Aol’s rebranding is a dud on arrival
ADOTAS – Acronyms are so mid-90s — it’s no longer America OnLine, it’s not AOL, it’s Aol.
Wow. I’m excited, how about you?
When your company was involved in what’s now considered the dumbest merger of the digital age, then gets spun off from its media giant parent at a cost of a third of its staff, it’s not a bad idea to get a brand makeover. But true to form, Aol delivered not only a lackluster new image campaign but also one that seems dated.
Sad thing is this rebranding and seems just about as confused as Aol — headbanging, graffiti, skateboarding and breakdancing all thrown into one ad seems like a desperate attempt to latch onto whatever trend it can. And all these trends seem a bit played out, any hipness factor lost long ago through corporate hijacking for advertising purposes.In other words, it seems like something that might have been deemed cool sometime back. Unless Aol was shooting for retro cool (seems a bit soon for that), this rebrand has FAIL stamped all over it.
Also, ss Aol pronounced “owl”? If that’s so, why not go with… Well, an owl? They’re kinda timeless symbols. Then again, they might have infringed on Wise’s or Hooters’ logo, and for some reason I don’t think Aol really wants comparisons with the latter — I hear its chicken wings don’t even come close.
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