3 logo redesigns in 2020 that provoked the most snark

Several brands promoted redesigns in 2020, ranging from Target’s Shipt delivery service, which swapped out its spaceship for a shopping bag early this year, to Rite Aid, which traded its shield logo for a mortar and pestle in November. Other notable new logos this year include Nissan, which updated its logo for the first time in two decades. The carmaker unveiled a 2D, streamlined look over the summer. In addition, Toyota ditched its brand name for a logo with the redesign of its brand identity in Europe, following in the footsteps of the likes of Apple and Nike.

Yet, not everyone applauded all the changes. Ad Age looks at a few of the year’s redesigns that elicited more jeers than cheers.

Smucker: It has to be abstract

In September, J.M. Smucker Co. debuted a brand makeover, meant to communicate that the company is more than just a seller of jam. Smucker also sells pet food and coffee, for example. But the new logo, created with branding agency CBX, showing a more abstract collection of shapes rather than the strawberries of yesteryear, didn’t sit well with customers. One complained on social media that “graphic design has gone too far.”

Bojangles: Goodbye, 'ambiguously placed apostrophe'

When Bojangles tried to modernize its brand in August—by getting rid of its apostrophe and black outline, consumers cried foul. The new look was the food chain’s first redesign, and it kept key features, including a star over the “J.” Bojangles worked with Sterling Brands on the new work. But customers missed the old logo, including that “ambiguously placed apostrophe,” as someone noted on social media.

Rite Aid: The final showdown of Shield vs. Plant

After more than half a century, Rite Aid changed its well-known red-and-blue shield logo this fall, opting instead for a green-and-blue-colored mortar and pestle beneath some leaves. The redesign is meant to showcase the drugstore chain’s holistic aspirations, executives said. But consumers complained the change is too extreme and afield from the long-familiar Rite Aid logo. One person asked, “Rite Aid changed their logo? Is anything sacred?” It’s 2020—of course not.