UL's Logo Crisis

[CajunCanaille]

Forgot to post the Mardi Gras mascot picture.....

[Cover2]

Let's go with a GIANT U and L. Just two big honkin' letters. Make them out of foam, or like the super sumo wrestling suits. Give em eyes like the gel blobs in the Dr. Scholl's commercials. Of course, there will have to be two (or more) humans willing to suit up in giant letters and walk around during the games. Can you imagine the conversation...

"Man, that sure is a huge U. And look at that, a huge L!"
"Yep, those are our mascots."
"Well, I see no reason to ask how they are related to your university."
"Excellent!"

That'll minimize the confusion!

[RaginFan2]

Didn't someone suggest something like this a while back? I think it more than makes the point.

How about using this fleur de lis? It won't be confused with the Saints' one. I actually think it looks pretty sharp. Picture it on the helmet. (Oh no, not a transition to a helmet thread!)

[Turbine]

Didn't someone suggest something like this a while back? I think it more than makes the point.

I once used a similar graphic and merged the look into a design that incorporated the 2 L's (1 inverted) from UL to make a 'U' along with Ragin' Cajuns and the BullGator in the University of Louisiana's Cypress Swamp.

Link

[HoustonCajun]

_ I was told that the scoreboard referred to us as Louisiana at both the UH and Rice baseball games in Houston earlier this year. _

Check out this UL approved, licensed cap as sold on CBS Sports. This is about as bad as it gets and another example of UL's inconsistency in this whole thing and the horrible gear that is out there as a result. A lot of revenue left on the table by not licensing what we want and instead approving this kind of crap that no one will buy.

[wcd35]

_ Check out this UL approved, licensed cap as sold on CBS Sports. This is about as bad as it gets and another example of UL's inconsistency in this whole thing and the horrible gear that is out there as a result. A lot of revenue left on the table by not licensing what we want and instead approving this kind of crap that no one will buy. _

Yep and the bad part is, its a really nice hat and I would probably buy it if it said Louisiana instead of Lafayette

[HoustonCajun]

_ Yep and the bad part is, its a really nice hat and I would probably buy it if it said Louisiana instead of Lafayette _

Now go to UL Today and see the article "UL's Logo Crisis" that Joe Abraham wrote. This is a good article on another part of our identity problem - not just our name, our logo(s) as well. We have a serious branding problem that the university needs to address. Thanks to Joe for a good article. I am surprised that it has not yet been posted here.

I don't know how to copy over here, so perhaps Joe can do that. In order to find the article, you have to click on the SBC article on UL, then back out of it and wou'll find a list of UL articles including this one. It is not on the main page. It is definitely worth reading.

[DestinCajun]

Check out this UL approved, licensed cap as sold on CBS Sports. This is about as bad as it gets and another example of UL's inconsistency in this whole thing and the horrible gear that is out there as a result. A lot of revenue left on the table by not licensing what we want and instead approving this kind of crap that no one will buy. _

Just as an example, there's some awful and I do mean awful LState crapwear out there and I feel fairly certain their fans don't buy much of it.

Just don't buy.

[CajunProud]

_ Just as an example, there's some awful and I do mean awful LState crapwear out there and I feel fairly certain their fans don't buy much of it.

Just don't buy. _

I agree with you to a certain extent in that, if you don't like it, don't buy it, and I don't, if it has Lafayette on it. The problem with your example is that although LSU has some awful gear out there (purple and gold are horrible colors to begin with) none of the gear is contradictory. The identity crisis is very real and needs to be addressed.

[HoustonCajun]

_ I agree with you to a certain extent in that, if you don't like it, don't buy it, and I don't, if it has Lafayette on it. The problem with your example is that although LSU has some awful gear out there (purple and gold are horrible colors to begin with) none of the gear is contradictory. The identity crisis is very real and needs to be addressed. _

Agreed. And more than that, LSU has gear out there that everyone wants to buy and they make a lot of money of the sale of that licensed gear. On the other hand, UL has gear like this that almost always contains Lafayette that no one wants to buy. So, we have companies that advertise and manufacture our stuff that is not saleable and we have NO REVENUE coming to athletics because no one will buy this stuff. We have the best moniker in college sports, RAGIN CAJUNS, that has no connection in and of itself to the University of Louisiana. We have no clear logo. We have inconsistent use of UL and Louisiana along with all the "Lafayette" stuff and it is killing our identity and ability to capitalize on a brand. Why this is not more of a priority to UL is beyond me.

