My thoughts :)
1. Its not a logo, its some text on a subpar image
2. Its hard to read Aol. as it bleeds off
3. Aol. reads as A-olle
4. Its waaaay to easily replicable, as in I can make it look like Aol. is sponsoring my events with a font and some picture I found.
5. Aol. – You've Got Fail.

All in all I can't see this being a positive. Its too out there, generic and just plain weird? It breaks all standards. I applaud the "attempt" at breaking the mold and where it was supposed to be going... I love fresh and new design but, I think they missed the mark dramatically on this one.

The CEO says it all on the rebrand and how "serious" they take their global brand. This is just sad, your brand image should never be approached as "very, very, very inexpensive" its your backbone..... The world is a sad place:

As for a dollar figure, “it’s going to be very, very, very inexpensive because we’re focused on just improving the products and services. I would say the marketing budget is the budget we’re using on product development and the changes we’re making.”

You can read the rest here: http://paidcontent.org/article/419-armstrong-on-a...