The Top 5 Biggest Rebrand Fails

Rebranding can be an exciting new chapter for any company, but when it goes wrong, it can be disastrous. A successful rebrand hinges on understanding your audience, maintaining brand loyalty, and evolving without losing your identity. Here are the top five biggest rebrand fails in recent years — some you may remember and others that might surprise you.

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1. PrettyLittleThing (PLT) – 2025 Rebrand

PrettyLittleThing, the fast-fashion giant, made headlines in 2025 for its bold attempt to update its image. The company, known for offering trendy clothes at bargain prices, shifted its focus to target a more upscale, eco-conscious demographic. The rebrand included a new logo, more muted colours, and a 'sustainable' range of clothing. However, the issue was that PLT's core audience – young shoppers looking for affordability and fast fashion – felt disconnected from the new direction.

Pretty little thing logo before (top) and after (bottom)

The sales numbers reflected this. Customers who were drawn to the brand's bold, youthful image didn’t resonate with the more minimalist aesthetic. Moreover, accusations of greenwashing (marketing sustainability without proper action) only served to add fuel to the fire. The rebrand failed because PLT didn’t fully understand its audience, and as a result, the transition felt inauthentic. This misstep led to a significant decline in sales and a tarnished reputation.

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2. Gap – 2010 Rebrand

Gap’s 2010 rebrand is one of the most infamous in the history of logo redesigns. The company unveiled a new logo, which featured a simpler, more modern design with a small, unremarkable blue box in the corner. It seemed like a minor update, but it was met with immediate backlash from consumers and design professionals alike. Many felt it was too bland and didn't capture the essence of Gap’s iconic image.

Gap logo before rebrand (left) and afetr (right)

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The controversy grew, with people accusing the brand of abandoning its heritage. Within a week, Gap reversed the decision and returned to its classic logo. Despite the swift backpedal, the damage had already been done. The rebrand highlighted a deeper issue: Gap had failed to understand its loyal customer base and misread the importance of its iconic logo in maintaining brand identity.

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3. Channel 5 – 2025 Rebrand

In 2025, Channel 5 launched a major rebrand, hoping to refresh its image and appeal to a younger, more digital-savvy audience. The channel introduced a bold new logo and tagline, aiming to shake off its reputation as the “fifth” channel in the UK. The rebrand included an overhaul of their content strategy to include more reality TV and social media engagement.

However, the shift was met with mixed reactions. The older, loyal audience felt alienated by the push towards more trendy and controversial programming, while younger viewers didn’t connect with the changes either. Channel 5 failed to balance its need for modernisation with the demand for the familiar content its audience loved. As a result, ratings dropped and the rebrand quickly lost momentum.

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4. Tropicana – 2009 Rebrand

Tropicana’s 2009 rebrand is often cited as one of the most disastrous in the food and drink industry. The company introduced new packaging with a minimalist design, eliminating the familiar image of an orange with a straw. What they didn’t anticipate was how strongly consumers felt about this icon. The new packaging confused loyal customers, who were unsure whether they were buying their usual product.

Sales plummeted by 20% in just two months after the launch, and Tropicana quickly reverted to the old packaging. The failure was attributed to a fundamental misunderstanding of the Tropicana brand’s connection to its customers. The rebrand stripped away a beloved visual identity that consumers had grown attached to, ultimately costing the company millions.

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5. Royal Mail – 2013 Rebrand

Royal Mail’s 2013 rebrand was an ambitious attempt to modernise the iconic British institution. The rebrand introduced a new logo, modernising the famous red-and-white look to make it more “efficient” and “forward-thinking.” The logo was redesigned to feature a stylised crown, and the entire brand identity was updated to align with digital services like parcel tracking and e-commerce.

However, the public was less than impressed. Many people felt that the new logo stripped away the historical significance of the brand. Royal Mail’s longstanding reputation as a traditional and reliable service was overshadowed by the contemporary design, which didn’t sit well with customers who felt the rebrand lacked the emotional connection they had with the old logo.

The rebrand was a case of trying to push forward without properly acknowledging the brand’s heritage, leading to widespread criticism and confusion.

Conclusion

Rebranding can be a powerful tool for growth, but it can also backfire if companies fail to understand their audience and misstep with their execution. Whether it's PrettyLittleThing’s failed move into sustainability or Tropicana’s confusing packaging redesign, these rebrand fails serve as a cautionary tale. The key takeaway? Keep your customers at the heart of any transformation, and never underestimate the importance of your brand’s identity.

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