[DestinCajun]

_ I agree with you to a certain extent in that, if you don't like it, don't buy it, and I don't, if it has Lafayette on it. The problem with your example is that although LSU has some awful gear out there (purple and gold are horrible colors to begin with) none of the gear is contradictory. The identity crisis is very real and needs to be addressed.

Then it should be vigorously pursued through a complaint with our AD. In the meantime send the vendors a message and don't buy what is not appealing.

[Frenchie35]

_ Now go to UL Today and see the article "UL's Logo Crisis" that Joe Abraham wrote. This is a good article on another part of our identity problem - not just our name, our logo(s) as well. We have a serious branding problem that the university needs to address. Thanks to Joe for a good article. I am surprised that it has not yet been posted here.

I don't know how to copy over here, so perhaps Joe can do that. In order to find the article, you have to click on the SBC article on UL, then back out of it and wou'll find a list of UL articles including this one. It is not on the main page. It is definitely worth reading. _

Is this the article you are talking about?


UL's Logo Crisis
Joe Abraham on Thu, 09/04/2008 - 16:41. The logos that UL currently uses need reconsideration.

Recently in the newspapers, an insightful comment was made by a UL official that "Ragin' Cajuns" is recognized all over the country. And it is; it is one of the best nicknames, without a doubt, in the USA. Even international tourists want to buy items with our University's nickname, the very first time they hear it. Ragin' Cajuns is currently the most effective branding asset that UL has, followed closely by the name, "The University of Louisiana."

Unfortunately, from there the official made a logical leap that, since Ragin' Cajuns is so recognizable, all of UL's logos are equally unique and successful.

If only it were that easy.

In the late '90's, after a considerable investment of money with an internationally recognized sports firm, the new UL fleur de lis was introduced, as a part of a series of logos that comprised a flaming wheel, flaming letters, and a flaming pepper. Those, unfortunately, quickly led to several unflattering jokes involving the word "flaming."

Rude comments aside, people with deep backgrounds in marketing and graphic design, at UL and in town, had serious concerns about the new logos. First, they utilized five colors. This not only left UL with a crowded, complicated logo, but one that was very expensive to produce-- almost prohibitively so. Manufacturers and merchants constantly voice regrets over the cost of our images, and to date, there are many items available for every major university's fans, that are not available for UL, simply because the cost of manufacture is just too high.

There is also some question about the aesthetics; many local graphic artists thought that the marks were poorly conceived and designed, and even worse, the proofs were poorly executed. This is very hard to understand. The firm that created the new logos, designs crisp two-color logos for most of their other clients, particularly their university clients.

But beyond all of those considerations, the two centerpieces of our marks, the pepper and the fleur de lis, are frequently confused with other products that were previously on the market. The pepper is constantly confused with Chili's logo, and people wearing our hats are often embarrassed to be asked when they start their shift at the restaurant. Likewise, our fleur de lis seems to be based almost directly on the Saints' logo. The outlines of the two designs are too similar to chalk up to mere coincidence.

All of this means that, however unique and recognizable "Ragin' Cajuns" is, our marks are not at all unique.

Not at all.

It also means that they can't be strongly protected. Many firms use peppers that echo our design. As for the fleur de lis, other teams, and other schools can take the fleur de lis and make it their own.

Correction: they have made it their own.

Recently around Lafayette I have seen more and more LSU fleur de lis decals on cars. Certainly the Golden Girls have incorporated a fleur de lis into their outfits for years, possibly longer than UL has been using our logo. There are also many other LSU items that, more and more, are appearing for sale in shops and on the Internet. Some of them are displayed below (these represent only a fraction of the different designs currently on the market).

Now it's spreading to other schools. Recently, fleurs de lis logos for UNO, ULM, McNeese and Southern have also begun appearing, as well as for the New Orleans Hornets.

As unique as "Ragin' Cajuns" is, our other marks are quite commonplace, even generic.

And they are becoming more so all of the time.