Jack is Back

Jack in the Box has recently begun the rollout of their new identity, with stores in the San Diego area already getting their makeovers. Identity updates in large corporations within the same category usually come in waves, and Jack in the Box was one of the last fast food brands left that still maintained the original mark. Most fast food brands that have been around since the 50’s and 60’s have updated their marks within the past ten years.

The new mark seems to follow the trend in this category of maintaining recognizable corporate colors and overall themes, but updating the style of the execution to be more modern by adding dimension, shading, and a supplementary element such as a swoosh. In the new Jack in the Box logo, the original flat box was turned on its side to become a cube, and shading was introduced to give the cube more dimension. The refresh has maintained the original red brand color with reverse white lettering, with a casual brush script used for the name “Jack” and a swoosh (sound familiar?) coming off the “k” that could be interpreted as a smile. The rest of the name sits outside the box, and is executed in a modern typeface with a technical feel. Although the decision to separate the brand name and create a new hierarchy (with “Jack” being much larger than “in the Box”) is not clear yet, our guess would be that may be trying to emphasize the Jack character, who has become an undeniable icon in the company’s advertising and brand recognition. Or are we reading too far into it?

For a large company with strong brand equity and a long history, it can be tricky to walk the fine line between a safer stylistic brand evolution and a more risky full departure. With the recent uproar over the new Tropicana and Pepsi identities, it is clear that consumers are getting more involved with brands than ever before. It will be interesting to see how the new identity will be received by Jack’s loyal customers.

Dairy Queen’s identity refresh maintained the recognizable shape, shortened the name to “DQ,” and added swoosh elements for the updated mark.

Burger King kept the overall concept, configuration, and color palette when they updated their logo but added the blue swoosh and additional dimension by turning the mark on its side and with highlights added to the bun icon.

Taco Bell kept the bell concept but updated the color palette and type style, also turning the mark on its side and adding highlights to the icon for dimension.

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