No-go logos: The story of unpopular branding

The graffiti-like logo for the 2012 London Olympics appeared yesterday to have seen off all competitors and claimed a medal for being the most unpopular logo in British marketing history.

All the early signs were that the year-long research and consumer testing behind the stark, jagged image was wasted. Less than two days after the logo was unveiled, more than 26,000 people had signed an online petition for it to be scrapped. Petitions defending it found only a handful of supporters.

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The kindest thing said about the logo came from the Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, who remarked that no matter how much it was disliked, it was "not the end of the world". He added: "These are matters of individual taste. I'm fine with it."

Others have compared the image to a "toileting monkey" or a " broken swastika". Peter O'Connor, one of the thousands of petitioners calling for the logo to be scrapped, said: "Trying to defend something which is as despised as this logo is not only foolish but totally unprofessional." Another, Susan Ward, from London, complained that "it fails to communicate what it is meant to be".

Peter Mitchell from Ipswich wrote: "Look at it closely, it looks like some sort of comical sex act between The Simpsons."

Two petitions have been launched supporting the logo, one of which described it as "a superb representation of the diverse and colourful society and culture we live in" with "a sense of 1980s graffiti art". But they attracted fewer than 70 signatures in total, many of which seemed fakes, including "Ms Lisa Simpson, of Springfield, USA".

The bookmakers Graham Hill offered odds of 10/1 yesterday that the logo would be scrapped by the end of the year. The logo's designers, Wolff Ollins, referred all inquiries yesterday to the London 2012 press office, which would not comment.

UNPOPULAR LOGOS

The BA ethnic tail fins

The mission For decades, the tail fins of planes owned by British Airways or its predecessors had a design based on the red, white and blue of the Union Jack. But in 1997, Bob Ayling, BA's chief executive, stressing that 60 per cent of the airline's passengers were non-British, insisted on something more cosmopolitan. The red, white and blue was replaced by a variety of multicoloured designs ranging from Delft pottery to Chinese calligraphy, at a cost of £60m.

The reaction Margaret Thatcher was so disgusted by the change that when she spotted a replica of the new design at a stand at the Conservative Party conference she draped a handkerchief over it. Richard Branson, the head of BA's rival Virgin, crowed: "The squiggly lines didn't work and their profits have dive-bombed since they introduced them."

BT's prancing piper

The mission In 1991, British Telecom had only recently been privatised, and needed to distinguish itself from the old state-owned telecommunications system. It called in Wolff Ollins - the same design firm that has now given us the 2012 Olympics logo - which came up with a blue and red prancing piper, which appeared on telephone bills, on the company's 37,000 vans and in 33,000 phone booths.

The reaction The Sun's front page declared: "BT blows £5m on a trumpet." As it turned out the figure was hugely underestimated - the sum total was estimated at £50m. Stephen Bayley, of the Design Museum, described it as "Wolff Ollins at its blustering, mature worst". In 2003, BT announced that it was phasing out the piper.

Soca's panther

The mission The Serious Organised Crime Agency came into being in 2005, to put fear into terrorists, drug smugglers and the like. Its logo was designed to make it look tough and fast-moving. A giant cat brandishes claws and fangs as it straddles the globe, implying that nowhere is beyond Soca's reach.

The reaction Patrick Cox, executive creative director of Wolff Olins: "It is very much in the manner of what you imagine would be used in a Jackie Chan movie. It's not very sophisticated."

The Conservative oak

The mission Launched in September, this was part of David Cameron's effort to shake off the vote-losing aspects of the party's past, in which the colour blue featured endlessly. The new look is caring, steady and as English as the oak. The London Market Agency was paid £40,000 for the logo.

The reaction Tim Montgomerie, editor of the Conservative Home website: "It's a really ugly thing." One blogger on a Tory website wrote: "It looks like a three-year-old has been let loose with a crayon. "

Instituto de Estudos Orientais

The mission With its bright, primary colours, its simple design, and the hint of familiar symbols of oriental wisdom - the pagoda outlined against a red setting sun, this logo was intended to make the Institute of Oriental Studies at a Brazilian University seem an inviting, happy and peaceful place.

The reaction When designing a logo, you must always ask yourself whether someone else who looks at it will see a hidden image that was never intended to be there. This particular logo became a popular item on the internet. The institute hurriedly replaced the original.

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