13 Classic Brands That Have Drastically Changed Over Time
In Benjamin Disraeli's wise words, change is inevitable. This saying is true for humans and brands. An inability to evolve can lead to a brand's demise. For example, Blackberry's cardinal mistake was sticking to the button when every other mobile brand switched to the touchscreen.
When it comes to branding, a change can be as simple as removing the brand name from the logo (for instance, the Audi logo) or as big as switching from a playing card company to a video game software or hardware producer (a good example is Nintendo).
Below are the 13 classic brands that have drastically changed over time.
Coca-Cola
Dr. John S. Pemberton created the Coca-Cola formula on May 8, 1886. The doctor introduced the syrup as a temperance drink with medicinal properties. The brand name was coined from the two major ingredients: Coca-Cola leaves and Kola nuts.
Like Nintendo, Coca-Cola uses a wordmark logo (a logo that contains the brand name). Before the current iteration of cursive, Coca-Cola's wordmark was introduced in 1887; it used to have a typewritten font and black and white color.
Frank Mason Robinson created the most popular version. He used the Spenserian script mark, which was trademarked in the United States in 1905. Its primary colors were red and white. At first, the red and white color was used by bottlers to help tax agents distinguish between Coca-Cola and alcoholic products. As years went by, the two colors stuck with the beverage brand.
Nintendo
Nintendo has witnessed many brand changes, but the most drastic was changing its logo from a spade symbol to a hand-lettered name in the 1960s.
As the company morphed from a playing card manufacturer to a video game software and hardware provider, it tweaked its logo to ensure that its vision was well-represented in its brand logo. In 1967, the Nintendo logo font changed from San Serif to Helvetica Black Condensed. Another major change here is the addition of a trademarked flattened “t.”
A new logo was adopted when the Nintendo Entertainment System console launched in 1985. The new logo is similar to the 1967 version but has a racetrack border around it. Throughout the next three decades, Nintendo changed the color of the 1985 logo only.
Netflix
Netflix is popularly known for its “N” logo and tudum sound. The American entertainment company has trademarked both brand assets. The brand name Netflix was coined from the phrase “flicks over the internet.”
Netflix started as a DVD-by-mail movie rental service but went from a video rental service to a subscription video-on-demand over-the-top streaming service in 2007.
The first Netflix logo featured the brand name and film reel icon. It had a San serif font. This logo was discontinued in the 2000s. The second logo maintained the San serif font. It had a black oval and yellow parenthesis. It was short-lived.
The third logo is similar to the current Netflix logo we know. It is red and white and has a graphic font. The current Netflix logo was created in 2014 and uses a trademarked font called Netflix Red.
Audi
Audi's brand evolution is a testament to how events can shape the nature of a company's brand. The 1932 merger of Audi, DKW, Horch, and Wanderer Automobile gave birth to the popular Audi logo. The logo featured four conjoined rings, each containing the logos of every auto union member.
In 1949, the individual logos in the circles were removed, and the wordmark, auto union, was highlighted and placed in the middle of the four rings.
The current badge logo we know Audi for was created in 2016. The company cut the wordmark from the logo, making it a pictorial logo.
Microsoft
Microsoft was launched by Bill Gates and Paul Allen in 1975. Its mission was to empower every person and organization to achieve more. Microsoft fulfills that mission by promoting the ascent of personal computers via software such as Windows.
Forty-nine years later, Microsoft is one of the world's largest technology companies; millions use its software.
How did Microsoft evolve from a small brand in 1975 to a global company in the present decade?
The first Microsoft logo is a wordmark designed by Simon Daniels. It has a disco-like font and a light blue color. The second, third, and fourth logos were tweaked versions of the first logo. Jason Wells initiated the major redesign in 2012. It combines the logo image (four one-dimensional squares of different colors) and the Microsoft wordmark.
McDonald's
Did you know that McDonald's was once a barbecue joint? McDonald's was not the original name of the American hamburger restaurant chain. In its early days, McDonald's was known as The Airdome.
The restaurant switched from hot dogs to barbecue, then hamburgers in 1940. The McDonald's brothers changed the company's name from The Airdome to McDonald's Bar-B-Que restaurant.
The foremost golden arch logo that birthed the one we're familiar with today was created in 1952 by Stanley Meston, the company's head of construction and engineering. The logo featured red and yellow colors.
McDonald's adopted the minimalistic “M” logo in 2006. The logo contains a stylized letter M, described by the company's design consultant, Louis Cheskin, as a Freudian symbol for a pair of nourished breasts.
