The development of the brand

At that time, it was common to connect the word trademark to a distinctive logo. In what has proven to be a very fortuitous decision, the well-known and popular fairy tale figure of the Frog Prince was selected. Considerations like the following led to the selection of this figure:

• Shoes "look" at the world, in a manner of speaking, from the perspective of a frog; the innovative shoe polish also really protected against water like the skin of a frog;
• and noble attributes of all kinds were often claimed. As a result, the following comment was also on the first Erdal cans next to the "royal frog": used privately in royal courts.

In 1903, it was initially a naturalistic frog that decorated the can. It might have remained green if one had not been forced to deliver substitute goods during the First World War due to suitable raw materials. When the products could be supplied with the original quality after the war, it was thought that the product with the green frog had been discredited. And, as a result, the red frog was chosen instead in 1918 for the new high-quality oil product, with the additional label: "Quality like before August 1914." Thus, the development of the Erdal Schuhpflege brand really began with the red frog.

No other brand-name article became as well-known and demanded by logo and name as Erdal. Between the world wars, the product, which was just as often called red frog as Erdal, sold fabulously.

Until 1961, a pretty grouchy-looking guy decorated Germany's top-selling shoe polish. This only changed with a change in management. The frog was to express the optimistic attitude of the entire company with regard to the future. The result: Now he smiles, naturalistic frog!

In the new consumer age, the economic wonder of the 60's, much changed - including logos: the frog and the word trademark were modernized. Folgende Merkmale sollte der The company graphic designers were to incorporate the following characteristics in regard to the appearance and message of the new logo:

• bold
• stylized
• projecting optimism
• progressive
• optimal for miniaturization (the fine lines of the old frog blurred)
• one color

Thus, the new symbol was born of precision work and great devotion to detail. For example, note the "sloping backside" of the frog. Without this slope, the frog would appear stiff. This relatively minute detail gives movement to the figure.

As a main design characteristic of all Erdal products since 1971, this redesigned logo now guarantees "Brand-name quality under the sign of the frog".