Simpler is better – at least when it comes to creating branding identities and logos. It’s been a long undisputed practice that the best designs come from incorporating the most unique identifying elements in as few details as needed (though not necessarily possible). That’s what Slack was missing – with a hashtag (or “octothorpe”) logo that included 11 different colours, it was, in their own words, “extremely easy to get wrong.”
When household shaving brand Gillette launched their latest ad campaign focused on shifting their tagline “The best a man can get” to “The best men can be,” they received both overwhelming support and abuse, along with a significant amount of earned media coverage and virality. Without taking into consideration socio-political stances or beliefs on toxic masculinity or even feminism, this ad can be easily called a massive success.
Dove’s latest Facebook campaign featuring a black woman removing a brown T-shirt to reveal a white woman in a pink T-shirt underneath has received widespread backlash and gone viral this week. The racially-insensitive blunder attempted to show the diversity of beauty in the world, but was ended up falling flat on its face by seemingly implying that Dove products had “cleaned” her black skin off.