McLaren, Novo and knowing when to rebrand

McLaren and Novo show the two honest reasons to rebrand. McLaren used one to bring two businesses together under a single, clearer story drawn from its own history. Novo used one to announce a new direction during a hard period. Neither redesign changes what the company makes, and that is the lesson: a rebrand makes a strategy visible, but it cannot replace one.

Here is what each company did, and what founders can take from it.

What did McLaren change?

McLaren announced its new identity on 22 September 2026. For the first time, one identity unites McLaren Racing, the Formula 1 team, and McLaren Automotive, the road car maker, as Motor Trader reported.

The headline change is a new all-caps wordmark. It is inspired by the sign above the service station run by Bruce McLaren’s parents in Remuera, Auckland. Bruce McLaren founded the company. The wordmark has an underline beneath the “C” and is set in a custom typeface, McLaren Sans.

Just as important is what stayed. Papaya orange, the Speedmark and the Speedy Kiwi were all retained. The colour palette was expanded with heritage colours.

Reaction was mostly positive, according to Carscoops, with some commentators questioning whether a change was needed at all.

What did Novo Nordisk change?

On 14 September 2026, Novo Nordisk’s everyday brand became simply “Novo”. The legal company name stays Novo Nordisk.

The Apis bull symbol, used since the 1920s, now faces right. Right is the direction we read in, so the bull now points forward. The new tagline is “Lasting Health Starts Now”.

The rebrand launched together with a culture programme called “The Novo Way”, under CEO Mike Doustdar, as BioSpace reported. Design commentators called it solid work. Analysts, as pharmaphorum noted, said a rebrand alone will not fix the business.

What is the difference between the two rebrands?

They answer different questions.

McLaren’s question was: how do we look like one company? It had two businesses with related but separate identities. The rebrand tidies that into one system, and roots it in a story that belongs to McLaren and nobody else.

Novo’s question was: how do we show we are changing? It is a company in a turnaround with a new CEO. The rebrand is a strategy statement. The bull turning to face forward is a simple, readable image of that intent.

Our take: both are legitimate reasons. The trouble starts when a company rebrands without being able to say which question it is answering.

What does McLaren teach about using heritage?

Heritage works best as specific archaeology. Archaeology here means digging up one real thing from your past and putting it to work, rather than gesturing vaguely at “tradition”.

McLaren did not just add a vintage feel. It went back to a single sign above a family service station in Auckland. That detail is real, it is specific, and no competitor can copy it. It gives the wordmark a reason to look the way it does.

Three habits are worth borrowing:

• Find one true detail. An old sign, a first product, a founder’s handwriting, a shop front. One real artefact beats a general retro style.
• Keep what people already love. McLaren kept papaya orange and its existing marks. Throwing out recognised assets costs years of familiarity.
• Modernise around the old, not instead of it. A custom typeface and an expanded palette make the heritage usable today.

The doubters have a point worth hearing. A rebrand for a well loved brand always carries the risk of fixing something that was not broken. McLaren reduced that risk by changing the system, not the soul.

What does Novo teach about rebranding during a turnaround?

A rebrand can be a useful flag in a turnaround. It gives staff, customers and investors a visible marker that says “something is different now”.

Novo paired the visual change with a culture programme. That matters. A new logo on its own tells people to expect change. A culture programme is the start of delivering it.

The analysts’ warning is the other half of the lesson. If the products, prices or results do not change, a new name and a forward-facing bull will start to look like a promise not kept. The rebrand raises expectations. Only the business can meet them.

What can a rebrand do, and what can it not do?

Based on these two cases, here is a plain split.

A rebrand can:

• make a new strategy visible inside and outside the company
• unite separate businesses or products under one system
• give staff a clear moment to rally around
• fix practical problems, such as a logo that fails on screens or a name that is too long for everyday use

A rebrand cannot:

• fix a product people do not want
• repair results on its own
• replace a strategy you have not yet decided
• make people forget a real problem they experienced

If you are not sure which side of that line your situation falls on, our guide on when you should rebrand walks through the signs.

How do you know if it is time to rebrand?

Start with the question each company answered. Can you finish one of these sentences honestly?

1. “We need to look like one company, because…”
2. “We need to show we are changing, because…”
3. “Our current identity is stopping us from…”

If you can, a rebrand may be worth it. If you cannot, the work you need is probably strategy, not design.

When you do go ahead, build an identity that can grow, rather than a single logo that gets redone in five years. Our guide to designing a flexible brand identity system explains how. And if you are wondering how much weight the logo itself carries, read why a logo is important.

At BUNQ LABS, we are a studio in India that builds brand identities and immersive websites. We always start by asking which question a rebrand is meant to answer, before anyone draws a thing. You can see how we work on our services page.

If you are wondering whether your brand needs a refresh, a full rebrand or neither, get in touch.