About

Social Distancing Logos refers to a series of advertisement campaigns from several different brands attempting to promote social distancing practices to help curb the coronavirus pandemic. In March 2020, numerous companies began altering their iconic logos to reflect these social policies by adding space and separation to their design. While some online praised these companies for their efforts, others felt it was a lapse in judgment, with a mixture of both positive and negative reactions around the web.

Origin

McDonald’s Brazil posted a message to its Facebook^[1] page on March 19th, 2020, depicting the brand’s famous golden arches spaced apart from each other (seen below). About the change, the ad agency responsible for the new logo said, “McDonald's knows that this is not the time to receive guests, but it does not want to stop sharing good times with you. So, even a little apart, let's go through it together!” Many users around the web proceeded to slam the company, seen in a post from Twitter^[2] user LucianTrestler, who said, “FUCK RIGHT OFF YOU AWARD-DESPERATE MORONS.”

Spread

In the following days, additional brands began jumping on the trend, stating the purpose behind these redesigns was to help promote social distancing by exposing followers to the movement. On March 22nd, 2020, Coca-Cola put up an advertisement in NYC’s Times Square displaying a revamped version of the logo with increased spacing between the letters (shown below in a Twitter^[3] post from Ad Age). The altered logo was placed above the caption, “Staying apart is the best way to stay united.”

Coke puts social distancing message in Times Square https://t.co/f89ZFAyFNP pic.twitter.com/iVo7BNUkvO

— Ad Age (@adage) March 23, 2020

Audi then revamped its logo on March 20th, 2020 (seen below), posting the message to the company’s Twitter^[4] account along with the message, “Stay at home, keep your distance, stay healthy, support each other – we are in this together.”

Stay at home, keep your distance, stay healthy, support each other – we are in this together. As a global company and a global community, our highest priority is to identify any opportunities to #FlattenTheCurve. Stay safe. pic.twitter.com/uwsW2JbhEu

— Audi (@Audi) March 20, 2020

Similarly to partner company Audi, Volkswagen published a video to their YouTube^[5] channel (seen below) on March 23rd, 2020, with a series of inspirational messages about the pandemic. At the end of the video, the VW logo can be seen splitting apart to reflect the movement.

Chiquita Brands International, known for the iconic “Miss Chiquita” mascot found on its logo, revamped the stamp on March 23rd, 2020, with a post to their Instagram^[6] account. In the photo (shown below), the logo has been edited to remove Miss Chiquita to help promote social distancing.

On March 26th, 2020, Kappa released its own take on the social distancing logos in a Twitter^[7] post that features the two people spaced apart. In addition to the logo (seen below), the company released a statement explaining the change, “We’ve decided to adapt our logo to symbolize this moment and raise awareness of the importance of social distancing.”

Come together, while we are apart.#Kappa pic.twitter.com/EUEEDKLxMW

— Kappa UK & Ireland (@Kappa_UK) March 26, 2020

On March 30th, 2020, South Korean automaker Hyundai also joined in on the trend, posting a reimagined logo to their Twitter^[8] account (shown below). On the post, the company stated, “Did you know that our logo represents two people shaking hands? We reimagined it since #socialdistancing is important for all of our safety.”

Did you know that our logo represents two people shaking hands? We reimagined it since #socialdistancing is important for all of our safety. #strongertogether #hyundai #progressforhumanity pic.twitter.com/yFZzfOUFK4

— Hyundai Worldwide (@Hyundai_Global) March 30, 2020

Also on March 30th, 2020, German automaker Mercedes-Benz redesigned its logo, featuring a version with the inner three-pointed star detached from the outer ring. On the Facebook^[9] post (seen below), Mercedes released this message, “Thanks to everybody for maintaining social distancing guidelines during these times. By acting together and #StayAtHome, we can successfully combat the virus.”

Reception

The online reception for many of these campaigns received mixed reception. While some praised brands for helping to spread awareness, others criticized them for attempting to capitalize on the movement or simply lacking good judgment. One such example comes from Twitter^[10] user Rosa Clarke (shown below), who criticized Coca-Cola for spending money on ads instead of helping small businesses.

@CocaCola I can’t help but think the marketing dollars would’ve been better spent helping support the small businesses who carry your products and are struggling to keep their doors open. #FoodforThought

— Rosa Clarke (@rosa_clarke) March 23, 2020

On April 2nd, 2020, Twitter^[11] user MDMGeek tweeted about the logo redesign trend stating (seen below), “I think there are better ways to use that money during a crisis like this.”

I'm not sure if I'm a fan of these big brand guys (McDonalds</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/Audi?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">Audi CocaCola</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/Chiquita?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">Chiquita VW</a>) making logo changes to show they are sympathetic. I think there are better ways to use that money during a crisis like this. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SocialDistancing?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SocialDistancing</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/COVID%E3%83%BC19?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#COVIDー19</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/rwang0?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">rwang0 https://t.co/ftHkWqbyF8

— 𝕻𝖗𝖆𝖘𝖍 𝕮𝖍𝖆𝖓 (@MDMGeek) April 3, 2020

Others praised the logos, seen in a tweet from Twitter^[12] account Appadia (shown below), who said, “Social distancing done right.”

Social distancing done right 👌McDonalds</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/CocaCola?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">CocaCola Audi</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/VWGroup?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">VWGroup @Nike Do you like these new logo redesigns? https://t.co/VoslZC5Ugn#socialdistancing #redesign #trademark

— Appadia (@Appadia) April 3, 2020

On Reddit, many users can be seen either arguing for or against the logo redesigns, with some merely poking fun at the campaigns and creating their own versions. One such post comes from Redditor^[13] ScreaminNo, who uploaded a series of logo designs to the r/memes sub on March 24th, 2020. The post received over 25,000 upvotes and 83 comments.

Redditor^[14] bumbouxbee posted an image with some of these social distancing logos to the r/DesignPorn sub on March 26th, 2020. In the post, numerous Redditors can be seen debating the campaigns, with a mixture of positive and negative reactions.

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References