A glance at the new corporate identity of British Telecom (BT) had us almost crying foul into our coffee this morning.
As our picture demonstrates, BT's new logo bears more than a passing resemblance to PCCW's logo. Launched in late 2000, the Hong Kong firm's 12 geometric grids in seven colours were designed to represent the company's different business units - from traditional telecoms to the internet.
At the time of the unveiling, the firm's former deputy chairman explained the logo represented the company's 'dynamic character', as well as 'demonstrating that the company had a strong number of parts, interlocking to create a strong pool'.
PCCW's top 20 executives, including chairman Richard Li Tzar-kai, were each given an hour-long presentation on how the new logo matched the corporate identity by brand consultant Interbrand. The company declined to comment on the cost of the re-brand and would only say that it cost less than most companies pay for the service.
A BT source told us that, in fact, its new logo had been developed in-house some years ago. It had been sitting in the logo file for sometime before being dusted off and launched earlier this year. 'They've copied us!' exclaimed the source.
However, Graham Moore, president of BT Asia, was at pains to point out that the new logo did not eat into company coffers.