OBAMA'S LOGO - THE GIFT THAT KEEPS ON GIVING

OBAMA'S LOGO - THE GIFT THAT KEEPS ON GIVING
by Andy Weddington
Monday, 03 September 2012



"Advertising is the modern substitute for argument; its function is to make the worse appear the better." George Santayana



Early this morning a crisp bell tone on my iPhone alerted to an incoming text...

"Ha! The Obama convention logo looks like a dead armadillo on its back. Check it out. His logo with a twist."

I had not seen it so sent a short text back asking where to find it.

In reply...

"It's all over tv. It's actually a crowd of heads at the bottom but it forms an upward curve and from afar looks like a dead animal. Dead with legs up. I busted out laughing the first time I saw it."

I poured a cup of coffee - the morning's first.

While searching the Internet, the text had me thinking about the series of commentaries posted during July and August addressing the logos representing our candidates for president.

If a regular reader, then you'll recall commentary 'The Art of the Presidency' - http://acoloneloftruth.blogspot.com/2012/07/art-of-presidency.html - posted 01 July that started the series.

In short, that commentary compared the Obama and Romney logos from an artist's perspective. It was critical, rightfully so, of the Obama design - as being all about Mr. Obama.

 

 

That commentary has drawn thousands of readers. Daily traffic is still heavy. And I've no doubt folks in the Obama camp, maybe even the graphics team, read it (a peeved note or two in reply). Now it appears, after setting emotion aside, they thought about it and took the objective analysis to the drawing board. 

It didn't take long to find the logo mentioned in the text. 

Whoa! 

Part of my analysis of the original logo was it's all about Mr. Obama - that it has nothing to do with America or people; it's strictly self and not country.

So, is the below modification to Mr. Obama's logo mere coincidence?  



Is it any better?

It still looks foreign - Asian. It looks like something fit for the People's Republic of China; maybe an Olympics logo.

Does it resemble an upside down rolly polly bug - formally known as armadillidiidae?

Or as the sender of the text pointed out, it looks like a dead armadillo on its back.

Rotate 180 degrees and the resemblance to insect and animal is stronger still. That is, for advertising a brand, it completely falls apart. Effective logos do not do that - they hold together however oriented.

In summary, this logo, too, is a mess. The design is a mess; the colors are a mess; the message is a mess. Like its parent logo, it's a loser. 

For all the grandeur of Mr. Obama's first campaign this one is a small town carnival - party stars staying away; a giant sand sculpture of Mr. Obama on site - yes, really; and now a logo mindful of road kill (shovel ready). Who knows the next $2.00 attraction - a bearded dwarf lady; half man half armadillo?   

Hmm, a logo reminiscent of a dead animal. Perhaps another omen for Election Day? 

As did the sender of the text, I busted out laughing when first seeing it. And I'm still laughing. 

Post Script

The DNC runs this week. With the logo as a sign of things to come, it's sure to make for great entertainment.

And today's observation ties in nicely with yesterday's post 'The Dead King's Speech' - http://acoloneloftruth.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-dead-kings-speech.html