Category: Marketing

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Scion vs. Sinclair

Compare logos of Scion and SinclairLeave it to a 14-year-old to point out to this “experienced” designer that automaker Scion has a logo very similar to the Sinclair computer, marketed to Americans in the early-1980s by Timex. He ought to know, he is my son—a gifted computer programmer—well-schooled with vintage computing devices. As of this writing, design bloggers have yet to take notice of the resemblance. While the Scion designer did add a nifty bit of flair by rounding the edges, the similarity is unmistakable.

I reckon my son has made a true discovery—and uncovered either an homage to a great-looking logo from the past, or a case of another sneaky corporate design rip-off.

As an ironic aside, Sinclair’s founder, Clive Sinclair, boldly told the Guardian UK, “I don’t use a computer at all!”

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Urban Outfitters’ new “branding”

Urban Outfitters websiteHot on the heels of the Gap’s infamous lazy logo redesign (since withdrawn) comes another epic fail, Urban Outfitters. Usually reliable for being ahead of trends in clothing design, merchandising and communication, the apparel giant unveiled a clunky new look for its logo and website. The logo is a masterpiece of asymmetry and plainness, while the website’s sidebar navigation willfully mixes extended and condensed typefaces. Many critics have cited the logo’s similarity with Word Art examples found inside Microsoft’s Office suite, enabling amateurs everywhere to curve and bend type to create their own corporate logotype.

I would bet that by year’s end there will be an “emergency” logo design revamp, because this dog won’t hunt!

UPDATE
Since this was posted, UO has changed to a similarly bizarre branding scheme—at least for its website. This time round, clearly the same retail marketing team are conjuring 1991 with all its dots and squiggles. What do you think? Leave a comment below…
—Scott

Urban Outfitters 2013 home page

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NYC condom wrapper design contest

NYC CondomWith more than 15,000 online votes, Luis Acosta, a 29-year-old graphic designer from Queens, New York, won the NYC condom package design contest. The New York Department of Health and Mental Hygiene announced that Acosta’s design with an “on” power button would adorn six million limited-edition free condoms set for release this year.

“I hope my package design reminds people that they’re in control. We all have the power to protect ourselves from sexually transmitted infections, HIV/AIDS and unplanned pregnancies,” said Acosta.

First introduced by the health department on Valentine’s Day 2007, the NYC condom is the United States’ first municipally branded prophylactic. More than 40 million of the male condoms will be distributed free in city bars, clinics, gyms and other locations. This year is the first for a wrapper design contest.

Dr. Monica Sweeney, the assistant New York City health commissioner, said, “We want everybody to think and talk about condoms all the time.”

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A look back at the UPS whiteboard

UPS whiteboard guyNearly three years ago, shipping giant UPS launched its “whiteboard guy” campaign. The guy—with distractingly long hair—demonstrates various features of UPS’s services by drawing on a board with a brown marker. (Perhaps creative inspiration came from FOX television’s hit hospital series, House M.D., whose main character played by actor Hugh Laurie uses a whiteboard to great effect.)

The “guy” is no actor but Andy Azula, the creative director at the Martin Agency in Richmond, Virginia. According to Azula, he pitched the idea to the client with himself at the whiteboard. “[UPS] liked the idea and went to work to try to find someone to talk and draw like I did in the demo.” When UPS left the decision to consumers in a focus group, they picked Azula.

UPS announced that New York’s Ogilvy & Mather has since taken over the account, not due to lack of success, however. According to spokesman Norman Black, UPS wants an agency with global offices, and the Martin Agency only maintains U.S. operations. Martin has handled the UPS account since 2001 and is responsible for its “What Can Brown Do For You” tagline. (This bizarre tagline could be fodder for a blog post of its own.) The whiteboard tv spots were widely spoofed on YouTube, and, as the sincerest form of flattery, on NBC’s “Saturday Night Live.”

