Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith is the brokerage firm whose visual identity became defined by one of the most recognizable symbols in American finance: the charging bull. The firm, founded in 1914, adopted the bull as its corporate trademark in 1974, and the mark remained central to its branding through the Bank of America acquisition and into the 2019 rebrand.
Design and History
The bull logo was introduced in 1974, becoming the trademark under which all financial service subsidiaries of Merrill Lynch & Co. would be identified.[1] The mark was designed by King Casey Designs for Marketing, Inc. (now King-Casey Inc.).[2] Three years before the logo’s adoption, the firm launched its famous “Merrill Lynch is bullish on America” television campaign during the 1971 World Series, a slogan that the bull symbol directly echoed.[1]
When Bank of America acquired Merrill Lynch in January 2009, the bank initially announced it would keep the Merrill Lynch name and the bull logo for its wealth management and brokerage business, which would be known as Merrill Lynch Wealth Management.[3] Bank of America said it used research involving customers in at least 13 countries before deciding to retain the brand, with a spokesman noting that “Merrill Lynch’s bull tested extremely well among the mass affluent segment.”[4]
In June 2009, Bank of America rolled out a new logo for the combined entity, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, which retained the Bank of America identity but dropped the Merrill Lynch bull motif from the corporate branding.[5] The effort was handled by WPP’s The Brand Union.[6] Later that year, however, Bank of America announced plans to spend as much as $20 million in the fourth quarter of 2009 to reintroduce the Merrill Lynch name and its long-time bull logo.[7]
In February 2019, Bank of America rebranded most of its wealth-management business as simply “Merrill,” while the firm’s iconic bull logo remained.[8] Merrill Lynch Wealth Management President Andy Sieg confirmed in a memo that the unit “will continue, along with our traditional bull logo, to be featured as such in all marketing materials, business cards and other collateral.”[9] The rebrand also introduced a new logo identifying Merrill as “A BANK OF AMERICA COMPANY.”[9]
Meaning and Symbolism
The bull was a direct reference to a “bull market,” the term used to describe a market with rising prices.[1] The firm’s own history described the logo as “symbolizing growth, strength, optimism and confidence.”[1] The symbol also connected to the firm’s “bullish on America” advertising campaign, which expressed optimism about the country’s economic future.[1]
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