Vacation rental service Airbnb unveiled a new logo last week that generated a wave of criticism for its design. Some likened it to a triangular paperclip or, even more crudely, to certain female anatomy. But the company still stands by the logo, which it calls Bélo and says represents belonging. “It’s a symbol for people who want to welcome into their home new experiences, new cultures, and new conversations,” Airbnbsaid on its blog. Well, maybe if you squint.

    As to be expected, branding experts aren’t exactly thrilled by the design. Their verdict: Why futz with something that seemed to work just fine.

    “My issue is that the original logo was pretty good to begin with,” said Rick Barrack, chief creative officer at CBX, a brand agency.

    Airbnb’s prior logo – the company’s name in light blue lettering – was simple and something that more start-ups should do, he said. It communicated the brand and stuck in the mind of its users. Despite backlash, Barrack said that Airbnb should now stay the course. “The outrage will go away very quickly,” he predicted.

    Against the backdrop of Airbnb’s logo Fortune is exploring other examples of corporate branding that – at least according to popular opinion – missed the mark. Here are a few examples:

    度假公寓租赁服务网站Airbnb上周发布的一个新logo引来了不少人的批评。有人说它像一枚三角型的曲别针，更无节操者甚至说它像是女性的某个器官。但是Airbnb公司仍然支持这个logo，该公司把它称做Bélo，并称它象征着归属感。Airbnb在其官方博客上称：“它是一个象征，代表了那些想要在家中获得新的体验、感受新的文化、开启新的对话的人。”大概只有斜视眼才能看得出来吧。

    正如所料，品牌专家们对这个设计并不十分感冒。他们的结论是：以前那个logo效果挺不错的，为什么要换。

    品牌代理公司CBX的创意总监里克•巴拉克表示：“我的意见是，旧的Logo对于这样一家创业公司来说就相当不错了。”

    Airbnb的旧logo，就是把该公司的名字用蓝色的英文字母表示出来。巴拉克认为这个logo既简单而且又有创业公司的感觉。它既传递了品牌的含义，同时又深深根植在用户的脑中。不过巴拉克虽然不喜欢这个新logo，但他认为Airbnb还是得坚持下去，他预测道：“外界的怒火很快就会平息下去。”

    在Airbnb发布新logo的背景下，《财富》也收集了另外几家公司选用了失败的logo的案例——至少人们的主流观点都认为这些logo是失败的。现将这些例子罗列如下：

    Tropicana

    Date released: 2009

    Lifespan: Nearly two months

    The Pepsico-owned juices , which claims to deliver "100% pure squeezed Florida sunshine" to its customers, had somewhat of a cloudy day branding-wise five years ago when it introduced new packaging. The company replaced its iconic logo - an orange-with-a-straw-stuck-in-it - in favor of a glass filled with juice. The backlash was fierce: Sales by Tropicana rivals increased, while its own fell 20%, according to AdvertisingAge. A little over a month later, it switched back to its previous design.

    纯果乐

    发布日期：2009年

    寿命：将近2个月

    作为百事可乐旗下的果汁品牌，纯果乐声称要为顾客提供“100%纯粹鲜榨的佛罗里达的阳光”。不过五年前该公司推出新包装时还是遭遇了一阵“阴天”。当时公司换掉了它的经典logo——一只插着吸管的橙子，换成了一杯橙汁的图案。结果负面反应非常严重。据《广告时代》称，当时纯果乐的竞争对手销量有所上涨，而纯果乐自己的销量却下跌了20%。才过了一个多月，纯果乐就匆忙换回了之前的设计。

    Gap

    Date released: 2010

    Lifespan: A week

    Clothing store Gap tried to recast its image from "classic, American design to modern, sexy, cool," a company spokesperson said at the time. That ended in failure, however. The retail store has always been known for the elegant and elongated letters of its font. But it switched to lowercase black letters with an awkwardly placed blue box atop the letter.

    In reaction to the outcry, the company used Facebook to solicit its customers for advice. "We know this logo created a lot of buzz and we’re thrilled to see passionate debates unfolding!” the company wrote. "So much so we’re asking you to share your designs. We love our version, but we’d like to see other ideas." The call for help didn't amount to much and the company later returned to its "classic" roots.

    Gap

    发布日期：2010年

    寿命：一个星期

    当时服装商店Gap的一名发言人曾表示，Gap想把它的形象从“经典美国设计”改变为“现代、性感、酷”。但是这种改变最终以失败而告终。Gap一直以logo上典雅的瘦长字体为人所知，但是后来它把logo改成了黑色的小写字体，最后一个字母上还有一个尴尬的蓝块块。

    由于引起了消费者的强烈反感，该公司通过Facebook向顾客征集意见：“我们知道这个logo引起了很多议论，也乐于见到大家各抒所见！ 所以我们请您分享您的设计。我们喜欢我们的版本，但也希望看到其它创意。”不过这条求助信息最终没起什么作用，该公司后来又恢复了它的“传统型”logo。

    JCPenny

    Date released: 2012

    Lifespan: A year

    For JCPenny, the logo woes were many. In fact, the company switched up its design every year for four years. In 2011, it threw out its classic logo for another featuring lower case letters and a red box. It then held a competition for a new design. The winner? A lowercase "jcp" in a blue box, bordered by a bigger red box. The tweak didn't make customers happy, however, and they changed the design back a year later (having also changed the logo a year before that in 2011). Of course, all these redesigns came as the company stumbled financially, capped by a $550 million loss in the fourth quarter of 2012.

    JCPenny

    发布日期：2012年

    寿命：一年

    对于JCPenny公司来说，有关logo的苦水着实不少。这家公司曾经在四年时间里，年年都换一次logo的设计。2011年，该公司丢弃了它的经典logo，取而代之的是一串小写字母和一个红框框。然后它又举办了一场征集新设计的竞赛。最后胜出者，是把小写的“jcp”三个字母放在一个蓝块块里，外面围着一个更大的红框框。不过大概一年后，他们就改变了这个设计。当然，logo接连变换的同时，该公司的经济状况也是步履蹒跚。2012年第四季度，JCPenny报亏5.5亿美元。

    Starbucks

    Date released: 2011

    Lifetime: Still alive

    Starbucks switched its logo to something simpler to celebrate its 40th anniversary. The company added a lot of green to the design and removed the "Starbucks Coffee" phrase that had wrapped around the company's signature symbol - a siren. CEO Howard Kurtz said that the mascot had "been through it all" over the last four decades, and needed a "small but meaningful update." Reactions were initially mixed, although the criticism has since died down.

    星巴克

    发布日期：2011年

    寿命：至今健在

    为了庆祝公司成立40周年，星巴克给自己换了一个更简洁的logo。首先是在logo里加入了很多绿色，其次是除去了“星巴克咖啡”的英文字样。这串字母原本环绕在星巴克的招牌符号——女海妖的身边。CEO霍华德•舒尔茨表示，这位女海妖在公司40年的风雨历程中“一直都在”，而且需要一次“虽然小但是有意义的升级”。消费者的反映最初是褒贬不一，不过目前批评的声音已经淡去。（财富中文网）

    译者：朴成奎