April 22, 2008 - Clorox is downplaying its corporate logo in ads for the company's new Green Works line of environmentally preferable cleaning products - and, according to some industry analysts, that's probably a good thing, Brandweek reports.

A typical 30-second ad spot features a bright orange flower affixing itself to a Green Works spray bottle with the tagline "Powerful cleaning. Naturally." The Clorox logo makes a subtle appearance during the ad's closing seconds.

Not so with the products themselves, however. The Clorox name is featured prominently on the packaging - a risky move according to Al Ries, chairman of branding firm Ries & Ries.

"When you call the product Clorox or Arm & Hammer, it nails you to the past," Ries explains. "There's a dichotomy there. The consumer says, 'Wait a minute. You're telling me this product is good when you also make the bad stuff?'"

Harry Woods, creative director at Woods Witt Dealy & Sons, also warns of the potential for "brand baggage": "As marketers, we have to keep in mind these companies have built their relationships with customers and their brand imagery, in some cases, over the course of 50 years or more," he says. "You can't [change that image] overnight."

It's unclear whether the new line is making inroads among its target segment of "super dark-green, eco-minded" consumers, in the words of brand manager Matt Kohler. But Green Works' multimillion-dollar ad blitz has gotten the line off to a solid start, racking up $5.8 million in its first four months of sales and besting competitor Seventh Generation, admittedly a much smaller company but one with a very loyal consumer base.

The rest of the consumer packaged goods industry is taking note.