Sunday’s Academy Awards marks jcpenney’s tenth year as exclusive retail sponsor of the Academy Awards. This year, in tandem with many of the attendees, it will be putting forth a fresher face — only this one will make it obvious that it's had work done. 

In tandem with the retailer's rebranded logo, look and identity, its advertising during the Oscars telecast on ABC will introduce a new tagline: “We make it affordable, you make it yours.” 

The brand is squarely positioning itself as an expert in great style at compelling prices. Seven 30-second spots produced in partnership with Saatchi & Saatchi will highlight key brands including Liz Claiborne, MNG by Mango, People StyleWatch and Cindy Crawford Style.Continue reading...

While oil news turns to talks of shortages following unrest in North Africa and the Middle East (especially Libya), one of the most "renowned" oil companies as of late has quietly made a small change to its brand in Russia.

TNK-BP, Russia's third largest oil producer — half owned by the Alpha-Access-Renova (AAR) consortium and half owned by BP — has recently begun using a BP starburst logo with all the green removed. Should we expect to see this colorless palate spread across BP's global identity?Continue reading...

Everybody loves a rebranding story, and the transformation of APX Alarm to Vivint is a good one, as shown in the above video.

Formerly known as APX Alarm Security Solutions, Inc., it's one of the top four home security companies in North America. So why rebrand to Vivint? For a start, to establish itself in the burgeoning smart home space.

That's a big reason why Goldman Sachs is backing Vivint to the tune of $565 million, of which about $5 million will be spent on the rebranding campaign, which covers Facebook, Twitter, and new digital presence and more to come.Continue reading...

JCPenney has thrown in with all the other brands suffering sluggish performance in the belief that a logo change will make a difference.

Penney's new logo moves around some red furniture, drops to lowercase and presto!: "Our new logo reflects the modern retailer we've become while continuing to honor our rich legacy."

Maybe due to the punches in the guts lately from some truly questionable logo redesigns, JCPenney's move doesn't look all that disagreeable. But then, that might be the Gap logo hangover talking. But this is no small logo change, even if it looks like it was made using the Gap logo-maker. JCPenney is remaking itself into "jcpenney."Continue reading...

As long as so many things are new and different in the U.S. auto industry, the United Auto Workers union thought they might as well try to take advantage of the seachange. That’s why the new UAW president, Bob King, has begun making entreaties to foreign automakers operating in the U.S. to allow the union to attempt to organize their workforces.

But don’t expect it to work. A union can’t fundamentally change its stripes or its raison d’etre. Unless King is willing to lead the UAW down that road – which he isn’t – the UAW will likely never be an appealing enough partner to the likes of the Japanese, Korean and European brands operating plants in America. And if the bosses aren’t welcoming the UAW, their workforces aren’t likely to either.Continue reading...

American seafood restaurant chain Long John Silver's today unveiled its first commercial promoting its new "We Speak Fish" tagline, logo and brand positioning.

Among the world’s most glamorized and vilified agencies, the CIA is keeping up with the times, and presenting a new image to the public with a digital facelift – a prerequisite for any brand presence in the 21st century, particularly one charged with national intelligence.

It's also reaching out beyond its website, as evidenced by the above. America's Central Intelligence Agency has a new video on its YouTube channel — that’s right the CIA has a YouTube channel — as the first in a series of webisodes meant to engage not only the public, but children.Continue reading...

In a move that pre-dated new CEO John C. Miller, Denny's is spending an estimated $60 million to tap into America's nostalgia for friendlier service and simpler (cheaper) menus. It's repositioning its eateries as diners (instead of the family restaurant mantle it has worn for 58 years) with a folksy campaign, a new tagline ("America's diner is always open") and a new value menu. Check 'em out after the jump, hon.Continue reading...