AOL becomes Aol. Online America Rolls Eyes

I'm convinced the only reason this company can still be around is because people are still being billed for long forgotten service. Some people have found it very difficult to cancel them. Seriously, do you know ANYONE that still knowingly pays for AOL, I'm sorry, Aol. access? I guess they make ad revenue on people that still use their free email service and can't be bothered to change to Gmail. And a lot of people still use their free instant messenger service.
This just seems like overpaid branding experts run amok. You have to watch the video; one of the stupidest corporate concept videos I have ever seen.

Reuters - What’s in a name? The Internet pioneer formerly known as America Online, now known as AOL, will from next month be known as Aol. How do you pronounce that? We’re not sure but the idea seems to be make a break from the past without completely forgetting its roots.

AOL or Aol is, as you likely know, being spun-off from parent Time Warner on Dec 9 to once again be an independent company. It’s expected to have a market valuation in the $3 billion range, a tad smaller than the $163 billion market cap it had when it actually bought Time Warner back in 2000.

The company, will unveil its ‘Aol’ brand identity on Dec 10, the same day it starts trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ‘AOL’ ticker (but don’t let that confuse you).

Global brand and innovation consultancy Wolff Olins were the clever chaps who decided that losing all contact with the past and coming up with a completely brand new name might be a step too far. In fact, according to Wolff Olins CEO Karl Heiselman, the new logo (below) is “something bold and exciting that sets AOL apart.”

Click here to see a corporate video about the new brand identity.