The national press have enjoyed stirring 🥣 things up this week in the world of branding...
Lyle’s Golden Syrup rebrand 🦁 , its first since 1883, seems to have upset a lot of people, including the Church of England. Its fresh new look unwittingly distances itself from a distinctive founder story. But then how many shoppers were actually aware of it in the first place? Perhaps Lyle's are hedging their bets by retaining the classic tin branding, which will unusually be different from everything else. We’ll be sticking with the tin! More here.
Naming is possibly the hardest thing to get right and the London Overground 🚆 renaming has also polarised opinion. But unlike Lyle’s, rather than losing meaning, this is imbuing it with the stories of London and its people. Whether they are all the right ones is questionable but the strategic intent is good and it tries to reflect the rich history and multi-cultural city London has become. Read.
As an aside, still on the place naming theme, how do they decide which town is twinned with which? I was on family taxi driving duty the other day and found myself arriving in Aylesbury - ‘Twinned with Bourg-en-Bresse’. Unusual bedfellows, and I can’t help but feel the beautiful French town might feel a little hard-done by in that partnership.
Another day, another kids taxi journey. Sitting in an interminable traffic jam, a 48-sheet poster from Starling Bank caught my eye - a teenager reluctantly cleaning her parent’s car 🚗 , but reaping the rewards with a simple transfer of pocket-money (£5) to her Kite account - although I think she needs to renegotiate her rate - there’s no way my lad would get out of bed for that! Nevertheless, a great product and brand that has done a lot to demystify the overly-complex world of banking. One that is truly following a clear ethos and manifesto. Watch.
Talking of which, Nike still has to be the benchmark of all company manifestos - see below. Have you come across any better or more inspiring?
Finally, this weeks legend slot - Lyle’s Golden Syrup of course. The question is, who has usurped it as the oldest unchanged brand?