"Rebranding," says the article on that topic in Wikipedia, "is a marketing strategy in which a new name, term, symbol, design, or combination thereof is created for an established brand with the intention of developing a new, differentiated identity in the minds of consumers, investors, and competitors."

The Confederate States of America was not a company, per se. It was not like a brand of toothpaste or ketchup. But a strong case can be made for something analogous to "rebranding" in association with this flag. After all, political commentators have often commented that, for example, the Republican party of the United States would need to "rebrand," itself in light of the complete failure (read it's loss) of the "culture war" it recently fought, especially with regard to the rights of LGBT people. That is, the Republican party will need to "rebrand" as a pro-LGBT party, or be relegated to the trash heap of history. There is no putting the gays (etc.) back into the closet or the back of the bus. Those days are over . Just ask the U.S. military or the Boy Scouts of America.

I would argue that the first major rebranding of the Confederate battle flag began some time after the end of the Civil War (exactly when, I'm not yet sure), when some Southerners decided that it no longer served as an embattled emblem of defiant (and violent) white supremacy and pro-slavery, but served to commemorate the Confederate soldiers who died in that war. What amazes me is how effective this initial rebranding campaign had been. It astonishes me mostly because I could hardly imagine this same rebranding campaign succeeding in Germany after the end of WWII, which war the Germans had also lost. If the Germans had so rebranded the n ational flag of Germany of 193545, that red, white and black swastika flag would have become nothing more than an emblem of German cultural heritage and honor for the war dead. It would have become a proud symbol of a unique regional culture -- its music and cuisine. Alas, German law prevented such a use or rebranding.

" .... Often, this [rebranding] involves radical changes to a brand's logo, name, image, marketing strategy, and advertising themes. Such changes typically aim to reposition the brand/company, occasionally to distance itself from negative connotations of the previous branding , or to move the brand upmarket; they may also communicate a new message a new board of directors wishes to communicate." -- Wikipedia, Rebranding

In 1961, during South Carolinas Confederate War Centennial ( ... um, celebration? ) the Confederate battle flag was ostensibly raised atop the South Carolina state house as a very temporary homage to the Confederate soldiers who died in the war between the States. It was ostensibly a symbol of honor for the fallen. Who could complain about that ? But the flag stayed up until this summer of 2015.

Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson, said

"Do you know when that flag was first flown at the Columbia statehouse in Columbia?1961 it was a middle finger directed at the federal government. It was flown there as a symbol of massive resistance to racial desegregation. Period."

What was going on in South Carolina in 1961? A lot. Importantly, there was this.:

January 31 Member of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) and nine students were arrested in Rock Hill, South Carolina for a sit-in at a McCrory's lunch counter.

It hardly gets more iconic than that!

And you can still eat there, though what was a Five and Dime is now called Five and Dine. http://www.eatatfiveanddine.com/location.html

I think I'll have the Black & Blue burger. http://www.eatatfiveanddine.com/lunch.html

Well, now that flag ain't flying any more, and it seems the old, original, brand has returned to the flag.