Clarks revives old logo for new Originals

Footwear retailer Clarks is to reintroduce a Seventies logo for its Originals brand and latex materials that it used 40 years ago, in an effort to revamp the design of its shoes and create greater brand consistency.

The company is launching a range of shoes in the autumn featuring the brand’s original latex sole. It will continue to use the existing crepe soles on some shoes in the Originals range.

The move coincides with a reintroduction of the Trek Man logo, which appeared briefly on its Desert Boot in the Seventies. Anton Magnani, design and product director at Clarks, says the logo will unite the Originals range.

He says: “There has been no consistency across the Originals range – all of the shoes have different logos. Introducing the Trek Man across the entire range will create a stronger, more unified brand.”

Clarks Originals typically makes unisex shoes but the new latex-sole range will include two women’s styles.

Magnani says: “The latex soles will enable us to create more feminine styles, which we haven’t been able to do using the crepe soles. Crepe is much more limiting.”

The latex-sole shoes and Trek Man logo will launch in the autumn, supported by the Clarks Originals ‘Clubs’ advertising campaign. Created by St Luke’s, the campaign features members of unusual clubs, such as the Milan Boomerang Club and the San Francisco Extreme Croquet Club. The ads will carry the Clarks Originals strapline “Doing our own thing”.

The campaign breaks in August in the UK, before being rolled out to international markets.