The huge mistake in Big W’s new ad
As it ramps up its last-ditch efforts for survival, Big W has announced its relaunch with a brand-new TV commercial – but there’s something not quite right about it. In the ad, keen-eyed viewers have spotted a huge mistake in the background – embarrassingly, it’s the retailer’s old logo.
The new logo can only be seen in two places (and even then, it’s blurred), while the old logo (with the bold “W”) can be spotted three times. Big W quietly rolled out the new logo last week, which is reminiscent of its 1990s look, replacing the one it’s had for nearly 10 years.
It’s a bad start for the new-look Big W, whom experts warn has one last chance for reinvention before it collapses under the competition of Kmart and Target.
“Big W is the weak link within Woolworths and changing that is far more fundamental than updating the branding,” Marketing Focus retail analyst Barry Urquhart told news.com.au. “You can rebrand but you need to reposition. If Big W’s repositioning is just staying within the discount department store space, that’s just rearranging the deckchairs on the Titanic. There is no compelling message to go with this logo change.”
According to a spokesperson for the chain, however, the changes are less of a “rebrand” and more of a “refresh”. “While we are not rebranding Big W, we are refreshing our existing brand, including the Big W logo,” they explained. “This work is a process that will continue to evolve in line with Big W’s transformation and will be reflected in how we communicate our offer to customers.”
And with the looming entrance of Amazon into the already crowded market, the old brick-and-mortar stores will likely suffer even more. “The problem for discount department stores is the ambience is poor, the shops are dull, crushingly boring and they’re too predictable,” Urquhart said. “Tinkering with the logo is two dimensional when they need to be multidimensional. People will be disappointed once they get beyond the shop front.”