January 17, 2011

Who is da Champion?

Certainly many sports pundits will voice their opinions on the abilities of the Chicago Bears and the Green Bay Packers in the coming days leading up to this weekend’s NFC Championship game. Since GD Squared is based in Chicago, we certainly have our thoughts (or hopes) on who will be victorious come game day. But since the rest of the sports world will be covering the topic of football, we figured we would take this opportunity to discuss each team’s logo, and see when push comes to shove, after 60 minutes on the field, which logo would be the victor.

Chicago
First, let’s take the home team (Bears) and look at that badge of honor, the mighty Chicago ‘C’. If you happen to be walking the streets of Chicago these days you will face a branding bombardment of ‘C’s everywhere you turn. While the oblong shape bears a striking resemblance to its rival’s, there is just a hint of something different in that distinguishing point along the left edge. This little obtrusion gives the symbol its character and separates it from just any other old ‘C’. The blue and orange compliment each other well and produce a logo that is both timeless and bold.

Green Bay
The visiting Packers logo is no doubt proudly displayed in every storefront north of the border. The similarity in the logo shape between these two division rivals is likely no coincidence as it most likely resembles the iconic shape of a football. This emblem does carry with it a weight in its form that conveys a certain gravity. However, the letterform itself is a little clunky in its execution and the differences in the thick and thin spaces leave it feeling a bit awkward. The green and yellow color scheme is a bit jarring (especially the yellow), but it is also therefore very unique.

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These logos are similar in their simplicity, but also in their longevity. In a world when sports logos change every few years to boost merchandise sales it is refreshing when a team (and their fans) pride themselves on their history and tradition. When the biggest change to a team’s uniform has been the color of their facemask in the last 50 years you know that these teams are playing for more than just one game. The Bears are playing for George Halas, Gale Sayers, Dick Butkus and Walter Payton. The Packers are playing for Vince Lombardi, Bart Starr, Ray Nitschke and Brett Favre. This is how a logo becomes much more than just a logo, it becomes the identity of a brand.

We think that the Bears win the logo match up as well as the game on Sunday. The final score in this historic grudge match: Bears 21 – Packers 17

What are your thoughts on these logos as well as the game on Sunday?

Tags: | logo analysis
Categories: Branding | Logo