Help! Makeovers Needed

Starbucks

Why It Needs a Makeover:
Starbucks is already in the middle of a serious makeover since the return of CEO and President Howard Schultz earlier this year. Redundant stores have been closed, employees have been retrained, and new coffee offerings have been introduced. But is there more that can be done? You betcha. Starting with thinking green. Starbucks has a serious green image problem that was recently exacerbated by the revelation that store policy mandates a faucet in the "dipping well" be kept running constantly.
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Next: McDonald's

McDonald's

Why It Needs a Makeover:
Perhaps no other company has faced the same level of criticism on food safety and nutrition as McDonald's has. And while the fast-food giant has made many good changes, it doesn't seem to have helped the brand's reputation very much. Another close look at the menu may be just the makeover McDonald's needs, starting with the tiny flecks of onion and the artificial-tasting hamburger bun.

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Next: Mattel

Mattel

Why It Needs a Makeover:
Decrying the outsourcing of jobs to overseas has become a staple of U.S. politicians' campaigns. And what better example of outsourcing gone bad than Mattel, which is still reeling nearly a year and a half later from a series of recalls of Chinese-made toys that contained lead paint. It takes a forward-looking company to overcome such troubles.
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Next: Playboy

Playboy

Why It Needs a Makeover:
Not only does Playboy face rivals with different standards, but also the flood of easily accessible pornography on the internet. So as revenues and share value continue to decline, the question is whether Playboy can revitalize its brand in a way that speaks to a modern audience. Founder Hugh Hefner is still going strong; why not the Playboy brand?

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Next: PlayStation

Sony PlayStation

Why It Needs a Makeover:
Did Sony stumble when it launched the PlayStation 3? Considering how the Nintendo Wii captured the imagination of casual gamers, and how the more affordable Xbox 360 has undercut the PS3, you could say so. Sony could fight back with advertising that sets it apart from its rivals, not to mention changes to make the platform more affordable.

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Next: Kmart

Kmart

Why It Needs a Makeover:
When Kmart bought Sears it seemed like a perfect match. But these two retail titans of the 1970s were quickly outclassed by modern big-box retailers such as Wal-Mart. The company has already tried to remake itself by closing many of its unprofitable stores, but what's next? Will layaway attract customers trying to keep out of credit card trouble?

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Next: American Airlines

American Airlines

Why It Needs a Makeover:
Skyrocketing fuel prices, ongoing airport security hassles, and recession-weary consumers cutting back on travel have made these difficult times for all the airlines. So who would have thought that the best makeover for struggling American Airlines might just be to imitate Southwest, one of its more successful rivals?

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Next: Microsoft

Microsoft

Why It Needs a Makeover:
Customers were underwhelmed by Microsoft's Windows Vista operating system. Windows mobile has to compete with the wildly popular Apple iPhone. And efforts to take on Google in the sphere of web search advertising has gone nowhere. So with Microsoft's boatloads of cash and no debt, why is it so resistant to evolve beyond its core businesses?

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Next: Amtrak

Amtrak

Why It Needs a Makeover:
Vice presidential candidate Joe Biden points out that he regularly rides Amtrak to and from his Delaware home. Republican presidential hopeful John McCain, on the other hand, has said that he would shut down the service if he becomes president. No wonder, considering Amtrak's reputation for inefficiency. Can its reputation be saved and its survival assured?

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Next: Newspapers

Newspapers

Why They Need a Makeover:
The days of the lazy Sunday afternoon spent perusing the Sunday edition of the newspaper is long past for most of us. For newspapers to keep an increasingly fragile grasp on the attention of the American public, they have to remember that it's all about their customers (and their shareholders), even if that means a Sunday paper with shorter articles.

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Next: CEO Pay

CEO Pay

Why It Needs a Makeover:
Why did Treasury Secretary Paulson seem to squirm during congressional testimony about extremely generous executive pay packages? Could it be because, like the CEOs of Lehman Brothers and AIG, Paulson benefited from such a package during his tenure as CEO of Goldman Sachs? And to whom can taxpayers turn to set things right? (Pictured: Angelo Mozilo, Countrywide CEO)
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Next: Halliburton

Halliburton

Why It Needs a Makeover:
Despite SEC investigations into bribery and accounting irregularities, litigation, and antitrust accusations, Halliburton and its subsidiary KBR have had no better friend in Washington than outgoing Vice President Dick Cheney. As a new administration takes up the reigns in January, Halliburton may find a makeover beneficial to its long-term survival.

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Next: Cell Phone Plans

Cell Phone Plans

Why They Need a Makeover:
The cellular service world is a prime candidate for a makeover; the limited unlimited plans and the prorating and charging for texts and calls you don't want are two examples of the shell game the companies play with their customers.

