When it comes to the worst rebranding in history, the competition is fierce. In 2001 the Post Office briefly tried to remarket itself under the confusing new name “Consignia”; in 2009 Pizza Hut shed the word “Pizza”, announcing it would be henceforth known simply as “The Hut”. Neither lasted long.
In both cases, a well-known organisation took a brand that was highly recognisable around the world and helpfully had what it did in the name, and decided to trash it. The reaction was bafflement and ridicule; the U-turns were swift. Yet neither debacle comes close to Elon Musk’s bizarre choice overnight on 24 July to give Twitter, the globally renowned social network he bought for $44bn in October 2022, a sci-fi makeover and rebrand it simply as “X”.
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