This story has an ironic musical footnote. The soundtrack for the tv campaign is the instrumental intro of the song, “Such Great Heights,” recorded by electronic indie pop band The Postal Service. The group is so named because its two members—Jimmy Tamborello and Ben Gibbard—produced much of its songs by collaborating remotely via the United States Postal Service. (Not by UPS, apparently).

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Aol. Struggling to remain relevant

AOL "blue monster" logoAOL’s late-2009 corporate logotype redesign was its first move away from former parent company, Time Warner. The new logo is simply “Aol.”—upper and lowercase, and with a period, as if to state that it is the last word in online content—set in a sans serif typeface (perhaps a slightly tweaked Futura Bold?), and “revealed” through different backgrounds (the “blue monster” shown above being an example). Designed by Wolff Olins, the letterform remains fixed while the background will change continuously by the hundreds, ostensibly symbolizing AOL’s commitment to changing content. Other backgrounds include a headbanger rock fan, a fish, a beetle, a leaf, and a woman’s shoe. (Visit AOL’s site and click “Refresh Page” at the top navigation to see it in action.)

Maureen Marquess, chief of staff at AOL in New York, is wrestling with the monumental task of making the AOL service relevant again, as “having an AOL account” is seen as a nostalgic reminder of the early days of the Internet. “We have to give people a reason to care again” about AOL, Ms. Marquess said. The designer in me admits relief for the retirement of AOL’s frozen-in-time triangle logo. But despite the press release mapping the complex thought process behind the redesign, about remaining “flexible” while AOL sorts out exactly what services it wishes to provide, it is difficult for a critic to get past the laziness of the rebranding. I am immediately reminded of the children’s cable television network developed in the 1980s, Nickelodeon, who employed changing orange backgrounds (a blimp, a dog bone, a splat) with the “Nickelodeon” mark knocked out in white. Whether viewed in a promo spot or seen on a child’s toy, the logo was instantly recognizable in all of its guises.

However, an effective brand must start with an instantly-recognizable symbol—the brand identifier—to provide profound meaning. I doubt adding a colorful fish behind the simple typesetting of “Aol.” will help to allay the brand’s woes.

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Does AT&T “rip off” artist Christo?

AT&T campaign and "The Gates" by Christo

Months ago I began noticing AT&T’s recent campaign, “Rethink Possible.” I was immediately struck by its similarity to the work of environmental artists Christo and his wife Jeanne-Claude. In the tv spot, people are seen draping various American monuments with massive sheets of orange fabric. It bears an undeniable similarity to pieces by the artists, specifically their 2005 installation “The Gates” in New York’s Central Park. (In the image seen above, compare the top image from AT&T’s spot with “The Gates” by Christo). The draped fabric was a metaphor for AT&T’s broad cellular phone “coverage” in the United States. (Click here to view the spot.)

Christo and his lawyer filed a complaint with AT&T, and the company has since added a disclaimer to the end of the commercial stating, “The artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude have no direct or indirect affiliation or involvement with AT&T.” (One could imagine the two parties arguing over the type size of the disclaimer; it is indeed rather prominent.)

Christo made a splash in the 1980s while I was a youngster living in Miami. Christo’s “Surrounded Islands”—an installation where the artist surrounded eleven islands in Miami’s Biscayne Bay with giant pieces of floating pink polypropylene—was best viewed by helicopter, and dazzled us for two weeks.

Special thanks to Huffington Post for its assistance with this story.

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50 years of Doc Martens

Dr. MartensDr. Martens—the English makers of boots and shoes—turns 50 this year. DMs, Docs, Doctor Martens… however one calls them, the familiar “Bouncing Soles” tag at the back and distinctive yellow stitching serve as a social signifier; for many it goes hand-in-hand with rebellion. And music. Doc’s first boots became a working-class essential to a counter-culture back in the 1960s. (Fact: The first eight-eye boot was issued the 1st of April, 1960, hence the style number 1460.)

