You might of thought that 2010 was the year of the logo, but Starbucks have kicked off 2011 with a controversial logo design to celebrate their 40th anniversary.

Described by Starbucks as ‘a subtle but meaningful’ update, the new logo attempts to propel Starbucks into a small group of iconic brands that can let their logo speak for themselves without need of a brand name.

According to the official statement:

“Our new evolution liberates the Siren from the outer ring, making her the true, welcoming face of Starbucks. For people all over the globe, she is a signal of the world’s finest coffee — and much more. She stands unbound, sharing our stories, inviting all of us in to explore, to find something new and to connect with each other. And as always, she is urging all of us forward to the next thing. After all, who can resist her?”

Personally, I didn’t even realise that there was a siren there to liberate! If I think of Starbucks, I think of the iconic typeface and black/green colour combo…and all of this is gone. I am not saying that Starbucks cannot hack it as a brand -less logo, but not sure why they would want to? If it was about expansion, just get rid of the ‘coffee’!

Expected in stores Nov 23rd… The collection has been so far under wraps, but Vogue Italia posted an image from the ad campaign shot by David Sims. Yes Please.

Also, loving the choice of models.

This has me in stitches every time I watch it. You really know you have made a killer campaign when Sesame Street viral it! I was very proud of P&G and what they did with the Old Spice campaign – you can see the results here. I can imagine the meeting that this was presented by W&K and it must have felt like a very brave decision to go for it from P&G but it paid off – and hopefully sets the tone for the future!

This weekend Skype made me feel like a defenseless naughty child by punishing me for something I didn’t do! I am quite shocked at their attitude to customer service and wanted to share my experience.

I have never been really into the Skype thing – despite living abroad from my friends and family, if I want to talk to someone then I just pick up the phone… it is a closer, easier thing. But last weekend I got the new iphone 4 and thought that I would give it a go again and downloaded it. I was able to log into my account OK and sent a couple of messages to one friend to check it worked OK.

Then, this week a friend of mine sent me an email asking for my Skype name and I gave it to her so we could connect. I tried to log on and was told the password was wrong – after trying all my passwords I went to the website to reset – a bit confused how I had forgotten a password after just a few days! Resetting didn’t work and it asked me to contact customer service to get it fixed… I sent the following email:

“Hi, I am trying to create a new password and it doesnt seem to work. help!”

This was the response:

In accordance with paragraph 5.2 of the Skype End User License at http://www.skype.com/intl/en-gb/legal/eula/ (EULA), we have terminated your right to use the Skype software, and have prevented any further access to your Skype account, because you are in breach of paragraph 4.1 (c) of the EULA which prohibits the use of the Skype software to send unsolicited communications. Any Skype Credit that was in your account is non refundable.

Wow – that’s a bit harsh considering I have sent 1 message in 6 months. I thought that my account might have been hacked into and sent them this email:

“I presume then that my account has been hacked. Do I have to make a new account?”

They responded (a bit nicer):

Hello Sarah,

Thank you for contacting Skype Customer Service.

We understand your concerns regarding your account.
Your account was flagged for verification by one of our automatic systems, which indicated that you had carried out actions which are not allowed under Skype’s Terms and Conditions. Unfortunately we are unable to explain the specific reason for restricting your account.

We have now lifted the restriction, so you should be able to sign in again with your usual data. Please note that if our systems detect further problems with your account then you will be unable to use your account again.

Should you need more assistance, feel free to contact us again.

Regards,

Hermann

Skype Customer Support

To be honest, I just don’t really get their game here! Here I am, minding my own business, trying out a new service and within days they have completely alienated me as a customer and also made sure I will never put credit on the account in case they suddenly block my account again (note first email where the credit is nonrefundable).

If there was strange activity on my account I hope they would try to find out what is going on incase my account has been hacked and my personal details compromised. Instead they claim that I have done something wrong, although they are not sure what, but make sure I don’t do it again.

OK, rant over. Thank you Skype for your warm welcome as a customer, I will ensure that I repay the same level of warmth in recommending you to my family, friends, twitter feed and blog readers.