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Next: Motor Homes

Motor Homes

Why They Need a Makeover:
High gas prices. Tight credit. Declining house values. Delayed retirement. Each of these troubles has taken a bite out of the motor home industry, in particular, the land cruisers costing $100,000 or more. According to a recent survey, motor home sales fell a huge 40% in the third quarter.

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Next: Pro Sports

Professional Sports

Why It Needs a Makeover:
There was a time when sports stars were content to lean on the three traditional performance-enhancing substances; alcohol, tobacco and caffeine. With the advent of anabolic steroids, human growth hormone, and other high-tech monster-makers, though, the sanctity of our sports has been crippled. In some sports, bicycle racing in particular, the damage could be fatal.

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Next: Weddings

Weddings

Why They Need a Makeover:
The average wedding in America will cost $28,704 in 2008, according to industry watcher The Wedding Report. That's a slight dip from 2007, but the group predicts by 2013, the bill will rise to $33,552. That's way too much for a one day event, no matter how magical, romantic and life changing.

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Next: New Orleans

New Orleans

Why It Needs a Makeover:
Who can forget the video of the thousands of refugees living in squalor at the New Orleans Superdome, waiting for rescue while government entities squabbled over responsibility? Even today, when one sees mention of New Orleans, it is frequently in terms of rebuilding yet unaccomplished, or its continued vulnerability to hurricanes. The New Orleans brand is desperately in need of a makeover, to regain its 'laissez les bon temps rouler' (let the good times roll) chops.

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Next: Student Loans

Student Loans

Why They Need a Makeover:
More and more students are turning to private loans to bridge the gap between their federal loans and what colleges are charging. They're paying ridiculously high rates -- up to 20%. Meanwhile, lending companies take no risk, but get paid. The government takes the risk, but doesn't get paid.

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Next: Hunting

Hunting

Why It Needs a Makeover:
Nature is relentlessly fecund, demonstrated by the dramatic increase in the nation's White-tailed deer to an estimated 20 million today. At the same time, the sport of hunting is in a slow, steady decline, insufficient to cull the herd. Each year, 1.5 million deer-vehicle collisions cause over a billion dollars in damage to vehicles and injure several hundred people.

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Next: Public Works Projects

Public Works Projects

Why They Need a Makeover:
With the economy on life support, the unemployment numbers poised to rise, and America's national might fraying around the edges, this could be the perfect time for the government to bring back the Public Works Administration.

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Next: Horse Racing

Horse Racing

Why It Needs a Makeover:
Races are inherently exciting. Kids love horses. Jockeys, owners, and the animals themselves all lead colorful lives that are fun to follow and read about. It is an amazing spectacle offering great pageantry and history. Going to the races could be an exciting past-time for millions of Americans. First, it has to part ways with its favorite crutch -- the habitual gambler.

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Next: Flophouses

Flophouses

Why They Need a Makeover:
Flophouses didn't offer much: just a room about the size of an office cubicle, with a bed, a small table, and a door that the occupant could close against the outside world. Sometimes, they were last-ditch lodging, where bums or migrant workers could cheaply buy a night of safety and privacy. Other times, they were a promising, quiet spot to catch a shuteye and solitude.

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Next: Social Security

Social Security

Why It Needs a Makeover:
Everyone knows that Social Security is seriously in need of reform. But now that the retirement funds of so many Americans have been decimated by declines in the stock market, shoring up the program is more important than ever. Raising payroll taxes or investing the funds in stocks are not the best solutions.

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Next: Short Sellers

Short Sellers

Why They Need a Makeover:
Are short sellers to blame for the current financial crisis on Wall Street? Some people think so. Others are just as certain that short selling is nothing but a scapegoat. From one extreme to the other, andeverywhere in between, lots of suggestions are being made about how the short selling of stocks could be more fair and more transparent.

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Next: Public Buses

Public Buses

Why They Need a Makeover:
I still carry dark memories of the first time I took a bus home from college -- I found myself sitting next to a drunk guy with a seeping, yellowed bandage on his arm. After a few minutes, he fell asleep on my shoulder and started drooling on me. On the bright side, he distracted me from the guy across the aisle who seemed to be kidnapping his son and the woman behind me who was simultaneously hitting on three different men. When I got home, I gulped down a handful of vitamins and barely resisted the urge to skinny dip in a vat of Bactine.
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More on AOL: Makeovers of 2008

More on WalletPop:
Big Name Makeovers 2008

Now that you've seen what our bloggers think is in need of a major makeover, check out which well-known products and brands have already put on a fresh new face this year.

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Boy, How You've Changed!