FedEx

The original logo was used for twenty years, from 1974 to 1994.



The new logo has two interesting aspects, in addition to the crisp, modern type face. First, each division has a color-coded version of the corporate logo.



And there is the hidden "go this way, make forward progress" arrow. Squint at the white space between the "e" and the "x" near the bottom. See it yet? If not, here's the hint.

Procter and Gamble

No discussion of the history of corporate logos would be complete without retelling the story of how Procter & Gamble was forced to change its logo.

From 1851 on P&G used variants of this "man in the moon" logo.

                                              

In the 1980s rumors began circulating that the logo was a Satanic symbol. The company denied the rumors, tweaked the logo to remove the offending design elements, and finally in 1985 introduced its new, unoffensive logo.

                    

Luckily branding is more important for the company's products than its corporate identity.

Wal-Mart Stores

Wal-Mart has very helpfully posted a history of their logos on their website (http://walmartstores.com/AboutUs/8412.aspx along with some commentary.


The logo and typeface have changed quite a bit, making for inconsistent branding. There is quite a gap between "wild west" and the new "flower power".In my opinion, the logo which best described their business strategy of "everyday low price"s is this one:

                                      
 Also, what's with dropping the hyphen? Apparently even the company isn't sure whether their name is "Wal-Mart" or "Walmart". In the latest quarterly earnings release, the words are used interchangeably.

Walmart Logo Timeline

In our 46-year history, we have freshened up the Walmart logo on a number of occasions. Take a look at the evolution below.

	1962 - 1964 Sam Walton names his new stores WALMART. The Walmart name was presented in just about any font/style available to the printer.
	1964 - 1981 Also known as the "Frontier Font Logo," this was the first official and consistently used logo.
	1968 - 1981 The Discount City mark was used in print advertising, on the uniforms/smocks, in-store signing, and other things. However, it was never used as building signage or in an annual report.
	1981 - 1992 The logo was updated again in 1981.
	1992 - 2008 The star was adopted as an update to the existing logo in early 1992.
	2008 New logo adopted by Walmart Stores U.S

McDonald's

               

Not only is logo synonymous with the company, so is the phrase describing the logo. "Golden Arches" can only mean one thing. Whether or not you like to eat there (and I don't), you have to admit the branding is superb.

Denver department stores

In the mid twentieth century, Denver had four local department stores: Daniels and Fisher, May Company, the Denver Dry Goods and Joslins. None remain under those names.

Daniels and Fisher, founded in 1864, was bought by May (founded in 1877 in Leadville to outfit miners) in 1958. The new company was called May D&F. This logo has a western/cowboy feel, appropriate for a city where the main attraction in January is National Western Stock Show. a tradition since 1906.


All that remains of Daniels and Fisher is the iconic clock tower downtown.

                                                        

The Denver Dry Goods, founded in 1879, joined the Associated Dry Goods chain in 1966. Commonly known as "the Denver", the store was a little higher end than May D&F.



Joslin's was founded in 1873. It was purchased by Mercantile Stores, which in turn was acquired by Dillard's, the current nameplate of the stores in Denver.

                                

May Company had grown into a large chain by acquiring department stores in other cities. In 1986, it acquired Associated Dry Goods and merged the Denver with the May Co.

                                       

Several more mergers later, the old Daniels and Fisher, May, and Denver Dry Goods stores are all Macy's and Nordstrom is the newcomer in town.

AT&T and the end of the bell logo

American Telephone and Telegraph was founded by Alexander Graham Bell in 1885. The iconic bell logo was simplified over the years, but remained essentially the same. For a hundred years, the bell was synonomous with telephone service.

In 1982, AT&T lost the anti-trust suit the Federal government had filed against it, and the monopoly was broken up. The company was splintered into seven "Regional Bell Operating Companies" and the new AT&T which included Bell Labs. The RBOCs were frequently referred to as the Baby Bells.


The new companies were:
                       
 

To see how these eight companies (plus several later spin offs) fared in the stock market, I suggest this article by Birinyi Associates.   http://tickersense.typepad.com/ticker_sense/2006/01/1983_att_breaku.html

In the mid 1990s, the Baby Bells, apparently feeling a loss of family togetherness, started merging with each other. NYNEX was the first, bought by Bell Atlantic in 1996. Below is the logo Bell Atlantic used from 1997 until 2000, the last use of the the bell symbol.

The next year Pacific Telesis became part of SBC (the name that Southwestern Bell had taken in 1995). This is a transitional logo to get people accustomed to the name change. Eventually the words were dropped and the initials remained.
              
                                       

SBC bought Ameritech in 1999 and the old AT&T Corp. in 2005, changing its name to AT&T Inc. The new logo tweaked the AT&T globe and changed the initials to lower case. Finally, AT&T acquired Bell South in 2006.

 

In the meanwhile, Bell Atlantic bought GTE in 2000 and changed the combined companies' name to Verizon.

US West was acquired by Qwest in 2000. CenturyLink bought Qwest in 2011.
                                                   
                                                 

Riddle

Question: When is "pi" a letter in English?
Answer: When it is in a logo for a company with a name ending in "tt". Apparently.

                       

Canada Dry

Canada Dry Ginger Ale was first introduced in the US in 1923, but it had been sold in Canada for almost twenty years before that. This is the logo from 1921 which has a very clear map.

Source: Symbols of America by Hal Morgan, 1986.

In later years, the map got more indistinct.


And sometimes even showed all of North America....

... or just mountains.

     
        
                               
                                  

Dove soap / chocolate

Even if you would never confuse soap with chocolate, these logos are too similar!

  

Safeway

The exterior design of the stores has had more dramatic changes than the logos.

  1946-1981

1981-2006

2006 to present. Note that the red and white have flipped places from the prior logo.

Now that you know the logo sequence, you can track the approximate age of the store in the photo by the logo.




  This style was first used in 1959. It was named "Marina" after its first location in San Francisco.

United Continental Holdings

In May 2010, UAL (the holding company for United Airlines) and Continental Airlines agreed to merge.



The compromise was that the new airline would keep the United name, the Continental logo, and the United headquarters.

                                         

One more change for the traveling public to get used to.

Goldwater's Department Store

 

Goldwater's was a Phoenix, Arizona based department store. Founded in 1860, it became part of Associated Dry Goods in 1963. Currently, the stores are under the Macy's nameplate.

I think this is an excellent logo, showing a very strong sense of place.  Very unlike some generic looking logos that tell you nothing about what the company does or where they are located.

Most Improved Logo

Johnson Controls makes products ranging from HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) to batteries and automotive seats. Previously called Johnson Service Co., the early logo reminds me of a cattle brand. Bar S, Lazy J, JSC...



In 1974 the company name was changed and a new logo appeared.



This one makes me dizzy. What's wrong with my eyes? I'm seeing double, triple. O-O-O-O



Ahh, so much better!