AOL and Yahoo's cult-like #TakeTheOath mantra invokes rebrand ridicule
As a rule of thumb, the internet does not like change. As a result, many people were left scratching their heads after legacy web companies AOL and Yahoo made the announcement they will merge into a company called Oath.
Aol and Yahoo rebrand as OAth
The bold new entity was formed as part of Verizon's $4.8bn deal in July, but was plagued by news of data breaches, which resulted in a $350m discount for Verizon.
Spearheading what seemed to be an early launch in response to media leaks, AOL chief executive Tim Armstrong urged the public to #TakeTheOath, inspiring some light-hearted jests at the new brand identity.
Billion+ Consumers, 20+ Brands, Unstoppable Team. #TakeTheOath. Summer 2017. pic.twitter.com/tM3Ac1Wi36
— Tim Armstrong (@timarmstrongaol) April 3, 2017
Here are some of the finest tweets marking the moment.
10 better names than Oath:
-AOL
-Yahoo
-OAuth
-Legacy Internet Systems
-Oops
-Tronc
-[Remove Adblocker]
-Circa
-how send email?
-¯\_(ツ)_/¯
— Money Badger (@gomoneybadger) April 3, 2017
FAQ:
Q: Is "Oath" Yahoo or AOL?
A: Boath
Q: What will determine success?
A: Groawth
Q: What's the strategy
A: Build a competitive moath
— Ashley Mayer (@ashleymayer) April 4, 2017
@ashleymayer @stewart Q: How do people feel about this new brand?
A: They loath it.
— Dharmesh Shah (@dharmesh) April 4, 2017
Part of me is amused Oath couldn’t get this handle
Bigger part hopes it actually did & this is what it chose to do pic.twitter.com/Jvidm6HqgA
— Dieter Bohn (@backlon) April 4, 2017
Nobody tell the Flickr users they’re going to have to use an Oath login.
— Anil Dash (@anildash) April 4, 2017
wow Oath's Twitter is good pic.twitter.com/Fqf6XiZKUV
— Jenna Amatulli (@ohheyjenna) April 3, 2017
Orientation at Oath pic.twitter.com/1eFHXhmk87
— Amanda Terkel (@aterkel) April 3, 2017
Lol, Oath.
— BuzzFeed Tech (@fwd) April 3, 2017
Yahoo is becoming Oath? Will you have to be a freemason to have an account or is this one of those save your virginity for marriage things? pic.twitter.com/zWB2g6wwBd
— Thomas Hawk (@thomashawk) April 4, 2017
AOL and Yahoo merging to form 'Oath' is like in the school cafeteria where the kids no-one likes join forces and sit together.
— Kristian Carter (@KRISTIANTCARTER) April 4, 2017
Oath: Yahoo's new name mocked as one of the worst rebrandings in corporate history https://t.co/dC6cJzPhVM pic.twitter.com/PvedwCFPTI
— Telegraph Technology (@TelegraphTech) April 4, 2017
Contender for worst corporate re-brand ever: the combined AOL/Yahoo/Verizon will be called...
— Matthew Garrahan (@MattGarrahan) April 3, 2017
Of course, with or without the scrutiny the resulting body boasts many of the web’s top brands.
Oath’s house of brands is 25+ strong. With @Yahoo, we’ll reach over a billion people worldwide. https://t.co/wGQmFfJGoH pic.twitter.com/YVd0NM86xO
— AOL Inc. (@AOL_Inc) April 4, 2017
Fan or not of the new brand, the company has urged that it will not be overly prominent across its products: "You won’t see Oath everywhere. We’ll put people and brands – ours and yours – first."
Underlining a new era of leadership at the company is the departure of Yahoo chief Marissa Mayer.