The Clorox CompanyCopied

In July 2021 the Clorox Company changed its corporate logo, and Fortune explained why. After the COVID-19 outbreak, Americans hoarded Clorox wipes to the point of chronic shortages, and the namesake disinfecting products overshadowed the rest of a portfolio that includes Liquid-Plumr, Glad and Kingsford, in the eyes of investors and employees alike. Sales were flat in the latest quarter, a year after the pandemic peak, adding pressure on the other brands.

The retired corporate logo placed the word Clorox inside a diamond, evocative of though not identical to the cleaning brand's logo. The new one simply reads The Clorox Company in a simpler, modern font, preceded by a C that Fortune said recalls a camera aperture. The company's chief marketing and strategy officer said it moves the company away from just the diamond, which very much represents the Clorox brand, and feels more inclusive of the whole company.

Clorox's own blog framed the change around purpose: to champion people to be well and thrive every day. The modern, simple look stands for a forward-looking approach; the spectrum of colours is inspired by its house of brands and its diverse culture; the dynamic design embodies its innovative spirit. The familiar diamond, it added, remains at the core to honour its heritage.

Fortune pointed out that most shoppers would never notice or care. The audience is Wall Street, which the company wants to see a portfolio rather than a one-trick consumer goods pony, a problem rivals like Procter & Gamble and Unilever avoid because they are not named after a brand.

The company blog leaned on history to justify the change. Its namesake bleach, it said, supported the war effort in World War II by disinfecting wounds and neutralising enemy gases, and over the decades Clorox had helped communities after disasters with purified water and Glad bags for clean-up. The pandemic had crystallised a purpose to champion people to be well and thrive, and the spectrum of colours drew on its house of brands. That history is far more persuasive than the abstract language about innovative spirit, and the new mark wisely keeps the diamond that carries it.

That diagnosis is exactly right, and the design answers it competently. Separating the corporate mark from the bleach bottle is overdue. The aperture C is pleasant if generic. But the logo can only do so much when the company's name is also its most famous product.