AT&T speeds up rebranding of Cingular name, logo

SAN ANTONIO — Say goodbye to Jack.

AT&T Inc. is accelerating its rebranding of Cingular Wireless LLC, pulling down signs in its 1,800 stores and other vestiges of what was one of the best-known brands in the market. The orange "Jack" logo and Cingular name also will disappear from new devices that are being sold.

AT&T began phasing out the logo in January after it got full ownership of Cingular in the buyout of BellSouth Corp. But starting Monday, the logo was disappearing in favor of the blue AT&T globe — though orange will remain in the color palette, said Wendy Clark, AT&T senior vice president of advertising.

The Cingular logo and brand were only around about six years but were considered highly successful as the wireless unit grew its subscriber base to the nation's largest with 62 million phones.

AT&T, which was actually a rebrand of SBC Communications after the company bought the long-distance business of Ma Bell, decided to give Cingular the AT&T name to help marry its various telecommunications and television services together.

The company had said it planned to finish the rebrand before the busy holiday season. But by accelerating the switchover, it can take advantage of the hyped launch of iPhone, Apple Inc.'s new wireless device. San Antonio-based AT&T will be the exclusive carrier when the iPhone goes on sale in late June.

"We're feeling comfortable enough that we can get more aggressive with the change," Clark said.

Jeff Kagan, a telecommunications industry analyst, said there is some risk for AT&T giving up the well-known Cingular brand. But because the industry is moving toward a single provider for multiple telecommunications services, Kagan said it makes more sense to centralize the brand.

"Even though there's going to be short-term issues, over the long term, all those issues are going to go away," he said.