It's just a hope, I'm not sure it's right but gapingvoid is moving along with his wholesale cluetrain adoption and now says that branding is dead. I hope so. There are some specific people in the danish media landscape thriving on glib branding ideas, who I'd really like to see the shit kicked out of. I think, that if it's true it's because merit can be bought, and passion can't. Do not mistake a purchased "brand" identity and your true grown, organic personality. The advertising agencies don't have a take on the organic, internalized bit and it's all that really matters.
Even a company as good at surfaces and marketing as Apple is first and foremost good at building products. The iPod is not just the best looking player, its also the best player. OS X is true innovation.
Personally I don't really care a lot about advertising at all (I hate most of it), but this idea that there's a difference between looking good and being good is important all over the place.
Is that why you made a logo that's a rip-off from the Lego trademark?
Posted by: emme on October 26, 2004 8:53 PMPolite people call it pastiche.
I needed something fresh and engaging and these colours do that. The logo was an accidental consequence of the colours.
And btw. Lego is also a prime example of this: While their logo and colorscheme are identifiable, everybody knows it's the old school construction bricks that REALLY form the core, the soul, of that company. Once again it's the product that wins. The symbols we use to recognize that product aren't the core.
Lego's inability to break AWAY from the product core (it's their soul after all) is actually proving catastrophic for them now. There is NO brand campaign that will help Lego fight the increasing cultural irrelevance of their idea of play.