Hooters is an American casual dining and sports bar chain founded in Clearwater, Florida, in 1983 by six businessmen with no prior restaurant experience [1]. The brand’s visual identity centers on an owl mascot named Hootie, whose eyes form the double “O” in the “HOOTERS” wordmark, a visual pun that has remained central to the logo for over four decades [2].
Design and History
The original Hooters logo was created in the early 1980s when the fledgling company had no logo at all. According to Dave Henninger, then chief marketing officer, the company traced the owl’s image from the pages of a dictionary [3]. This traced illustration, described as scruffy and sketch-like, served as the brand’s mark for 30 years [4].
In July 2013, Hooters introduced its first logo redesign in three decades. The company wanted to give Hootie “a facelift along with the stores,” as part of a broader brand overhaul that included redesigned restaurant locations [5]. Atlanta-based design firm Sky Design created the new mark, giving the owl a sleeker, more modern and streamlined appearance [6]. During the design process, Sky Design presented several owl concepts to 300 consumers in online research; the chosen design was preferred roughly nine to one over the old logo [7]. The new logo rolled out across menus and signage by late August 2013, and replaced the old mark on server tank tops by October of that year [3].
Meaning and Symbolism
The Hooters logo is built on a deliberate double entendre. The owl’s eyes, which overlap with the two O’s in “HOOTERS,” are illustrated to resemble female breasts, a visual pun the company has openly acknowledged [8]. When the 2013 redesign was announced, Henninger assured customers that “the double entendre remains in place” [4]. The brand name itself is a double entendre, referring both to the hooting call of an owl and to slang for women’s breasts [9].
The current trademark registration describes the mark as “an owl with the word ‘HOOTERS’ using the two ‘OO’s in ‘HOOTERS’ as eyes for the owl” [2]. The owl mascot is known as Hootie [9].
Typography and Design
The 2013 Sky Design refresh retained the essential visual elements of the original mark, including the cartoon typography, the owl, and the double-entendre use of the bird’s eyes [6]. The redesign gave the owl a leaner, more contemporary appearance while preserving the brand’s recognizable silhouette and wordmark structure [10]. The orange color associated with the brand extends beyond the logo to the chain’s signature server uniforms, which pair a white tank top bearing the Hootie the Owl logo with short orange Dolphin shorts [11].
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