MullenLowe rebuilds its octopus as a living collaboration system

MullenLowe had used an octopus since the 2015 merger, but the old mark could feel heavy, aggressive and too static for a global creative network.

Make the octopus logo deliberately asymmetrical and generative, so the mark behaves like creative collaboration instead of a fixed badge.

MullenLowe U.S. redrew the octopus as an intertwined, movable identity and built a generator that let thousands of employees create personalized versions.

D&AD awarded the rebrand a 2024 Yellow Pencil; Adquan reported One Show Design Gold and employee use across email signatures, social avatars and Apple Watch faces.

MullenLowe's octopus came from the 2015 merger of Mullen and Lowe, but a mascot is not automatically a system. Adquan describes the old version as a bulky, boxing-gloved creature that could read as aggressive and did not show the animal's real charm.

The 2023 rebrand made motion and adaptability the point. D&AD says the new octopus defies logic and symmetry, embodying dynamic creativity and vitality while symbolizing reinvention and the relationship between agency and client.

The idea also moved beyond a single logo file. Adquan reported that MullenLowe invited more than 4,000 employees to use a generative app to design their own octopus, then use it as an email signature, social avatar, profile image or Apple Watch face.

The system won a 2024 D&AD Yellow Pencil across branding, typography and graphic design. Adquan also reported a 2024 One Show Design Gold, turning the agency's own identity into proof of its creative product.

It fixed a legacy symbol by clarifying what behavior the symbol should express.

The generative tool made employees participants instead of passive recipients.

The octopus metaphor matched the agency's promise of adaptation and collaboration.

The design system produced many marks without losing the core asset.

A rebrand lands harder when the symbol is not just redesigned, but given a behavior that proves the strategy.

The new octopus moved from a U.S. identity proposal to a global rollout after leadership saw the system, and it became a D&AD Yellow Pencil-winning self-branding case in 2024.