The Musings Of An Opinionated Sod [Help Me Grow!]


Is Innovation The Fast Track To Corporate Fucking Stupidity?

Over the years, I’ve written a lot about how so many of the great ideas I’ve seen have come from the minds of designers rather than adfolk.

Where so many in my industry look to create eye-candy, designers are approaching their task in terms of solving the clients fundamental problem in the best and most visually interesting way.

There’s a lesson for many of us to learn in that.

However it’s not all great for designers.

Like that Pepsi bullshit from years back, there’s still examples where designers are taking the piss more than a catheter.

For the latest example, may I present to you Vodafone.

Whether we like them or not, our lives are very dependent on the telecommunications industry.

Sure, we might not use their service to make phonecalls anymore, but our smartphone addiction means we need their data so we can instragram our food at every possible moment.

Now obviously the telco industry doesn’t like being seen as just a ‘service provider’.

Part of that might be because of corporate ego, but the main reason is likely to be that for them to grow, they need to be regarded as an innovation company … someone who creates the future as much as serves it.

Whether you think that’s bollocks or not is up to you, but the reason I’m saying it is because that’s kind of the explanation Vodafone used for creating their new logo.

“What new logo?” I hear you cry.

This one …

“No Rob …” you reply, “… you’ve made a mistake, that’s the old logo”.

Oh no it isn’t folks, that’s the new one.

No seriously.

I swear to God.

Oh hang on, I don’t believe in God … OK, I swear on my heart.

Still don’t believe me?

OK, if you want absolute proof, here’s the old logo for comparison.

“But … but isn’t that basically the old logo just with the colours inverted?”, you stutter.

Well, I would agree with that assessment however we would both be wrong because apparently it is a new logo and, when you hear how the people at Vodafone describe it, it represents a new dawn for the company and it’s role and goal in society.

Here’s Ben Macintosh, Vodafone Australia’s customer business director …

“The changes represent the company’s ability to ‘innovate for the future ‘and supply choice for customers. The wants and needs of our customers have changed, and with that we’ve changed too. We challenge the status quo and push the boundaries to give people something that they won’t find anywhere else.”

I swear to god this is not an April Fool.

This really is their new logo and Ben Macintosh really did say that.

Look, I get Apple generated billions in extra revenue by simply adding a small ‘s’ to their otherwise near-identical product but this is a whole different scale of idiocy.

For me, there’s only 2 possible scenarios …

Either the branding company [which, let’s be honest, is not a design company] are fucking delusional or Vodafone is.

Whatever the truth, if I was a shareholder in the former I’d be buying more shares in them for their ability to charge millions for taking 10 minutes to literally invert the colours of their clients existing logos and if the latter, I’d be selling my shares as fast as I could possibly get rid of the worthless bastards.

On the bright side, I’m about to make a fortune as a branding consultant and my 1997 copy of Microsoft Paint.


29 Comments so far
Leave a comment

Priceless

Comment by Chikashi

youre so much better when youre a condescending, petty viscous little fuck. thank you vodafone for being such a bunch of fuckwits.

Comment by andy@cynic

Yeah, thank you Vodafone for giving me something to rant about that we can all agree with for once.

Comment by Rob

Australians.

Comment by DH

From criminals to victims in 200+ years.

Comment by DH

racist.

Comment by andy@cynic

Hysterical post.

Comment by Lee Hill

I’ll ignore your slur about my employer to tell you that I enjoyed this post. That’s how generous I am.

Comment by Bazza

Are you going to hire Ben Macintosh?

Comment by Rob

🖕

Comment by Bazza

Wonder how this ties in with the brand consistency section in their ridiculously extensive brand guidlines?

Comment by John

To be honest, given the small amount of change, there’s a fair chance it will.

Comment by Rob

I’d have thought by now that everybody had got the memo that people don’t really notice the details of the logo, so making little changes is pointless. As this recent experiment showed.

https://www.signs.com/branded-in-memory/

Comment by John

Maybe Media Arts has branched out into design, it would totally explain this.

Comment by northern

I love how you still have such deeply held anger towards MAL. One day you need to write about it. Not your anger but what they did to cause it which – I am sure – is totally justified.

Comment by Rob

I work for Omnicom again, not allowed. What a sell out

Comment by northern

This has to be a joke.

Comment by George

The only ones laughing are the people who sold them this. All the way to the bank.

Comment by Rob

You did touch upon this “criminal mind” effectiveness in the Madoff post.

Care to speculate how this got sold since it is the logo?

It does seem like a weird thing to compliment, but the agency in question did something correct?

Comment by Niko

Ha … good point. Well let’s not forget some criminals win by targeting the absolutely stupid.

And even if this is an example of someone falling for a ‘too good to be true’ promise about a logo redesign because the idea of it working is too tempting compared to having put in the work, it still doesn’t change the fact it’s rubbish. Just like if they are saying it’s good – even though they know it’s bad – because they think to say anything different would create more questions about their ability … without realising that it won’t stop that from happening and worse, encourage more people to question your judgement.

God, that was a long answer to a simple question.

Sorry.

Comment by Rob

I once worked on the Vodafone account so I am distressed to read how passionately they will talk up what is essentially a logo color inversion when they killed 5 great campaign ideas we presented them because “they weren’t creative enough.”

Comment by Pete

The kerning is better.

Comment by Marcus Brown

Far from defending this but the “old” logo was more 3d than the one you show up there. https://www.underconsideration.com/brandnew/archives/new_logo_for_vodafone_by_brand_union.php

Coming from that Head of Brand and Media you can expect anything…

Comment by Daniel

happy birthday mrs c. your kid is alright. your grandson is fucking perfect.

Comment by andy@cynic

+1

Comment by John

+2

Comment by DH

+3

Comment by George

+4

Comment by Niko

+5 xoxox

Comment by Katerina




Leave a Reply