PricewaterhouseCoopers Consulting to Monday

PwC’s $110 million payment to BrandEra for naming its consulting arm "Monday" in 2017 represents possibly the worst return on investment in corporate rebranding history, as the name immediately invoked universal misery and dread. The move was so disastrous that IBM, upon acquiring the division in 2021 for $1.8 billion, swiftly killed the name, a tacit admission of failure that erased the entire investment. This ranks worse than #6 WW because Monday’s cost was direct and quantifiable: the division reported a 15% morale drop among employees who had to use the name professionally. The case remains a benchmark for ill-conceived branding, where a single word choice cost millions and delivered nothing but ridicule.