Dunkin Donut
Rapper Dababy was asked if he knew that Dunkin Donuts had rebranded in a Sundae conversation interview with Caleb Presley. Like many, he did not know that Dunkin Donuts now goes by the name Dunkin'.
It is not uncommon for popular companies to ditch their product name from their brand name when they become very popular. For instance, McDonald's once had hamburgers in its brand name.
Dunkin' Donuts was founded in 1950 by Bill Rosenberg. The company was renamed Dunkin in 2019.
The six versions of the Dunkin' logos featured its wordmark. The second version had a coffee cup image and a doughnut-shaped wordmark. The current logo contains the new name, Dunkin', with an apostrophe. Its primary colors are orange and hot pink. The font is round and plump, similar to Frank Forter and Debussy.
Apple
Apple was created in 1976 by the co-founders Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne.
Ronald Wayne designed the first Apple logo, which looks different from the current logo. It was an image of Sir Isaac Newton under an apple tree intended to describe the moment Newton discovered gravity. Interestingly, Ronald Wayne sold his shares after 12 days of inception for $800.
The current Apple logo is credited to Rob Janoff. In 1977, he was tasked with creating a new logo for Apple and came up with the idea of a bitten apple. The bite mark was included so people would not misinterpret it as a cherry.
The current Apple logo has abandoned the wordmark in favor of the Apple symbol.
Volkswagen
Volkswagen is a German word that means people's car. Volkswagen's origin can be traced back to the German government under Adolf Hitler. In 1937, Hitler suggested a budget-friendly car idea to Ferdinand Porsche.
The Nazi flag and swastika inspired the Volkswagen's logo. The first logo consisted of the initials of Volkswagen, VW encircled by a cogwheel and swastika. The German company dropped the swastika to dissociate itself from its Nazi origin.
The final Volkswagen logo was created in 1945. Although the colors changed over the years, its content remained a circle and Volkswagen initials. The current Volkswagen logo is an updated version of the 1945 logo in blue.
BMW
Unlike Volkswagen, BMW is a luxurious automobile brand that caters to wealthy car lovers. BMW stands for Bayrische Motoren Werke. The company, formerly Rapp Motorenwerke, once specialized in the production of aircraft engines.
When Rapp Motorenwerke became BMW, it adopted its ancestor's logo. However, it was tweaked. The horse in the middle of the logo was replaced with a circle divided into four quadrants and alternating in blue and white; the only similarity between the BMW and Rapp Motorenwerke logos is the ring. The blue and white color in the BMW logo pays tribute to the Bavaria state color.
Nike
Nike was named after the goddess of victory. The athletic footwear company was once known as the Blue Ribbon Sports in 1964. Its first brand logo contained the initials of the company's name, BRS. It was later changed to Nike in 1971.
When the company's name was changed, it needed a new logo, and Phil Knight commissioned a graphic designer named Carolyn Davison to design the popular Swoosh logo. At first, Knight did not like the logo but decided to go with it nonetheless.
The 1971 version laid the foundation for the current version. The present integration of the Nike logo, a dark-colored swoosh symbol, includes its wordmark.
Pepsi
Pepsi went from copying Coca-Cola's template to having a unique brand voice. Pepsi has a similar story to that of Coca-Cola. It was discovered by a pharmacist (Caleb Bradham in 1890), and it was first intended as a medicinal drug but ended up becoming a recreational soda drink. The drink was formerly known as Brad's drink.
Like Coca-Cola, Pepsi adopted its wordmark as a logo and used cursive red script. The Pepsi logo underwent about eight reincarnations before arriving at a unique logo in 1951. The iconic swirl was a trend in that era, so Pepsi followed suit and used the iconic swirl to create its logo. The Pepsi swirl is circular and split into red, white, and blue sections.
The current Pepsi logo is a direct descendant of the 1957 version. However, it is more minimalistic and lacks an outline on its swirl.
Burger King
For it to be effective, Burger King's brand evolution proves that a brand identity does not have to be linked to some deep outward meaning. It's the small things that count.
Talking of small, when Burger King was in its juvenile phase in 1953, it adopted a logo that contained its wordmark and a depiction of a rising sun. In 1954, Burger King topped the rising sun depiction and settled with the minimalistic bold wordmark.
In 1957, the Burger King logo contained a cartoon image of a man sitting on a burger and holding a cup alongside the phrase “Home of the Whooper.” The cartoon man was removed from the logo in 1994. The logo became a more conventional solid wordmark but retained its primary colors of orange and red.
