What Would Mr. Smiley Face Think?

First the scrambling Starbucks brought back its weird original two-tailed mermaid logo. Now, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is about to change one of the most familiar logos in corporate America.

After a very misguided venture into "upscale" two years ago, Wal-Mart redeemed itself by returning to its roots with "Save money. Live better."

Now, abandoning the familiar blue logo with a star "hyphen" bracketed by two red bars (building facades includes white letters on a blue background), the new look for signs and building facades features a burnt-orange background followed by a white starburst, according to an artist's rendering that the company filed recently with planning officials in Memphis.

The name will appear as one word: Walmart. When the company first started in 1962, the name was hyphenated by a dash. But in the past decade, the dash has been replaced by a star on stores and the corporate letterhead.

On the bottom of graphics accompanying the Wal-Mart application, the corporate logo is written in blue letters followed by an orange starburst.

It's difficult to understand the urge to mess with brands that work. One would think that "The New Coke" would have settled that question once and for all. The pressure to eke out percentage points in a tough market seems to be an irresistable force.

Starbucks actually thought we went to to their stores for the coffee. CDs, books, and reheated breakfast food were just "brand extensions". They didn't realize that what really floated our boat was the barista who knew us by name and knew what we wanted to drink when we walked in the door.

Wal-Mart has attempted in several ways to remake its image recently. First they showed Mr. Smiley the door. Last year, Wal-Mart also trashed bulky blue vests in favor of khakis and polo shirts. How's that for being out of touch with your core audience?

Here's the deal: Those of us who watch the Food Channel can figure out that Walmart and Sams are carrying quality food at a big discount off the corner grocery as well as other top end merchandise. I don't need a polo shirt to or an upscale logo to get me in the door. And Walmart risks alienating its core audience by once-again pandering to upper-middle income folks.