This Logo Sponsored By Ford
The other day, while watching American Idol (don’t even start with me) I had a revelation. While I have found those Ford commercial/music videos to be an incredibly insipid and insulting waste of time and talent for some time, I never realised how truly bizarre they are. American Idol is a programme that has taken corporate sponsorhip to new heights with it’s use of integrated product placement and brand alignment.
And then I took another look at the logos, and realised they are the same bloody thing! Is this a coincidence or conspiracy? To play Devil’s Advocate for a second*, you can’t exactly claim a blue oval and scripty writing is 100% unique to Ford. True, but not only is the Ford logo one of the most recognised of the past 100 years, but they sponsor the show itself. It seems more likely that they scaled back their sponsorhip of the show in terms of conventional ads, and instead opted for a more subliminal approach, by co-opting the logo itself. This way, every time the viewer sees the Idol logo, their brain thinks they are looking at Ford — and when it’s time to buy a car, guess where they go. That’s right, to their local Idol Ford dealership.
Does it work? Can you actually make money being a “brand parasite”? Has this been done before, and what can we do to stop it in the future. Damn, I hate when I have more questions than answers. Someone comment and let me know your thoughts.
I never really thought about how old-fashioned the Ford logo seems but taking a close look at it, it makes sense that it hasn’t been updated since 1928 (At the risk of pissin off everyone at Landor, I’m not counting the gradient that was added because everything else is exactly the same!). Then again, it looks downright Spage Age compared to their original logo from 1903.
Check out this site for a brief history of the Ford logo.
* – Simpsons Reference
PS. Melinda Doolittle for the win this season. And for more discussion on the tacky-yet-somehow-successful design nature of American Idol, check out American Copywriter.
PPS. Does anyone still buy Ford? If so, why?
// a tale of advertising: tv/radio, brands & branding
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