The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus has a rich advertising history dating back to 1871. The colorful posters that were plastered in towns across America, sometimes weeks before the arrival of the circus—promising animals, oddities, clowns, high-wire acts and more—include some of the most iconic images in the country’s history.

Now, nearly six years after shutting down due to low attendance and pressure from animal-rights groups, Ringling is relying on advertising again as it prepares its first animal-free tour coming this fall.

A new brand campaign, from FutureBrand and VMLY&R, includes a new logo and visual identity that draws on the company’s storied past while creating a fresh, modern brand system for the future.

“It's been a little frightening. It's like, oh my gosh, we're going to reimagine this icon that's been around forever,” said Lorraine Buck, chief marketing officer at Feld Entertainment, the live-show production company that owns Ringling. “But if you look at the history of the brand, it's always evolved with the times. It's always tried to relate to today's audience, no matter when today is.”

The core change is the new logo—or rather, system of logos. The new mark keeps a similar scripted typeface, but is cleaner and can be used in various forms for different moments and platforms.

“It’s a blend of visual heritage and modern simplicity,” Buck said. “The ornamental typography harkens back to where the brand has been over time. We know that's an equity, but we wanted to contemporize it and make it more modern to what you would see today.”

The central element of the design system, particularly in its simplest expression is the capital R, whose stem sits atop a circle, making an exclamation point—to communicate that Ringling experiences are filled with “wow” moments. The company’s seal has also been simplified, retaining the line “The Greatest Show on Earth,” which also has significant equity, but losing the globe and instead encircling the new R.

The identity system will come to life in ads that are also systematic in their color, shape and content.

The new ads are heavy on primary colors—red, yellow and blue. This links back to the original Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey posters, created in the 19th century, when printers had only those three colors to work with. But again, it’s tweaked for the modern day.

“The circus would roll into town and the local printers had to use that red, blue and yellow palette,” said Buck. “We’ve contemporized the hues a little bit. And we've also added in secondary or some accent colors as well, to bring more of a contemporary feel. You start to see a little bit of the pink and other colors, just to mix it up a bit.” 

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The new ads are heavy on circles, too. 

“It's an iconic shape for the brand,” said Buck. “It calls back to historical times when it was a three-ring circus. You might think of acrobatics. But we also know the circle conveys different things to different people. It conveys the bond between family and friends. We also look at the circle as a portal to new experiences. It’s a way to draw your attention in and create some intrigue. It's a visual language in and of itself.” 

The visuals in the ads focus on the performers—all humans this time, no animals—but also on the audience members, as Ringling considers their reaction to the entertainment to be just as important to illustrate as the entertainment itself.

“It's a highly graphic visual language built around the expressiveness of human performance,” said Buck. “But it’s also that human reaction. What do people feel? How are they reacting and how are they engaging with those performers?”

Finally, the brand voice is critical—how social posts and broadcast voiceovers will be written, for example. Buck said four pillars inform this part of the brand architecture—wonder, surprise, playfulness and making the old new again.

As it prepares the all-new touring show, coming in September, Ringling is counting on six months of promotion to sell tickets. Along with the new identity, Buck said, Ringling is leaning into one other longtime brand attribute to make the new show a success.

“What we hear from fans more than anything else is they look at Ringling as a brand or product they can bring their whole family to,” she said. “Other people may assume it's other things—animals, for example. But believe it or not, that's like the fourth thing on the list. People have generational memories about it—family memories they can carry forward. We’re excited to bring that back.”