I had my suspicions about Unilever moving towards corporate branding (see gradual packaging changes here). Well it looks like my hunch was right.

Unilever declares its identity

The first brand I’ve noticed publicly outing its Unilever owner – ie, showing the new logo on TV – is Lynx (Axe outside the UK). It’s taken what I call its ‘smell me bonk me‘ campaign and slapped on the logo in the final seconds.

Not got the maracas yet in Germany though

See the complete ad on YouTube here.

The dropping down of the Unilever U is subtle, it’s nothing earth-shattering, but although it’s only a few seconds at the end: it’s still significant – as anyone who has dealt with corporate branding will confirm.

So, will they eventually do this in other countries (I’ve seen the German version of this ad – no Unilever logo – and notice the different brand name. Otherwise the ad is exactly the same. Unilever know how to standardise advertising yet allow enough flexibility for local differences).

Another question: will Unilever do it on other big brands in other markets – like Wall’s/Langnese/Kibon whatever…

In fact: would you?