“What’s in a name," asked William Shakespeare in the classic Romeo and Juliet. “That which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet," he reasoned. Well, he was right. A Rose would indeed smell sweet even if people name it Lily! But, little did Mr Shakespeare know that at times names can smell trouble.
Here’s how. The sweet smell turns foul when ‘Rose’ is not so ‘Rosy’, when ‘Lily’ becomes a butt of jokes because of her rhyming cousin ‘Silly’, when one gets confused between ‘Batliwaala’ and ‘Daruwaala,’ when ‘Mirzapur’ has shades of ‘Wasseypur,’ and when American ‘Nike’ gets to know about his illegitimate Indian brother ‘Nikey,’ Yeah, it pinches!
Well, when looks get deceptive—lookalike, soundalike, and all alikes—there is a problem. They confuse. They amuse. And they diffuse. This is what has happened with Meesho’s new logo, which comes strikingly close to that of McDonald’s. Harish Bijoor minces no words. “The new logo is deceptively similar to the Golden Arches," reckons Bijoor, who runs an eponymous brand consulting firm. A first look, he underlines, gives an impression of two tunnels. And once you get into a tunnel, you get lost in e-shopping. “So if this is what it means, then it’s okay," he says. “But it doesn’t mean this."
Before we try to look into Meesho’s new look through the lens of marketing, branding and advertising experts, let’s have a look at the ‘official’ nuances of the new look. “Our refreshed colour palette, infused with hues of Jamuni and Aam, perfectly captures the essence of India’s splendid diversity," tweeted Sanjeev Barnwal, founder and CTO of Meesho. Irrespective of income, location, language, gender or age, Meesho has become the go-to destination for a wide spectrum of Indian consumers, he added. “The new look is a true embodiment of this inclusivity," he maintained in his tweet.
Now Bijoor explains the problem with Meesho’s new look. “The colour palettes don’t go together. Jamun, aam and Indianisation seems to be a forced fit," he reckons. Logos, he underscores, are what they convey in first impression. And if the first impression makes you think about McDonald’s, then the entire branding exercise loses its essence. It just becomes a cola without fizz. “You don’t change your look to make you look like some other person or logo," he says, adding that brand looks must never be deceptive.
First Published: Jun 09, 2023, 14:29
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