MCI: Bankrupt? Little old MCI?

New: MCI, reborn

Launched: Announced April 14, 2003, upon filing Worldcom's reorganization plan; to take legal effect when "MCI" emerges from bankruptcy in the fall.

Story in brief:
Failure, fraud and bankruptcy. How do I fix the brand? Mike Capellas (who was Compaq's CEO) was smart enough to ask Interbrand's Chuck Brymer, whose firm had designed the effective 1995 MCI (but who was ignored when Bernie Ebbers patched together the MCI Worldcom logo of 1998).

Credits:
CEO - Michael D. Capellas
Identity counsel - Interbrand
Logo design - Interbrand (in 1995)

First Impressions:
In 1998, when the star was swiveled to cover Worldcom, I said "by so clearly combining two still distinct brands, this logo will always point to their separate pasts rather than their unified future. Draining both brands of their prior equity, it is the opposite of a powerbrand." [See review]

But who could know? In hindsight, it was brilliant; turned out Worldcom was the Titanic, and MCI its lifeboat. Even after 2000, when only MCI's star remained, it was the vital sign of a still living brand.

Okay, maybe there's a better name than "MCI," initials whose descriptive meaning (Microwave Communications Inc.) is mercifully forgotten. But the equity is strong; the bad news seems to have stuck only to "Worldcom."

Personally, I'd have signaled "a new MCI," perhaps by dropping the too-sporty blue-orange in favor of a more serious black-red. This is just what I thought Interbrand had done, when I first saw the reverse-treatment ads and Web banner... white letterforms with an orange star that reads as red, and looks powerful. In fact, like many well-designed marks, this one is not helped by two colors; it is strongest in black.