New wattle-themed logo slammed by Australian Made logo designer, as selector admits it is ‘confusing’

Australia’s new wattle-themed national logo has been slammed by the designer of the Australian Made brand identity, and even a member of the team that chose it says it is confusing.

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Exclusive: Confusing, technically flawed, unoriginal, unnecessary and difficult to reproduce. The reviews of the government’s new wattle-themed national brand logo are in, and they’re not good.

Ken Cato, who created the iconic Australian Made kangaroo logo in the 1980s, told News Corp that new designs almost always drew criticism when they were unveiled – it happened with the Commonwealth Bank brand identity he designed in 1991 – but the new national brand had serious shortcomings.

“I love the idea that Australia might be represented by something more sophisticated than a kangaroo, but it’s got to be recognisable,” Mr Cato said.

“I love the vibrancy of the wattle, but in terms of recognition, it’s a long way back.”

Australia’s new branding: flawed or fabulous? Opinions are divided.

The wattle’s starburst-like rendering was “not exactly new,” he said, with “plenty of similar symbols in different industries”.

The design’s typography and gold colour would make it difficult to use, particularly at smaller sizes, he said, while the use of “AU” could denote Australia or Austria.

Mr Cato said South Australia had created a similar level of confusion by using “SA” in its marketing for many years, with foreigners mistaking it for South Africa, South America and even Saudi Arabia.

The new brand, designed by Clemenger BBDO, was chosen by a 12-member committee of Australian industry heavyweights including mining magnate Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest and Qantas CEO Alan Joyce.

The Australian Made logo has been used for 34 years and is widely recognised.

An AusTrade spokesperson said 29 agencies made initial pitches, 10 were interviewed by an initial selection panel, and five ideas were market tested overseas.

The total value of the creative contract was $3.3 million over three years, part of $10.1 million in project funding allocated between 2017 and 2021, the spokesperson said.

But a member of the 12-person committee, Australian Made Campaign Chairman Glenn Cooper, told News Corp that the new brand was already creating confusion, even though there were major differences between it and the kangaroo logo.

“You have to pay to use the Australian Made logo, but with it comes regulatory conditions. You can’t just bring in a product from overseas and slap an Australian Made logo on it,” he said.

“Some people have cheated, and with the help of the ACCC, they are then removed from using it. So it’s a very strong regulatory brand used and it’s very powerful overseas.”

Ken Cato said he was given two days to design the Australian Made logo. He said he doesn’t recall what he was paid, but it was “not much”.

Coopers Brewery Chairman Glenn Cooper is the Australian Made Campaign Chairman, and was also part of the Brand Advisory Council.

Enquiries about using the Australian Made logo had boomed since the coronavirus outbreak, going from an average of 66 per month to 300 in May alone, Mr Cooper said.

Research carried out as recently as December 2019 found that the kangaroo logo was recognised by 99 per cent of survey respondents, and was highly trusted.

Mr Cooper said it had been the Australian Made Campaign position to update the existing kangaroo logo rather than opting for a new design.

“I’m only one voice in the group, and they chose to go in a different direction to the kangaroo,” he said. “Do I think that’s right or wrong? All I’ll say to that is that I think the kangaroo is fabulous, and maybe our Australian Made logo needs a little bit of tuning up, but nothing else. It’s so well known.”

“I don’t quite know how they’re going to get this other brand up to anywhere near that level,” Mr Cooper said.

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Ken Cato’s 1991 update of the Commonwealth bank logo attracted some criticism at the time, but it is now one of Australia’s most recognised logos. Picture: Hollie Adams

Marketing specialist Dee Madigan says a logo is not the same thing as a brand.

But marketing specialist Dee Madigan said it was “perfectly reasonable for a large brand to have sub brands. They have vastly different target markets.”

“A logo isn’t a brand. It’s part of a brand and that takes time to build. When people looked at NZ’s fern logo years ago they probably felt the same way, (and) today it’s one of the most powerful brands,” she said.

Originally published as New wattle-themed logo slammed by Australian Made logo designer, as selector admits it is ‘confusing’