Intel is shaking up its branding with a new typeface, simpler styling, and even a remix to the five-note “bong” it plays after every company commercial.
Check out the rebrand in a video clip below, which shows off the new logos and product packaging for Intel chips. The bong at the end has also been redone to play the five iconic notes via synth sounds instead of the classic blend of the xylophone and marimba chimes.
Love it or hate it, Intel says it’s a new era. “We are a different company than we were even five years ago,” Chief Marketing Officer Karen Walker wrote in today’s announcement.
(Credit: Intel)
Intel is perhaps best known for building PC chips. But in recent years, the company has become increasingly focused on also supplying processors to power data centers, AI-based algorithms and other emerging technologies, such as self-driving cars. As Walker puts it, Intel wants to become the spark for the world’s greatest innovations.
“The new look and feel of the Intel brand is purposeful and inspired by (Intel co-founder) Robert Noyce’s quote: ‘Don’t be encumbered by history. Go off and do something wonderful,’” she said. According to Walker, the company has only embarked on two major brand transitions: once in 1969, the other in 2006.
Intel CMO Karen Walker (Credit: Intel)
The logo was also reworked to show Intel’s commitment to tackling world challenges, such as climate change, the digital divide, and the lack of diversity in today’s technology industry. “These driving forces made clear it was time for our external image to evolve to better represent the company we’ve become,” Walker added.
(Credit: Intel)
As a result, the company decided to simplify its corporate logos, but also retain some of the most iconic design elements. For instance, the company is going to keep the classic blue coloring, but also introduce other shades, such as “energy blue” to the branding.
(Credit: Intel)
Intel has created a whole webpage, which covers the various changes, and how the new logos will look on actual products. To us, the new proprietary typeface does seem more modern, and perhaps friendlier. But the remix to the bong, which originally debuted in a 1994 Intel television commercial, is frankly inexcusable.
Expect the new branding to gradually roll out over the year.
Further Reading
- Intel Launches 11th Generation Core 'Tiger Lake' Laptop Processors
- TSMC Celebrates Manufacturing 1B 7nm Chips
- IBM Launches 7nm Power10 Processor
- Intel to Launch 'Xe HPG' PC Gaming Graphics Cards in 2021, Using Outside Foundry
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