Wal-Mart's new name coming to a store near you
Posted
Dec 01 2008, 04:38 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Has anyone else noticed that Wal-Mart has changed its name? It's no longer Wal-Mart. It's
Walmart, followed by something that's been called a starburst and a spark.
Does anyone care? "For consumers who had problems with Wal-Mart's brand the new logo won't change their minds; slapping lipstick on a pig does little good either," Ries' Pieces wrote in a post before the hyphen officially bit the dust.
On the other hand, we can't imagine that Walmart fans care either, as the new logo shows up in more places across the land. But we looked around the Web to see what others more in tune with logos think.
Identityworks said the change is good because it recognizes how widely known the name is -- apparently Walmart seems more like a real word than Wal-Mart does -- and "it relieves us all of the implied obligation to punctuate Wal-Mart correctly."
Others praised Walmart for dropping the all-caps format. (The name in the ads and on the stores was WAL, followed by a star or what's called a "squiggly" in Walmart-speak, then MART.) By dropping the capital letters, "Walmart is turning down the volume," Kevin Roberts wrote at KR Connect. Other said the new design is slimmer, more modern (the hyphen is so out of favor these days) and intended to look environmentally friendly with the starburst. However, Brand New said that design element brings to mind a technology or telecommunications company.
Walmart said in a press release, "This update to the logo is simply a reflection of the refresh taking place inside our stores and our renewed sense of purpose to help people save money so they can live better." The "refresh" apparently includes an effort to be more green. (We're happy to read that all Wal-Mart stores will begin donating food to food banks by the end of 2009.)
Just for fun, a poster at a forum asked others what they'd call Walmart if they could pick a new name. Tops on the list were Wall-E World and Wally World, common nicknames for the retail behemoth. Other suggestions were Nothing American Mart, China-Mart, Cheap-Mart and Only Come Here When Desperate Mart.
We bet there's one group of people who are happy about the logo change. Hopefully, when Walmart employees do the company cheer at the quasi-mandatory morning meeting, they no longer have to yell "squiggly, accompanied by an embarrassing shimmy, when spelling the name of the store.
