Johnson & Johnson Changing Logo After 136 Years

Company is ditching the cursive script for a noncursive approach
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Sep 14, 2023 12:04 PM CDT
A Very Familiar Logo Is Being Ditched After 136 Years
This image provided by Johnson and Johnson shows the company's new logo.   (Johnson and Johnson via AP)

Johnson & Johnson is signing off on a new logo. The health care giant said Thursday that it will replace the well-known signature script it has used since 1887 with a modern look that reflects its sharpened focus on pharmaceuticals and medical devices, per the AP. The original script—based on co-founder James Wood Johnson's signature—will still be seen for now on consumer products like baby shampoo from Kenvue, a new company recently spun off from J&J. Johnson & Johnson itself narrowed its focus to pharmaceuticals and medical devices. The new look, which includes a different shade of red, aims to recognize J&J's shift into a "pure play health-care company," said Vanessa Broadhurst, a company executive vice president.

The signature logo was "one of the longest-used company emblems in the world," J&J declared in a 2017 website post. But it started showing its age in an era of texting and emojis. For one thing, many children no longer learn to write cursive in school, noted marketing consultant Laura Ries. The new logo, she said, is easier to process. "Because it's easier, it almost even draws your attention to it," added Ries, who wasn't involved in the logo change. Ries also noted people likely identified the script logo more with the Kenvue products they see on drugstore shelves, such as Band-Aids, Listerine, and Tylenol.

"Everyone washed their baby with Johnson & Johnson baby shampoo," she said. A Kenvue spokesperson said the J&J branding on products like Band-Aids will gradually be removed. The consumer business helped J&J become the world's biggest health-care products maker, with annual sales topping $90 billion. But its pharmaceutical and medical device divisions had easily surpassed it in size when the spinoff was announced in late 2021. (J&J has been embroiled in scandal over health risks linked to its talcum powder.)

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