Brands
Brands in US pause political donations after Capitol Hill episode
NEW DELHI: Multiple brands in the US have decided to pause political donations to both Republicans and Democrats following Wednesday's Capitol siege. These include the likes of JPMorgan, Citibank, Facebook, and Microsoft.
Media reports say that JPMorgan will pause all political funding for at least six months, Citibank for the remainder of the quarter, and Facebook for the next three months.
Other companies that are following the suite include 3M, Dow, Marriott, and Morgan Stanley. These companies have expressed their discontentment around the Capitol Hill attacks and have stated that the focus of all the leaders should be on governing and helping those who need it. Some organisations have decided to suspend political contributions to representatives and senators who voted against the certification of Biden’s election last week.
FedEx, Target, CVS Health, AT&T, and Walmart are among the companies currently reviewing their positions on political contributions
Facebook told Axios it would pause political donations to the Democrats and the GOP for at least three months. The social media giant also indefinitely suspended Trump's Facebook account on Thursday, which will last at least until President-elect Biden is inaugurated on January 20.
Microsoft is also freezing all political donations for the remainder of the quarter, Ashley Gold of Axios reported.
The attack that took place last Wednesday left five people dead and several injured. There was an intense clash between the police authorities and local people after they were incited by the outgoing US president Donald Trump.
People across the world condemned the attacks and social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook have suspended Trump’s account, citing the risk of him disturbing the peace in the country.
Brands
Godrej clarifies ‘GI’ identifier after logo similarity debate
Says GI is not a logo, will not replace Godrej signature across products.
MUMBAI: In a branding storm where shapes did the talking, Godrej is now spelling things out. Godrej Industries Group (GIG) has issued a clarification on its newly introduced ‘GI’ identifier, addressing questions around its purpose and design following a wave of online criticism. At the centre of the debate were two concerns: whether the new mark replaces the long-standing Godrej logo, and whether its geometric design mirrors other corporate identities.
The company has drawn a clear line. The Godrej signature logo, it said, remains unchanged and continues to be the sole logo across all consumer-facing products and services. The ‘GI’ mark, by contrast, is not a logo but a corporate group identifier intended for use alongside the Godrej signature or company name, and aimed at stakeholders such as investors, media and talent rather than consumers.
The need for such a distinction stems from the 2024 restructuring of the broader Godrej Group into two separate business entities. With both continuing to operate under the same Godrej name and signature, the identifier is positioned as a way to differentiate the Godrej Industries Group at a corporate level.
The rollout, however, triggered a broader conversation on design originality. Critics pointed to similarities between the GI mark’s geometric composition and logos used by companies globally, raising questions about distinctiveness.
Responding to this, GIG said its intellectual property and legal review found that such overlaps are common in minimalist, geometry-led design systems. Basic forms such as circles and rectangles appear across dozens of brand identities worldwide, the company noted.
It added that the identifier emerged from an extensive design process and was chosen for its simplicity, allowing it to sit alongside the Godrej signature without competing visually. While acknowledging that elemental shapes may appear less distinctive in isolation, the group emphasised that the mark is part of a broader identity system that includes a custom typeface, sonic branding and other proprietary elements.
Following legal and ethical assessments, the company said it found no impediment to using the identifier, reiterating that the GI mark is a corporate tool not a consumer-facing symbol.
In short, the logo isn’t changing but the conversation around it certainly has.
