Kraft foods unveiled a new logo on Tuesday, February 17th.
Believe it or not, this new logo is intended for corporate use, meaning the existing Kraft logo shown below will still be used on their product line.
I’m not sure how I feel about the design. While effective logos are simple and should visually convey the mission of the company, I’m not loving this logo. Simply putting “Kraft Foods” in lowercase letters does not mean that the company is modern and hip. As a corporate logo, I think it counters my chosen adjectives for the word “corporate:” grand and macho. Puny, lowercase letters do not work well here. Overall, this new design fails to deliver for its intended use.
If anything, I would have kept the old Kraft logo for corporate use and used the new logo for product use. What are your thoughts?
For a deeper design assessment, check out Brand New’s article.
Haven’t they learned from the debacle of Citi that smileys do not necessarily mean higher profits!
Quite amateur stuff really. The tagline seems to have been added as an afterthought and by somebody who has no sense of design consistency.
John, that’s a great comparison I hadn’t even thought of. Thanks for your input.
Coming from someone without a design background, but Public relations and internal communications, I’ll try to offer a different perspective.
Kraft Foods’s new internal logo might project the images of: family, warmth, caring, fun, wholesomeness, etc. From a communications perspective, those are the exact images that you want to portray to your employees. They want to feel valued, taken care of and important. With the current state of the economy and the many job cuts that seem to happen more and more each day, perhaps this logo is meant (even subconscious) to provide a sense of security. After doing a BRIEF Google search on what it’s like to work at Kraft, things have apparently gone from good to worse.
From the Press Release you posted, Kraft mentions the following:
“Pairing our new purpose with clear values unifies employees and enables a high-performing culture. Kraft Foods’ values in action are:
– We inspire trust.
– We act like owners.
– We keep it simple.
– We are open and inclusive.
– We tell it like it is.
– We lead from the head and the heart.
– We discuss. We decide. We deliver.”
Though Kraft is a major corporation, it looks like they’re trying to create a corporate identity and culture that evokes trust, transparency, and care to their employees.
I completely respect and love your analysis though
Meghan, your assessment from a PR perspective is refreshing. You mentioned from the Press Release that Kraft is engaging in an effort to unify employees through the head and the heart of the corporation as a whole. While I think this is perfectly okay and acceptable for a corporation to do, Kraft could have refined the logo a bit more to reflect these values.
I work for Kraft and when I saw the new logo on the website I thought “whoa, what were you thinking!”. I didn’t realize it was only for corporate use, that makes me feel better. I agree that it does look comforting, kindler and gentler.
I feel like the “old” logo represents a stamp of quality. Do you realize how many products are made by Kraft? Besides Mac and Cheese, there’s Kool-Aid, Jello, Oscar Mayer meats, Nabisco cookies and crackers, and tons more. Though not everything is sold directly under the brand name Kraft (like Kraft Singles, or Kraft Macaroni and Cheese), the other products have the old Kraft logo. Even though it is small and usually hidden on the back next to the nutrition facts, it is bold enough to catch your eye, and make you say “Kraft! this must be good stuff!”
But I may be a little bias since they pay me!
Amanda, I was curious to know how employees reacted to this change. You nailed it that the logo represents a stamp of quality. I suppose we should be thankful that Kraft is keeping the original logo for it’s public branding
Why do I care so much? I’m a huge advocate for brand recognition and consistency! Thanks again for your comment.
My guess is that there are probably morale issues in this company, and that the company feels that they can stimulate their workers through a bright cheerful logo.
It looks like a lipsticked smile, with Lucky Charms and pills squirting out……fun, i guess, but it seems, well not a logo. Not something you would “brand” on anyone or thing, but something you would expect on a birthday card bought in a grocery store…..in 1965
But it also seems like something a working woman can identify with, eating your kid’s cereal in a rush, popping pills and taking the kids to school kinda of life, always running late….and trying to laugh and smile while life is chaotic circus….
and yes, it is a direct wacky misuse of the citibank logo: surreal
logoworld.. what do you mean a smile with the citi logo, it’s an umbrella symbolising protection
I dislike both.