“What is a logo” asked the youngster who had chosen advertising to be the field to pursue his search of excellence in. I was at my eloquent best, talking about brands and identities and about the need to be visually striking, to stand out. Come to think about it, I was pretty detailed in my answer, part from what I had studied when I was the kid’s age and part from everything that I have learnt the hard way ever since.
“Aww” said the kid. “You mean a cross between a DP and an Avatar. That’s kewl, but pretty mundane”.
Game. Set. Match. The Kid.
OK. We are not playing tennis here, still.
And the reason my very first service, which used to be aces all the way, was broken with such nonchalant disregard, I realised, was because of the fact that we, ad-guys in general and creative agencies in particular, are totally out of sync with the world of the young. We are still trying to feed them stuff that they don’t eat any more. OK. Not that we know what they are eating these days, anyways.
We are trying to give them the rock music we loved in our youth. God save us, for forget about Rock, to them even EDM is passé. And logos are no different.
The signs and the symbols that turned us on (and encouraged us to tune in) are dead and buried. Naturally, when we give them logos that are as old as time itself they sneer at our work. Before you say it, let me also point out that companies like Pepsi, for example, known to keep the irreverent pulse of the young with the reverence it deserves, keep tinkering with their logos.
Why? How many of us are even in the know about the sweeping changes that are taking place in the art scene? Post-modernism was before Star Wars, you know? For the record, what we are doing with our logo designing is akin to talking Shakespeare to a multitude that learnt their communication skills from the SMS that rules their thoughts. Oh Yea, that!
And finally something that I know is not the politically correct thing to do, still. It is time we stopped “pinching” from each other to make up for the creative impulse that we just don’t have. In the days of yore with Black Books and Archives, it was easy to pass off “picked” stuff and take credit that was strictly not due to us. Not anymore. For, in these days of the ubiquitous Google everybody has access to your so-called Art Director and Creative Team (and by whatever other name you call your office staff), that too free (everybody, the kids specially, know how to erase those water marks, he, he).
So, chances are, they will run your creative in the net and call your bluff even before you can think of raising your bill. If they don’t, they are certain to throw your stuff out with the “mazaa nahin aaya” invective and ask for a logo that is, you know, ‘haatke” !
The answer? Simple. Want a logo? Go out and first establish a connect with the world. Ogilvy on Advertising is as old as the Bible itself and the Gnostic Bible and the Bible according to Judas too are old hat. The time is now to write the holy book of Logos.
Do you have it in you to do it? If you don’t, Just STFU and chill buddy.