AOL launches new branding campaign
"Want a better Internet?" That's the question America Online will be asking in a new brand campaign started 10/7. The comprehensive new advertising campaign is intended to reposition America Online as the service that is truly on the side of the online consumer. It begins with print ads in leading newspapers that outline AOL's commitments to its members. AOL also announced today the first redesign of its logo since 1991, which among other things gives the familiar triangle a more up-to-date look.
The initial print ad, by The Martin Agency, explains eight commitments AOL is making to its members. "Today," the ad says, "we're announcing a series of commitments that will drive our employees to one common goal: to make life online better for our members, and in so doing, to improve their lives." The eight bullets explain AOL's determination to protect members from online threats, safeguard children, protect member privacy, protect members against sp@m and scams, provide the best communication tools possible, provide simple solutions, innovate and offer comprehensive customer service.
The ads will start as double-page spreads in The NY Times, The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post with the series continuing over the course of several weeks.
On 10/11, a series of television ads by BBDO debuts. The commercials bring AOL's commitments to life by highlighting the company's relationship with its members in a more personal way.
In one of the TV commercials, shot on the AOL campus in Dulles, VA, an office receptionist looks up to see that a huge crowd of AOL members has turned up at headquarters with ideas on how to make the Internet better. In the second ad, an individual AOL member comes to talk with executives about how to improve the Internet. The executives wholeheartedly welcome her ideas.
Additional episodes will follow, all featuring interactions between "employees" and "members" that show how AOL is listening to members and is committed to being on their side. The ads end with the tag: "Want a better Internet? America Online. Broadband, Wireless, Dialup" to remind consumers that AOL serves members however they connect to the Internet. The ads will air during primetime, late night and cable, with accompanying print and radio.
In conjunction with the new branding effort, and to mark the company's upcoming 20th anniversary, AOL is launching a new logo treatment, the first adjustment to the AOL logo since 1991. The new logo turns the iconic AOL triangle on its side to resemble a forward arrow, with a more contemporary typeface. Says Redling, "By reinterpreting the familiar blue triangle, the new logo preserves the recognizable elements of AOL and literally points a new way forward."
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