Does Ben have a Grandson?

Unless something has happened since I´ve been away I´m unaware of there being a new Sherman on the fashion block.

There is no getting away from the Tiger

Even in the Rio Dulce,Guatemala, where the only mode of transport is Lancha, the big brands have already cornered the market. At $3 a gallon I don´t think they make quite as much as at home and it isn´t really in keeping with the jungle surroundings and amazing wildlife, but it gets people from A to B I guess.

I didn´t spot a Tiger T-shirt on the Captain either so perhaps they are yet to benefit from the Tiger tokens.

Brand America

An unnamed friend, from an unnamed agency, working on a huge, unnamed American account sent me through a brief directly from his client last week. And I kid you not, in the little box titled 'why should people believe what you're saying?' they put the following in capital letters. Just in case you didn't hear them of course.

'BECAUSE WE'RE AMERICAN!'

I'm hoping this was intended to be a joke and they weren't being serious, but some how after watching things like this as well last week, probably not. Here's one for the fight fans. Go on Ricky, shut him up!!

London launch 2012 brand

I'm not quite sure what to make of this effort by Wolff Ollins. When I first saw it I thought it was a bit 'down with the kids' and perhaps they've tried too hard to relate with the yoof.

According to London 2012: "the new emblem is dynamic, modern and flexible reflecting a brand savvy world where people, especially young people, no longer relate to static logos but respond to a dynamic brand that works with new technology and across traditional and new media networks.

The design brief was for an emblem that represented the four key 'brand pillars' of access, participation, stimulation and inspiration, culminating in the brand vision of 'Everyone’s Games'". Nice to see the usual brand jargon in there in order to justify the £400K fee. When I first saw it I said to myself, wow, you can really feel those 'brand pillars' jumping out at you. You can read the full release here.

After seeing the promotional video it does get a touch better, but I'm convinced there are some young designers out there that could have done a much better job. In the true spirit of London 2012 I would rather have seen the best young talent competing with each other to come up with something that was truly reflective of that generation. At the moment it's a bit twee and too top down. The promo video feels a bit like a kids TV programme and is likely to be even more out of date in 5 years time. Despite all this I do hope it grows on me and they manage to use it imaginatively. Fingers crossed it doesn't make us look like the numpties of the world.

I'm sure the £400k involved more than just designing the logo (at least I hope so). I would love to find out the rationale and how they got there before I make a judgement, but people are already caning it online in less than 24 hours of it being lanuched.

Re-creating the logo in under 8mins


London 2012 logo as Maggie from the Simpsons

Oh no, the brand police won’t like this

Every year E4 gives people the chance to go mad with its logo in its ESTINGS competition. In association with Creative Review, this competition is attracting some of the best young talent. The lucky winner will see their work commissioned and turned into series of indents for the channel. In E4’s own words they are giving people ‘the opportunity to weird us out with your crazed imaginations’. You can view previous entrants efforts here, here and here. Branded content at its best I'll think you'll agree.


I love Channel 4 in general, not just E4 and cult programmes like Shameless and Skins. In my opinion it is one of the most interesting media brands of the moment. It’s approach to creativity, media and programming is way ahead of the others. Until recently Channel 4 worked with Naked and has also developed its own commnications agency 4Creative. I think the thing I love about the brand is its confidence and fluidity. It has the ability to evolve quickly and the nerve not to be 'consistent and on brand' all the time.