website:

1886 - James Wood Johnson's Famous Signature First Appears

During the company’s initial year of operation in 1886, co-founder James Wood Johnson signed the first official Johnson & Johnson check made out to a local railroad freight master, including the name of the company written in a similar style.

1886 - A Logo Is Born

The company's earliest products, which were used in sterile surgical procedures, featured a logo that resembled Johnson's signature, including large loops on some of the letters and the connection of the ampersand to the second "Johnson."

Fast forward to 2023 and here is what the J&J CEO says:

"To bring attention to our focus on innovative medicine and medical technology, we updated our corporate branding with a more modern logo and brighter red, keeping the iconic ampersand."

Curiously, the new ampersand looks nothing like the "iconic ampersand" claimed by the CEO. As many have said, the new logo looks soulless and less modern than the original - and how much brand equity did the original logo represent?

In a 2017 website post, J&J declared: The signature logo was “one of the longest-used company emblems in the world.” It was over 130 years old, before the announce of replacement came. "Talk about standing the test of time: More than 130 years after James Wood Johnson co-founded Johnson & Johnson, his handwritten signature is still being used as the company logo to this day."

So why change such an iconic logo?

From what the CEO has said, it doesn't appear to be a technology-driven move to debrand to accommodate mobile phone screens. Though in one article the justification does refer to "digital interfaces". It also states, "The new logo of Johnson & Johnson is modernised for the next chapter. Each letter is drawn in one pen stroke, creating a contrast that delivers both a sense of unexpectedness and humanity." My apologies if you just gagged.

This interesting commentary from Bloomberg explains what's at play with the debranding of "modern brands". Common sense has little to do with it.

One "industry expert" said, "Many children no longer learn to write cursive in school... people may recognize the signature, but they weren’t necessarily reading it." If you follow that logic, does it mean anyone who learnt to write cursive cannot read modern logos? And if you recognise the image and know what it stands for, do you need to read each letter?

But the big questions is: Will Coca Cola follow J&J and modernise its brand?

After all, Coca Cola is a young persons' brand, so shouldn't it follow J&J's lead and debrand to become more relevant to its audience?

Here is a prototype of a J&J-inspired logo for Coca Cola:

I think on the evidence folks, it's pretty safe to say Coca Cola won't follow J&J's lead...yet.

But as we all know, anything is possible if there's a change of CMO.

As they say in the classics: "Watch this space..."

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