The list of D.M. devotees covers a broad spectrum of musical and fashion trends, says Martin Roach, D.M.’s de facto historian: “mods, glams, punks, ska, psycho-hillbillies, Goths, nu-metal, hardcore, straight-edge, grunge, Britpop, and on and on.” So to celebrate its 50th anniversary, Dr. Martens asked 10 artists to record their version of a classic track from acts such as the Human League, Buzzcocks, and the Pogues, that represents the spirit of the people who’ve worn DMs; directors produced accompanying videos to boot (click here to view them).

Since the late-’80s, I’ve owned several pair, from boots to loafers, even D.M. sandals. They always feel good and last a long time. Happy Birthday, Dr. Martens! My feet love ya…

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“I put that $#!+ on everything!”

Frank's RedHot sauce“I put that [splat] on everything!” That’s the message in the latest tv and radio spots for Frank’s RedHot sauce—its delivery is as bold as the product. The juxtaposition of the typical, bespectacled old gran spewing a barely-concealed, vulgar turn of phrase is the thrust behind a recent campaign for the spicy condiment making the rounds on YouTube. Which, of course, is what UK company Reckitt Benckiser—the current marketer of Frank’s—is banking on.

Using bold language in media is certainly not a new concept, but just how many people are complaining? The Oxygen cable television network presents a series called “Dance Your Ass Off.” One of Oxygen’s execs, Jason Klarman, admits: “The title is a little bit controversial… in cable, almost anything that is successful is usually a little polarizing.”

So in an era of media saturation, branding experts have to be “bold” with hopes of creating a memorable message. But certainly boldness employed by a cable tv network aimed at young women is less risky than doing so with a mainstream supermarket product, likely to be purchased by a wide spectrum of consumers. However, hot sauce buyers seem to be smiling at the message and continue to place Frank’s among the top leading hot sauces in the world.

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The logo is (not) in the bag

Bottega Veneta handbagAre you a patrician, parvenu, poseur, or prole? Old money or new money? A recent study by the USC Marshall School of Business examines levels of wealth, social status, and wealthy consumers’ desire to associate with those in their own caste. After studying preferences of luxury goods, the authors sorted consumers into four categories according to the subjects’ affinity for “loud” goods or “quiet” goods. The categories are:

  • Patricians — wealthy consumers who prefer quiet goods that only other wealthy can recognize. (The $2,000 Bottega Veneta handbag shown above is an example; the logo appears only on the inside.)
  • Parvenus — wealthy consumers who desire status and flaunt loud luxury goods in the face of the less affluent. (Many Gucci products sport screaming logos, as do Louis Vuitton’s.)
  • Poseurs — consumers who can’t afford luxury goods, yet buy counterfeit luxury goods to “emulate those who they recognize to be wealthy” (e.g., that “Rolex” watch offered for sale by the man on the sidewalk.)
  • Proletarians — those “not driven to consume for status’ sake”

These findings will present challenges for marketers of luxury goods. USC’s study reveals that shrieking designer logos may actually reflect a lower price point than their more subtle counterparts. The authors call upon manufacturers to develop subtle cues to distinguish the brand, such as Gucci’s use of bamboo rather than its insignia. Also, ubiquity may in fact tarnish the brand and promote loss in value. And finally, the study recommends marketers resist the “pyramid” approach to luxury and to consider marketing to all consumers.

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Hotel photo fake-outs

Amateur photographers/contributors to the hotel review website The Oyster visit luxury hotels worldwide to serve as consumer watchdogs. Are the hotels’ own websites, public relations materials and brochures accurately portraying their accommodations? Numerous side-by-side photo comparisons prove otherwise.

Some examples are subtle, while other photos clearly appear doctored, are the victim of the stylist, or are shot through the lens of obfuscation. Examples include missing room accoutrements, crashers of “private” beach weddings, rooms with an unintended view, hot tub-sized pools cropped to appear larger, crowded beaches rather than tranquil views, or traffic signals and signposts removed from exterior façade shots.

The point of Oyster’s posts is to keep hoteliers honest, and to provide real-life visual documentation to augment typical hotel reviews, so its members “can see the truth before they book.”