I wanted to post this a long time ago but then forgot about it, and just today it came back to me….

I’ll try to make it short. Remember MTC pre-vodafone? This used to be their logo, although im not sure about the colors on the side but thats the only I found.

Then, one day, MTC decided to change their logo. It turned into this -

Then there were rumors of MTC joining with Vodafone. That set off a logo war. Wataniya’s logo at the time was this -

As soon as news was out, they changed their logo to this -

which is eerily similar to vodafone’s logo -

and they started their “الأحمر يعبر” campaign, in which they wanted to take the red corporate identity away from Vodafone before it came to MTC.

Anyway, MTC gradually introduced the red line at the bottom untill they got to their current logo -

This logo shows the partnership and how MTC is the main partner with vodafone being a smaller part.

Anyway, all that story was just an intro for my point…..

We all heard about the new banking license, and how many banks are trying to enter the Kuwaiti market, and we heard so many rumours about banks merging, banks being taken over, and so on….

The most successful bank in Kuwait, in terms of business and I would say in terms of brand value has to be NBK. Their logo is nice and simple and, more importantly, very very strong!

So why would NBK play around with such a successful brand image and logo???? They changed it recently to this -

I think this one is hidious! Its ugly! You have something beautiful and you destroy it with one small line! red?! RED??! Since when does NBK have anything to do with red?? And adding that line at the bottom reminded me alot of what MTC did, so my first thoughts were that there are future plans for NBK to have some kind of partnership with a major bank! But that doesnt make sense, it already is one of the most successful banks in the region, and when I asked people in the marketing department of NBK they said that its nothing, just a new look!? Changing the brand identity is not just a new look! They added the red line to all their signage at the branches too if you noticed….

So, in conclusion, whats the secret behind the small red line? Is it preparing customers for a major change that will involve red in the future? Or is a defence mechanism like Wataniya to use the color before HSBC and Citibank come in?!

Any thoughts on the issue?

If Im right about this, then I deserve a Pulitzer! :P