Am I alone in warming towards the new Juventus logo? I actually like it’s simplicity and it works well with the stark colour contrast between the black and white.
I don’t think football supporters are so closely defined by the past, like many golf or cricket fans are, but I guess we can get pretty nostalgic about the past. The game has transformed so much in the past 20 years and when you have such change, you do leave some people behind. And in the age of social media, the dissenters are inevitable. Much far sexier to be critical than positive in many regards.
It took me back to a game at Highbury (now there’s nostalgia for you), when a few Junior Gunners were rolled out to present our new logo to the crowd as they walked around the four sides of the ground. It must have been around 2002. It was a time when many of our home games were a procession to three easy points. The likes of Denilson and Bendtner would have never secured a place in our squad in a million years and the shiny, corporate Emirates Stadium seemed a long way off. So the mood amongst the fans was good. ArsenalFanTV would have been pretty dull and the toxic atmosphere which is a part of our match day experience these days could never have been imagined.
So I guess the Arsenal marketing team must have believed it was a perfect time to introduce a new club logo. The club revamped their famous cannon crest as part of a major shake-up of the club’s corporate image. The crest, which had not changed since 1949, was the result of nine months’ work by 20/20, a London-based design consultancy. What could possible go wrong??
Well quite a lot in fact. The boos rained down on the poor Junior Gunners as they paraded the new logo, which as printed on a large banner. The boos started slowly as they walked along the East Stand towards the North Bank, the noise rose steadily as it passed the West Stand and I feared for the poor fans. Then as the logo passed the Clock End, the dissention broke out into a fully-fledged revolt. I bet the creatives from 20/20 dissolved into the crowd, temperatures rose amongst our branding team and the banner was swiftly hidden from view. I wonder if those Junior Gunners survived the experience without incurring lasting mental scars.
So beware Juve fans of parading the logo around their new ground. It could get messy. But I have a little positive news for them. And I must whisper this softly. I quite like our new logo.