Unilever Says "Goodbye" To A Chairman And "Hello" To A Logo
The departure of Niall FitzGerald, retiring chairman of Unilever, was marked with a new €10 million ($11.8m; ?.7m) logo.
The global FMCG group spent the small fortune to make its logo more "open and friendly".
One of the main beneficiaries of Unilever's largesse was brand consultancy Wolff Olins which advised on the redesign. Stationers and printers also benefited. The logo will feature more prominently on Unilever products from July.
The redesign transforms the capital "U" of the existing logo into 25 tiny icons, each representing different aspects of the company.
One image is the sun which, with typical marketing hyperbole, the company says is "the ultimate symbol of vitality".
A bird is a "symbol of freedom". Presumably it also represents Dove soap, one of Unilever's brands.
In an inspired move a shirt "represents fresh laundry". Unilever does manufacture detergents.
The company said the logo will help it achieve its goal of adding vitality to life by meeting "everyday needs for nutrition, hygiene and personal care with brands that help people feel good, look good and get more out of life."
In the 90s British Airways thought it was doing the same thing by painting the tail-fins of its fleet with abstract patterns.
Fortunately Unilever hasn't spent as much as BA.
Data sourced from: Financial Times; additional content by WARC staff
