It was bad enough when Wunderman came out with that horrendous squigily thing to express they were experts in OUT OF THE BOX THINKING [cough cough splutter splutter] however that’s nothing compared to what MindShare have gone and done.
Are you ready for this?
GLOBAL – Media network Mindshare has updated its identity by introducing a new company logo and ALTERING IT’S NAME.
The WPP subsidiary has replaced its purple logo with a red, purple and blue swirled sign and has adopted a lower-case ‘s’ in its name, changing it from MindShare to Mindshare.
“The logo has longevity, simplicity and flexibility – it’s future-proof,” said Mindshare Worldwide’s marketing director Ailsa Lochrie. “And it’s purple. We’re always going to be purple people.”
The rebranding is consistent with the agency’s global restructure process, announced earlier in the year, which has included the introduction of new management and tools.
The logo was designed by London agency Moving Brands following a pitch that included ten companies.
Now I know you must be desperate to see the work of genius so here you go …
Yes, that is it.
Changing your logo or the way your name appears is fine … but making a big fucking deal of it is a joke, especially when you try and justify it with the bullshit coming out of Ailsa’s mouth.
This smacks of 1950’s P&G advertising where you had to have ‘new news’ even if it had no value or importance to the masses.
There is so much wrong with this that I feel morally obliged to go through each point one by one …
First of all, lets look at the logo.
To you and me it’s 2 circles in the sort of colours you’d get on Thai Airlines but not to Mindshare … oh no, this is the exhaustive result of a TEN WAY PITCH!
TEN!!!
How the hell can you get that many agencies to pitch and then decide 2 circles was the best option?
Who the fuck were the other 9 agencies, members of a blind school?
Then there’s the fact Ailsha Lochrie say’s “it’s future proof”.
Hahahaha, hAhAhahaha, HahahAhaHa!
Future proof?
Well only in the sense that something shit today is most likely to be shit in any decade.
What the fuck is this woman on?
If I were WPP I’d keep her locked in the closet with Tom Cruise before she say’s anything else that might make them look bloody stupid.
[Can anyone tell me if the design agency, Moving Brands, is a WPP company. Something just doesn’t smell right here!]
And what is a purple person?
Isn’t that the colour you go when you’re about to burst in a fit of frustration because in your heart of hearts you know what you’re doing is wrong but you have been told by your bosses that to ensure your monthly pay cheque you have to go along with the corporate illusion that you’re at the cutting edge of media and people habits despite the fact that you end up spending pretty much all your clients money on the same old traditional channels as you did 20 years ago?
Then there’s the big one.
The fact they have dropped the capital S into lower case.
Holy fuck … hold the front page.
Seriously, I don’t know why I didn’t grasp the opportunity to write some trumped up press release when I started referring to myself as Rob instead of Robert.
THIS IS A COMPANY THAT SAYS IT HELPS BUSINESS GROW.
THIS IS A COMPANY THAT HAS LAUNCHED A BRAND CONSULTANCY DIVISION.
THIS IS A COMPANY SO STUCK UP ITS OWN ARSE IT CAN’T SEE HOW STUPID THEY LOOK.
The thing is, Mindshare does have some great people, but the sad part is that they use them for ‘PR’ because in the big scheme of things, they don’t use their ‘scout network’ for cultural trends … they don’t use their creatives to break new ground … they simply churn and burn clients cash and employees energy to keep Sorrell and his gang in champagne and lobster.
However the biggest tragedy of them all is that clients don’t see the lies and blindly go on – thinking they’re with a company who is being responsible with their money when despite all the hype, they’re doing little more than my Mother could come up with.
OK, so my Mum is a smarty-pants, but she’s not some media person – so if you work for MindShare [sorry, Mindshare] and are in a role where you actually are being exploited [or exploiting clients trust] let us know what’s going on [I heard a horrible rumour that the management ordered all staff to give money to some charity thing so they could PR how ‘ethical’ they are] and then go back to your bosses and ask how the fuck 2 circles and a lower case ‘s’ reflect the companies new management and tools.
This is the sort of wank the idiot at Landor probably comes up with [which would make sense given it’s another WPP company] but in the ‘real world’, we don’t buy that shit anymore than we believe Mindshare’s ‘3D’ planning tool is breaking new ground in media thinking, planning and execution.
Thanks to James for this – you’re right, it did light the touch paper 🙂