In 1995, Pit Pat was created in the comedy show “Mr. Show with Bob and David,” as a “magical, pan-sexual, non-threatening, spokesthing”, for the fictional GloboChem multinational company. A parody of how those huge and faceless conglomerates work on their branding to appear a bit more human and friendly, Pit Pat was the incarnation of the universally boring and dull.

To remind you of those communication consultants who came up with Pit Pat, watch the (NSFW) clip below:

Then, there is Cetelem, a subsidiary of BNP Paribas, founded in 1953 and now the number one consumer lender in Western Europe.

Until 2004, it had this logo:

Then, in 2004, this PDF explains (view as HTML), when their ‘brand project’ team examined their current logo, “they quickly realized that it had lost its suggestive power”. So, they created the Arrow, designed and tested by a Cetelem international team of communication professionals and operational managers.

As a sign of clear, dynamic, yet familiar energy, the Arrow exemplifies modernity by virtue of its forward-looking, aerodynamic and conquest-oriented shape. This full-bodied symbol flies Cetelem colours, and features a stable oval of balanced proportions, which bears the statuary Cetelem brand, evoking solidity and professionalism. Its organic design aspect together with its use of green underlines our ethical dimension and the virtues of transparency. As a life-like symbol, rounded in shape, warmly coloured, and easily adapted to local requirements, the Arrow inspires confidence and suggests the closeness of our customer relations. An optimistic sign, ahead of its time. A sign that can truly set the agenda for the future.

And here is the Arrow used until 2008:

But in 2005, they introduced a mascot, Credito, into their marketing.

As explained here (and via machine translation):

“How to sell an intangible?”, That is the question that arose Cetelem with his agency. Very quickly, the idea of representing the credit has become a character. “The small figure carries us and expresses the relational values that we wanted to highlight any injecting the empathy that we previously lacked, explains B. Cizeau. There was also talk that this relatively serious credit charge is translated so enthusiastic with an amusing and humorous. Although he probably surprised at the start, the green man was soon well accepted internally but also externally. “We have registered an approval rate of over 70%,” confirms B. Cizeau. As the reputation and brand image Cetelem, it has jumped significantly since 2005. “We have seen very strong increases in all relational items which accounted for us,” said B. Cizeau. Now this character that appears in all the campaigns TV Cetelem accompanies the client in its approach to credit. It embodies the concepts and advice, service, warranty protection. In short, it reassures the customer physically embodying the concept of responsibility is so important in the context of the French market. Following today’s character Cetelem is recognized by 90% of the people and the reputation that precedes the character of the brand, without suffocating it. The figure moreover been incorporated into the new logo Cetelem. “Four years after his birth, the character shows so far no sign of wear, and we are also very attentive to this.” Even abroad, in the thirty countries where Cetelem is present, the little green character has managed to establish itself as an indispensable reference.

Eventually, Credito became part of the logo itself. And now, Cetelem logo looks like this:

And the marketing visuals with Credito like this:

Remember Pit Pat?

So there you have it: it took 10 years for Pit Pat to go from being an actual joke, to becoming what a world leading financial multinational considers “the embodiment of the concept of responsibility”. They just made it green, and removed the slogan. But no doubt someone will sell the corporate tag-line “Take it from me, I love you!” to some huge conglomerate, one day.