_ When Amos first posted that picture, it ____ed me off so I sent JSD an e-mail asking her to give me some sort of explanation for it. I'll post the conversation below.
Me:
I understand that you are in charge of Ragin Cajun licensing and marketing, etc.
Regarding the attached picture, I have two questions…
1. Since when are our official colors red and yellow? I thought they were vermilion and white?
2. As a person who has multiple degrees from UL and who is a season ticket holder for multiple sports…Why is this one of my few options of UL apparel?
***
JSD:
Thanks for writing and for your support of your alma mater and Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns.
In regards to your questions, our colors are vermilion (red) and white, with black as a secondary trim color.
Manufacturers produce products both the official colors of universities and in what they call "fashion lines" which incorporate what they consider to be the latest fashion colors that will appeal to certain buyers. These fashion colorsare popular. When the university is purchasing apparel (uniforms, giveaways, departmental shirts, etc), , however, we stick with the official university colors of red, white, and black.
As for this product being one of your few options, I invite you to visit a variety of the local retailers who carry our merchandise. There are about 20 retailers right here in Lafayette and some of them carry a wide variety of apparel options (particularly the sporting goods stores, University Bookstore, and Follett's).
Here's a link to the list of retailers for your reference:
http://www.louisiana.edu/Advancement...etailers.shtml
Hope this information is helpful. Again, thanks Chris, for being a supporter.
Julie Dronet
***
Me:
Thank you for your response. But please allow me to be frank, and kinda vent a little bit…
The reason I said that there are only a few options out there is more of a personal issue than an issue with how many stores carry UL stuff. I will not purchase anything with a pepper on it. I will not purchase anything, such as this sweater, that has yellow and orange colors on it. I will not purchase anything that has any sort of symbol that is on fire, etc. Honestly, I’m embarrassed to be seen in any of that, partly because it doesn’t look good, and partly because if I don’t respect the way it looks (as a supporter and major fan of the school), then how could others respect the way it looks. I’m not sure whose idea it was to begin incorporating all of UL and flames onto all our stuff, but it was not a good idea. There may have been some novelty associated with it in the beginning, but that has long since worn off.
I’m not sure if you noticed, but there were a large number of those sweaters on that rack, and every time I go into the Lafayette Academy, there are always a large number of items on all of the racks, mainly because this stuff is hideous. Granted, there are some fans out there that will purchase some of these things, if for no other reason than to do the school a favor. But, go to a baseball game this weekend and see how many people are wearing those sweaters, or something of a similar design. I can’t honestly think of ever seeing anyone at any game that is ever wearing anything that is yellow, which tells me that true fans don’t like it and are not buying it. If most UL fans and supporters decline to buy things with flaming logo’s and peppers on it, then how can we expect non-supporters to want to buy it?
I don’t mean to be critical of you, I’m just trying to vent a little bit and let my opinions be known. I’ve certainly learned that if you don’t like something, then you cannot be upset when it doesn’t change. I just seriously hope, as we have a new regime coming in to move our school forward, that the university takes a long, hard look at what is being sold with our name on it, how we market ourselves, how we portray ourselves, etc. I am of the opinion that it would benefit us greatly to change all of our logos, fonts, etc to something that’s a lot less cartoonish and minor league, and a lot more classy and respectable. We are fortunate to have a wonderful logo like the Fleur de Lis seen at the top of the page you linked. And we are also fortunate to have a great color scheme to work with, that’s fairly unique. I think that if we come up with something that better portrays UL as a legitimate university and not a junior college or a middle school, if we market that brand properly, and if we disallow manufacturers to make a mockery of our brand, then it would be more than worth the time and effort. While I have very limited knowledge of how these licensing and marketing agreements work, I feel that if we limited our colors to Vermilion and White (and black), instead of having all of those yellow and orange flames and peppers, and had that really nice Fleur de Lis with just ‘UL’ or ‘Louisiana’ or ‘Ragin Cajuns’ in a better font, associated with the shirt, then there would be a pretty good chance that this sweater would have been red and white (or red and black), would look a lot better, and would certainly be something that I would buy for myself or as a gift.
Again, thank you for your response and thank you for your time.
***
I did not recieve another response from her...I think I might have upset her. Oops. Hopefully, her and the rest of those responsible for this and other travesties at our school, will get their heads out of their collective asses and get their acts together. If not, then they should be fired, or moved to a janitorial position in the Physical Plant. _
Re: Hey Everyone
Originally Posted by rhineaux
_ When Amos first posted that picture, it ____ed me off so I sent JSD an e-mail asking her to give me some sort of explanation for it. I'll post the conversation below.
Quote
