ALTRIA: Finally effective, the new Philip Morris parent

New: Altria name and symbol, formerly Philip Morris Companies

Launched:
Announced November 15, 2001
Shareholders approved April, 2002; Effective January 27, 2003
(That's a fourteen month gestation)

Story in brief:
Who could get past "Philip Morris" to see the Kraft food and Miller beverage businesses, or to respect the extraordinary contributions this company has made to the arts? At long last, management accepted the obvious need to distinguish the corporate brand from its tobacco businesses. Altria brings with it a promise of "oversight informed and shaped by evolving societal expectations."

Credits:
C.E.O. - Geoffrey Bible (2001), Louis C. Camilleri (2003)
C.C.O. - Steve Parrish
Naming and Identity design - Landor Associates (NY), executive creative director Richard Brandt

First Impressions:
"Yes" for the name, short and sweet and appropriate. But why a symbol, rather than a wordmark to focus us on the Altria name (and to more easily endorse the brands)?

Granted, the 'mosaic' symbol is nice enough, a splash of colors that suggest multiplicity and diversity, an abstraction of the supermarket shelf. It was inspired by an HQ display case of packages, and Landor can't be blamed if it evokes Torben Skov's 1994 "Earth Flag." (Is nothing ever new?)

Landor showed wordmarks as well as symbols, and let the client choose; the 'mosaic' won for its liveliness and product resonance.