It is interesting to compare the overwhelmingly negative public reaction to the design to the enthusiastic--and totally unfounded--gushing of politicians and other establishment figures. My favorite of the latter is what is bound to become a classic quote from Tony Blair:
When people see the new brand, we want them to be inspired to make a positive change in their life.
I suppose if your life has been terribly, horribly, miserably awful, looking at this image will make you feel inspired to upgrade to just terribly and horribly awful. But then, the same inspiration can be achieved slightly more cost-efficiently by striking a hammer against your bathroom mirror.
See here for some more comments and parodies.
What if the entire sorry chain of events were part of a thoughtful strategy to engage with consumers...not in some generic, 'awareness is everything' Web 2.0 exercise in wasting our time, but a planned campaign with a direction and ultimate purpose (i.e. selling tickets, raising corporate money, driving viewers to the events)?
ReplyDeleteI've written that fantasy business case history at http://dimbulb.typepad.com. Were it only true...