Reinvention. It's the American way. This week, the Gap gave a new logo a try. Eliot Spitzer attempted to leave his prostitution-ring past behind him with a TV talk show. And screen star Christina Ricci stepped onto the stage — for the first time in her career. These stories and more in the Buzz Week in Review.
Is the new Gap logo the New Coke of clothing?
This week, the retail giant Gap introduced a spiffy new logo. Instead of the elongated G-A-P in a blue box that has become the recognized symbol for the store and shopping bags around the globe, the new logo is in black letters with the blue box shrunk to the top right of the name. It went over as well as acid wash denim. The Gap-lash was so strong that the company's president, Marka Hansen, took to the Huffington Post to further explain the logo makeover.
Writing that the brand is changing to be more modern like the clothes, "rethinking our logo is part of aligning with that." The company is now calling for (better?) customer ideas on Facebook and to keep the "passionate" comments coming. This one from a Facebook commenter is typical: "By changing it, you've completely destroyed what it took 20-plus years to build."
The logo seems in danger of heading into the bad-idea territory of "New Coke," which bombed when introduced in 1985. The retailer is now said to be rethinking the change. On the Web, searches on "gap logo" and "new gap logo" scored high.
Eliot Spitzer on CNN. Yes, that Eliot Spitzer
Another name going for a refresh this week was one Eliot Spitzer, who debuted as co-host of a CNN talk show. The former New York Democratic governor stepped down from his post in 2008 when he admitted to his involvement in a prostitution ring. Apparently, all the controversy was just a warm-up for his primetime slot, "Parker Spitzer Show" with Kathleen Parker, the award-winning conservative columnist.
Despite the juicy possibilites of such a pairing, the show left audiences unmoved, and the debut received ratings that can only be described as "meh." Searches on the ex-governor are still focused on his past: "eliot spitzer" topped the charts with a 1,500% lift in one-week searches, along with lookups on "eliot spitzer scandal" and "eliot spitzer scandal new york."
Christina Ricci: From screen to stage
Christina Ricci doesn't really need to reinvent herself. She survived the child star syndrome ("The Addams Family") to become a screen star as an adult. But not satisified apparently, with that success, the actor snagged the lead role of "Time Stands Still," the old-fashioned way: She auditioned. This play marks Ricci's Broadway debut, and the first time she has acted in a live environment. Was she nervous? Heck, yes! The "Black Snake Moan" star admitted to being "terrified of any kind of live performance." But she faced her fears, and the critics noticed. The New York Times called her debut "confident…and appealing." Fans of the star caused searches on Yahoo! to climb over 7,400% in one week.
Also buzzing….
•The White House will go solar — again.
•Michael Bloomberg wants to ban food stamps to buy soda.
•What will you be for Halloween?
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