| Kinda ironic really. A logo for a men’s TV network has been judged as being ‘too girly’. Okay, that’s not what exactly what Spike TV said in their press release. They actually said that the logo isn’t ‘manly enough’. Which is pretty much the same thing as saying its ‘too girly’. Or close enough. |  |
The new ’shield’ logo (above right – pinched off the NewsCom website) will be rolled out in May, complete with a new lineup and a catchy new tagline.. According to Reuters:
Nearly three years after rebranding itself as the network for men, Spike TV on Wednesday unveiled a new logo and a new attitude it hopes will appeal to young, action-hungry viewers. A block-letter logo accompanied by the slogan “Get More Action” will debut in May. “We didn’t think the old one (logo) was manly enough,” said Niels Schuurmans, creative director of the channel. The old logo spells out Spike in an informal cursive style.
Well, duh! After three years, the folks at Spike finally realize that a cursive script font is not manly?!! I could have told them that three years ago (as could any first year graphic design student). Since that time the logo has gone under a few changes in order to ‘beef up’ the testosterone level of the graphic. Bold outlines. Mucho macho construction sign accents. A gritty color scheme. (compare the original – inset – with the current version – above left). Despite these ‘improvements’, the old logo remained a cursive font, more suitable for a hair salon than ‘the first network for men’. As mentioned in the press release Spike has also dropped their tagline in favor of ‘Get Action’. Sounds much more ‘manly’, doncha think?
On a side note, this little misadventure illustrates the importance of getting your corporate identity started off on the right foot, as well as some of the real complications of changing your logo after spending a few years plastering it all over the place…
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