Now that the Gap redesign logo fiasco has died down and the iconic clothing retailer is getting on with what it does best - selling classic, traditional and well-styled, American clothing, let’s take a look back at the logo crisis and give Kudos to the Gap for pausing to see what all the fuss was really all about - messing with the identity of a brand steeped in classic Americana - a little dodgy to say the least. Take note, logo changes of iconic brands need to be subtle, almost imperceptible to the public, a mere nudging in the right direction to reflect current times. You can subtly revitalize a brand without taking away its heritage with a radical redesign.
So what were they thinking at the Gap? The purpose of redesigning the Gap logo was to capture a more modern brand image in line with store redesigns and new product introductions. The Gap wanted to reflect a more modern brand to consumers and turned to the logo as a way to communicate. The learning - be cautious when changing the insignia of iconic brands. Consumers are often emotionally attached to these brands, and their logos can pull at special memories such as a first pair of jeans, teenage friends, or that special shopping trip with a parent.
The background - on Monday October 5, 2010, the Gap announced a logo change at www.Gap.com, resulting in negative articles on Advertising Age and the Consumerist. This fuelled a flurry of negative reactions to the redesign in the mainstream media, on blogs, and on social networks such as Facebook with parody accounts surfacing on Twitter with @gaplogo, @oldgaplogo, and @craplogo. A saucy new website, http://www.craplogo.me/ mocked the new logo with an online logo-creator where visitors could instantly create spoofs of the new Gap logo.
A week later, rethinking its approach and responding to consumer backlash, the Gap announced its decision to revert to its old logo. The impetus; passionate comments supporting the old logo, over 1500 Facebook comments on the Gap page, and a flurry of negative comments on Twitter and in the mainstream media.
For a second year in a row Cadbury Canada is supporting kids in Ghana with a purpose in mind - sending 5,000 bicycles to Ghana so children can to go to school, do their chores, and hang on to their life’s dreams - a well suited cause for a company that sells chocolates and candies to children in the industrialized world, using cocoa as an ingredient farmed in Ghana – well done!
Cadbury is keeping their 2010 Bicycle Factory campaign open until November 14, 2010 so UPC codes from candy and chocolate wrappers can still be added - each UPC code represents a single part of a bicycle - each bike in the campaign needing 100 parts or UPC entries. In 2010, this campaign has already built 3799 bikes and is striving to reach its goal of 5,000 bikes by mid November. Real-time monitoring captures the campaign’s progress on its microsite of a virtual factory at www.thebicyclefactory.ca
Last November 2009, in its first year, the Bicycle Factory successfully delivered 5,000 bicycles to more than 200 communities in Ghana. Cadbury saw the Bicycle Factory program as an opportunity to help under privileged children, particularly those in Ghana, a region close to Cadbury’s heart due to its involvement in the country for over 100 years.
The Bicycle Factory is marketed in Canada with TV spots, Facebook pages (http://www.facebook.com/BicycleFactory), and a Twitter feed (http://twitter.com/bicyclefactory), all pointing consumers to an online microsite at www.thebicyclefactory.ca to enter UPC codes from Cadbury products such as Caramilk, Dairy Milk, Trident gum, Dentyne gum, Maynards Wine Gums, and Sour Patch Kids to help build bicycles. Each UPC adds an additional part to a bicycle destined for Ghana.
An impactful TV spot with its memorable music track from the Vapor Music Group kicked off the campaign in 2009 showing the multiple uses of a bicycle in Ghana - from a delivery truck, to an ambulance, to a school bus, bicycles in Ghana are shown to be more than a mode of transportation. Bicycles are an important part of life and can make a significant difference. Bicycles in Ghana give children access to education and sustenance, as well as economic and social opportunities. According to the United Nations, children often have to walk over two hours per day to attend school in Africa with 40 million children not attending due to the access issue.
In 2010 Cadbury brought additional attention to its Bicycle Factory’s efforts. Cadbury’s agency for the project, the Hive partnered with Frantic Films and JUJU films to create a 45 minute documentary Wheels of Change which aired on CTV in early October with 20,000 copies of the DVD distributed to the Free the Children's We Day event which challenges schools in Canada to make a difference at home and abroad. The documentary follows the lives of three children in Ghana who received the bicycles, using a lens to document how the program is making a difference.
As for success, in its first year the Bicycle Factory’s microsite received over 400,000 on-line entries which helped deliver 5,000 bicycles to Ghana. To date its Facebook page has over 1986 likes, CTV may be airing the documentary again in 2011, and Cadbury is on track for meeting its target of delivering 5,000 bikes in 2010. Cadbury Canada plans to continue its Bicycle Factory program in 2011 and is encouraging its sister companies in the UK and Australia to become involved. We wish you well!
Below you can click on links to the impactful Bicycle Factory TV spot, and a teaser showing the 2009 delivery of the bicycles in Ghana , and a trailer to the TV documentary Wheels of Change. Be sure to follow this program’s success by subscribing to its YouTube channel at http://www.youtube.com/user/TheBicycleFactory
On the subject of creativity - here is a little something sent to me by a creative individual currently residing in Australia. Yes the Internet allows the word, images, and video to spread rapidly throughout the world. Since August 25 when this TIPP-EX video, A Hunter Shoots a Bear was uploaded to YouTube it has garnered over 11 million views in over 2 months (updated October 21, 2010), boosted by its creativity which engages audiences and provides a forum for interaction.
It is rather unusual to have the protagonist in a YouTube video reach outside the video in a manner that totally relates to the product being marketed. In another creative twist the viewer is then encouraged to interact with the TIPP-EX video itself, repeatedly resulting in comical exchanges. Although many find this A Hunter Shoots a Bear YouTube video intrusive, creative, and memorable, others have commented that this approach could be improved. This is noted by Jonathan Ginburg in his blog post that questions whether the TIPP-EX branding falls short in this video. His blog post, How Engagement Can Fall Short, http://bit.ly/ceTdA provides some suggestions for improvement. Read his blog post and take a look at the video itself by clicking on the links below to see what you think - be sure to interact with the TIPP-EX video to benefit from the full extent of its creativity.
