Morrisons’ rebranding exercise hurts my eyes
Morrisons is rebranding. It should have rebranded about twenty years ago. Still, you might say, better late than never. Until you see the effort they’ve come up with.
They’ve managed to turn something ugly, dated, and memorable into something uglier, tackier, and instantly forgettable. It’s really quite an achievement. It’s a circle with the letter ‘M’, and ‘Morrisons’ written underneath. They’ve taken the first letter of their name, and stuck it in a circle. They’ve swapped black for a wishy-washy greeny colour. It looks like something a colour-blind medical student with no design skill might have designed in Paint.
I’m really struggling to find something positive to say about it. Erm… I don’t think I can find anything. But you know what would’ve looked better? This.
Your Comments and Responses
Comment from Ken from Glos
Spot on!!
» This comment was received at 19:58 on 25 April 07
Comment from workhard
You have too much time on your hands.
» This comment was received at 13:00 on 26 April 07
Comment from verny
Like all City sponsored prannocks, new Morrison boss Marc Boland has to make an impact, so he chooses softest and most predictable target of all – the logo. All these red-bracered twazzacks do it, but this takes some beating – a £450 million budget purely on graphics with 10% of the impact and memorability of the one he’s dumped. And what a world-shattering slogan…”fresh food every day for you”…what a bloody stupid cliche that EVERY retailer claims, including the local chippy. Still, Marc has made his mark, and fully justified the £6 million he has been promised in the next 3 years….plus loot from selling this great old firm down the river to his buddies in the City. Which is where we came in.
» This comment was received at 17:32 on 08 May 07
Comment from Tom
Why do people persist in sticking up for the Safeway branding – IT WAS LOSING MONEY and is now making a profit having been rebranded to Morrisons
» This comment was received at 23:55 on 18 June 07
Comment from the original poster,
sjhoward
I don’t think it was Safeway’s branding that was losing it money – I think the infrastructure had more to do with it. I’d wager that if Morrisons had retained Safeway’s branding, it would be doing better now than it currently is.
» This comment was received at 05:40 on 19 June 07
Comment from Adam Clarkson
I just wish that our company had been let loose on Morrisons branding. We would have given them what they need to rival the powerhouse that is Tesco and the branding to wipe ASDA and LIDL off the UK supermarket map
» This comment was received at 14:28 on 20 September 07
Comment from the original poster,
sjhoward
Thanks for all your comments.
Adam – With the best will in the world, I don’t think even the best of branding could make Morrisons take on Tesco, nor wipe ASDA off the map. It’s branding is poor, and it would’ve been interesting to see what other agencies could have produced, but I think the problems run deeper than branding.
» This comment was received at 18:03 on 26 September 07
Comment from Tom
in my opinion the Morrisons fresh lines (especially meat and fish) completely blow all the other three competitors away and i dont like to shop anywhere else. I genuinely believe it is cheaper, comes in far more useful portion sizes, there is a much larger range of fish, and it’s all of the same quality and possibly better presented. Also, the packaging is the same size as the meat/fish cuts – NOT twice the size like in Asda and Tescos. The branding is the main problem because people percieve the place as rubbish and believe Tescos totally false (in my experience) claims that they are cheaper etc etc. They are also bad at promoting their good points aggresively like the others do.
And incidentally, the new logo etc is in place in a new store in Johnstone near Glasgow and surprised me by looking very fresh, modern and generally appealing. It’s a funny thing but often the best logos seem to look bad at first, and grow on you!
» This comment was received at 00:48 on 29 October 07
Comment from Gerwyn
ok…. i actualy WORK at Morrisons…. and i have to say the author of this blog is dead right, the “new” logo makes me sick too… just think in a couple of weeks time their bringing in new uniforms….. supposably similar in colour to the “new” logo….. think i might quit….. 
» This comment was received at 17:53 on 09 May 08
Comment from the original poster,
sjhoward
Surely anything’s an improvement on the old uniform?
» This comment was received at 20:35 on 09 May 08
Comment from Anni
I also work for morrisons and i can quite frankly say that the new uniform has grown on me but is still rubbish the market street departments look like cheap and tacky sticks of rock but according to the senior management at head office that dont have the pleasure of wearing it day in day out the think it looks good Not
on a previous point i personally dont think its the branding or the logo that lets the company down it is indeed the management infrastructure.
the bosses at the top get paid for sitting on their backsides all day when its us at the bottom that do al the work take all the flack from customers and have the unfortunate task of dealing with first aid call outs that dont end up with a happy ending
something needs sorting
» This comment was received at 20:49 on 20 September 08
Comment from gwernj
this is a shit shop i was working here for my work exceperience
» This comment was received at 18:10 on 07 January 09
Comment from Denyerec
I was looking for the Morrisons logo to include as part of a photo-joke for a forum signature (Don’t ask) and had to go with ASDA instead because I didn’t wanna use their new one and have it make me look like a lousy designer.
Eesh. People get paid for this stuff? *shakes head*
» This comment was received at 23:29 on 10 February 09
