When Brand Safety Kills Brand Soul: 007 Meets the Amazon Focus Group
You’ve no doubt seen the news. In a move that would make any self respecting Spectre villain blush, Amazon has quietly airbrushed the pistols from classic James Bond posters along with the Bond girls.
We are told that fans are furious. Critics are aghast. And somewhere, a Walther PPK is quietly weeping in a dark corner.
It made me think of Joe Caroff — the legendary designer behind the original 007 logo, who passed away recently at 103. (I shared a tribute to him in an earlier post — his name may not be known to millions, but his design defined a global franchise for over 60 years.)
Caroff’s genius was simplicity with bite — a single, daring idea that embodied Bond’s character.
So naturally, I wondered: what if Amazon’s brand-safety team had called him back from the beyond to “update” his work for a more sensitive era?
Hello Joe, we know you're busy designing the celestial title cards for the afterlife, but we need your genius. Your iconic 007 logo is... problematic. The gun. It's just so... pointy. And loud. In today's climate, we need to pivot the Bond brand towards non-violent conflict resolution and premium subscription benefits. Your mission, should you choose to accept it (you have no choice, we own the IP), is to redesign the logo. Remove the gun. We need something that reflects a kinder, gentler, more commercially integrated 007 and would go with our chosen Bond actor, Carry on film legend – Kenneth Williams.
Attached, you'll find our focus group's top suggestions.
The Focus Group–Approved Redesigns • The “Alexa, Save Me” The Walther PPK is replaced by an Amazon Echo. Tagline: “007. Licensed to Listen.”
• The “Prime Delivery” The gun barrel morphs into the Amazon “smile” arrow, piercing the zero. Tagline: “A licence to shop — not to kill.”
• The “Wellness Bond” The pistol is swapped for a steaming, artisanal martini. Tagline: “Shaken, not stirred… by violence.”
• The “Kid-Safe Compromise” In a fit of pique, Caroff sketches a Nerf blaster. Tagline: “007. Now with 90% fewer fatalities.”
• The “Winning” Design The final, committee-approved concept: a bamboo spork (combines the features of a spoon and a fork). Tagline: “007. Licensed to Dine.”
Caroff’s imagined note from beyond the grave: “You asked me to remove the danger. You’ve succeeded. My original was for a British secret agent 007, created by Ian Fleming in 1953. Yours is for a corporate retreat.
The Takeaway For those of us in design and marketing, this is more than parody. It’s a reminder that brand safety can’t come at the cost of brand substance.
Joe Caroff’s 007 mark endures because it captured an idea — not a demographic.
Sometimes, timeless design is the most dangerous kind.
#GraphicDesign #BrandIdentity #LogoDesigner #Marketing #LogoDesign #VisualIdentity #G3Creative
We are told that fans are furious. Critics are aghast. And somewhere, a Walther PPK is quietly weeping in a dark corner.
It made me think of Joe Caroff — the legendary designer behind the original 007 logo, who passed away recently at 103. (I shared a tribute to him in an earlier post — his name may not be known to millions, but his design defined a global franchise for over 60 years.)
Caroff’s genius was simplicity with bite — a single, daring idea that embodied Bond’s character.
So naturally, I wondered: what if Amazon’s brand-safety team had called him back from the beyond to “update” his work for a more sensitive era?
Hello Joe, we know you're busy designing the celestial title cards for the afterlife, but we need your genius. Your iconic 007 logo is... problematic. The gun. It's just so... pointy. And loud. In today's climate, we need to pivot the Bond brand towards non-violent conflict resolution and premium subscription benefits. Your mission, should you choose to accept it (you have no choice, we own the IP), is to redesign the logo. Remove the gun. We need something that reflects a kinder, gentler, more commercially integrated 007 and would go with our chosen Bond actor, Carry on film legend – Kenneth Williams.
Attached, you'll find our focus group's top suggestions.
The Focus Group–Approved Redesigns • The “Alexa, Save Me” The Walther PPK is replaced by an Amazon Echo. Tagline: “007. Licensed to Listen.”
• The “Prime Delivery” The gun barrel morphs into the Amazon “smile” arrow, piercing the zero. Tagline: “A licence to shop — not to kill.”
• The “Wellness Bond” The pistol is swapped for a steaming, artisanal martini. Tagline: “Shaken, not stirred… by violence.”
• The “Kid-Safe Compromise” In a fit of pique, Caroff sketches a Nerf blaster. Tagline: “007. Now with 90% fewer fatalities.”
• The “Winning” Design The final, committee-approved concept: a bamboo spork (combines the features of a spoon and a fork). Tagline: “007. Licensed to Dine.”
Caroff’s imagined note from beyond the grave: “You asked me to remove the danger. You’ve succeeded. My original was for a British secret agent 007, created by Ian Fleming in 1953. Yours is for a corporate retreat.
The Takeaway For those of us in design and marketing, this is more than parody. It’s a reminder that brand safety can’t come at the cost of brand substance.
Joe Caroff’s 007 mark endures because it captured an idea — not a demographic.
Sometimes, timeless design is the most dangerous kind.
#GraphicDesign #BrandIdentity #LogoDesigner #Marketing #LogoDesign #VisualIdentity #G3Creative
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