Marketing disasters
Every once in a while, there are hilarious, if unintended consequences of marketing decisions that appear to have been less than fully thought through. The comments over at Kevin's place following the recent opening of Pop's Backdoor is the kind of thing i'm thinking about.
Serendipitously, a reader pointed me to this article in the London Telegraph, regarding the recent efforts by the Office of Government Commerce to update their logo. Here's what they came up with:
Pretty standard stuff, really. The Brits love them some acronyms, so using the initials of the office was a natural. Like most logos, i'm certain the designer submitted half a dozen different treatments in different typefaces, and the versions got kicked around in committee and vetted by mucky-mucks throughout the department before the money was actually spent to put the logo on whatever materials needed to carry it. The process typically takes months from beginning to end.
Interestingly, it only took about thirty seconds for low level staffers, who hadn't been involved in process at all, to discover that the logo had some, er, unintended consequences.
Fortunately, a spokesperson for the department rose to the occasion, declaring "it is not inappropriate to an organisation that’s looking to have a firm grip on Government spend."
Closer to home, I did some paddling on the Haw River yesterday. Can anyone tell me what the hell the folks in Alamance County were smoking when they named this road?
Serendipitously, a reader pointed me to this article in the London Telegraph, regarding the recent efforts by the Office of Government Commerce to update their logo. Here's what they came up with:
Pretty standard stuff, really. The Brits love them some acronyms, so using the initials of the office was a natural. Like most logos, i'm certain the designer submitted half a dozen different treatments in different typefaces, and the versions got kicked around in committee and vetted by mucky-mucks throughout the department before the money was actually spent to put the logo on whatever materials needed to carry it. The process typically takes months from beginning to end.
Interestingly, it only took about thirty seconds for low level staffers, who hadn't been involved in process at all, to discover that the logo had some, er, unintended consequences.
Fortunately, a spokesperson for the department rose to the occasion, declaring "it is not inappropriate to an organisation that’s looking to have a firm grip on Government spend."
Closer to home, I did some paddling on the Haw River yesterday. Can anyone tell me what the hell the folks in Alamance County were smoking when they named this road?
Labels: bad logos, Road names
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4 Comments:
I doubt the guys at Pop's, well, give a shit. :) Knowing John & Chris, and thinking about how they have a pizza on the menu called the "Number One," I wouldn't be surprised to see a "Number Two" come along. Yeah, the association is disgusting, but their food is really good, and they probably just think it's funny. Maybe they'll do a dessert pizza with chocolate and peanuts and call it a "Baby Ruth." And wait, I just thought of an advertising slogan: "Our Pizza is The Shit!"
By
Joseph H. Vilas, at 2:22 PM
I think Pop's will be able to survive this misstep, as long as they avoid the temptation to produce the Santorum pizza.
By
Barry, at 3:00 PM
Those folks in Alamance County have an interesting sense of humor. Ever been to Cum Park Plaza?
By
Jeni, at 8:58 AM
Please don't tell me that's near the Lick-Boner house.
By
Barry, at 9:13 AM
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