Does Novo Nordisk’s slimmed down rebrand signal a new era of DTC revivalism?

Novo Nordisk, the Dandish drugmaker behind the weight-loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy, announced it’s rebranding to “Novo” beginning this week. It’s part of a larger trend in healthcare branding. The rise of telehealth, direct-to-consumer pharmaceutical companies, and consumer-facing GLP-1s has drugmakers rebranding their once sterile brands to something more friendly. Novo Nordisk is no exception. Its refreshed public-facing brand is designed to catch the eyes of consumers, rather than doctors and pharmaceutical buyers, in order to grab market share and to compete with brands that now offer the drugs directly to the consumer online. The company hopes its new visual look and name will help. Novo’s new wordmark spells out its shortened name in a more modern-looking sans-serif font, aptly called “Novo.” [Image: Novo] The new logomark also refreshes its longstanding graphic of an Apis bull, a sacred bull in ancient Egypt that the company has used in its logo since the 1920s. A simplified version now faces right instead of left. An updated color palette is anchored by a deep cobalt blue called “Lasting Blue.” Its light blue accent color has been replaced with a bright turquoise. The com…