Yahoo + AOL = Oath? It's looking like that
What do you do when you buy one of the world's most recognizable tech brands? Rebrand!
Verizon is reportedly preparing to launch "Oath," which will be some sort of rebranded combination of Yahoo, AOL and conceivably an ancient scroll signed in blood.
Business Insider first reported on the rebranding rollup and noted that it is unclear whether the Yahoo and AOL brands will remain in any capacity.
AOL CEO Tim Armstrong then decided to break the new logo out on Twitter:
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Whatever "Oath" ends up being (to me, it sounds like a band that might have opened for Creed), it's hard to believe that Verizon would purchase Yahoo and then immediately dispose of the brand.
Verizon bought Yahoo (excluding its interest in Alibaba) for $4.83 billion in July 2016, though the finalization of that deal has taken some time due to the revelation of massive data breaches at Yahoo.
Despite its problems, Yahoo remains among the biggest destinations for internet users (yes, particularly people who just use its email, but still). AOL is also still a pretty big name.
Merging AOL and Yahoo does not come as a surprise, as Verizon's goal in buying Yahoo was to create a group of internet destinations with enough visitors so it could provide something of an alternative to the digital duopoly of Google and Facebook.
Update: Yahoo's own Yahoo Finance reports that the Yahoo brand will not go away, but rather remain as a media brand under "Oath" and alongside Verizon's other media entities.
The "Oath" news quickly brought on comparisons to tronc, which is the name that the iconic Tribune Publishing company transitioned to as part of its move to embrace the internet.
And, like tronc, Twitter had a few jokes at the expense of "Oath."
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Jason Abbruzzese is a Business Reporter at Mashable. He covers the media and telecom industries with a particular focus on how the Internet is changing these markets and impacting consumers. Prior to working at Mashable, Jason served as Markets Reporter and Web Producer at the Financial Times. Jason holds a B.S. in Journalism from Boston University and an M.A. in International Affairs from Australian National University.
