There aren’t too many pop culture references to graphic design (or the companies that sell it). This TV commercial skit with Rick Moranis from SCTV is one of the few that I can recall. I like that it has two punch-lines. First the shoe—then the terrible logo.
Originally aired in 1981, it seems even more pertinent today with online sites offering low budget “stock” logos and “logo templates,” etc.
Granted I do have a vested interest in opposing this trend since we design brand logos as part of our package design service, but it only stands to reason that a logo purchased for $50 will not be as carefully crafted as it really ought to be.
It’s depressing the number of small startup companies that come to us for package design only after having already obtained one of these low-budget logos. Saying in effect: “You should charge us $50 less because we already have a LOGO.” —(Here, I’m imagining the word, “logo” pronounced as Rick Moranis does in the video.) Anyway, it just seems like one of those penny-wise and pound-foolish business decisions that people sometimes make.
Interestingly, the skit was also prescient in its particulars. There are now at least two companies that I’ve found that are actually using the name “Logos Galore.” One is based in Australia and one is based in Michigan.
This might be an example of life imitating art—a case of “reverse product placement” for the service sector. Or it may just be coincidence. Although, for a current company name, “galore” sounds very vintage—(circa 1950s)—the words “logo” and “galore” do have those sound-alike syllables that make the combination sort of rhythmic and catchy. I can imagine more than one person thinking of it without ever having known about the SCTV sketch.
Randy Ludacer
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