Monday, February 15, 2010
When the Michigan State Spartans men’s basketball team made its run to the national championship last year, it did so with an outdated logo. At least, that’s the claim of Nike and members of the MSU administration in the recent redesign of the Spartan.
The new logo, featuring an extended jaw line and sleek, narrow eyelids, has angered many MSU students and alumni by departing from the logo that has been in use for 30 years.
MSU’s decision to update its logo comes just three years after our own university received criticism for adapting the Trajan font for the Jayhawk. The new Jayhawk is solidified into University proceedings, but it is just one of several recent changes to long-standing logos.
The old Brawny paper towel man, perhaps best known for his unnatural golden hair and straight-out-of-a-Brett Favre-Wrangler-commercial denim flannel, now has black hair and a stronger appearance. I can only imagine the presumed heated debate that took place inside the Brawny marketing department when developing this new logo. I understand that a company needs to adapt with the changing times, but hiring an ex-lumberjack on steroids seems better suited for a late-night monologue than a paper towel marketing campaign.
Pepsi unveiled a new logo consisting of a larger strip for the white intermediary between the red and blue components on the logo’s circle. It’s hard to get excited about that description, but I don’t fault the company for trying to do something different and more modern looking.
In another example, the Sun-Maid Raisins box has sported a bonnet-clad lady on its logo since the early part of the 20th century. But a visit to its website reveals a newer, more tan, younger woman holding up a collection of grapes.
What do all these updates mean? In the current economy, many businesses are trying anything they can to retain and bring in new customers, which usually involves a logo change. It seems the Quaker Oats man is running on borrowed time.
But, the reality is that a new logo doesn’t necessarily improve the product’s standing. Take Tropicana orange juice: After seeing a newer, but more generic logo on new orange juice bottles, customers became so outraged that they flooded Tropicana’s offices with complaints; Tropicana quickly returned to its old logo.
The flip side of this is with veteran products that have stood the test of decades in the market. There’s a hidden element of superior quality when a product’s 2010 logo is the same (or similar) to its 1930 one. Take for example Coca-Cola, which could be famous more for its distinguished font than the soda itself.
The sports equivalent of this “logo nostalgia” is the New York Yankees’ famous “NY” on its apparel. Something tells me it wouldn’t be the best marketing strategy to redesign either of these companies’ logos.
When analyzing logos, it’s important to realize that the actual product is the only thing that really matters. But still, when torn between two similar products, the benefit of the doubt goes to the one with the better logo.
— Boultinghouse is a sophomore from Girard in history and journalism.
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