Hey kids, the Jags have a new logo!

The Jacksonville Jaguars just unveiled their new logo. I guess when your team is as bad as the Jags, you might as well improve what you can. Of all the bad sports logos out there, I didn't think this was one of them. The new logo just get's an "'eh" from me. In other words, perfect for the Jaguars.

THE GOOD:
• The spots, although too many, are now actually "spots". And not cheetos.
• The subtle fur zig-zag on the chin and ear are a nice touch.
• They kept the color scheme.

THE BAD:
• It looks like a really good high school logo
• Bad line work. The best feature of the old logo was the nice thick, consistant outline around the overall mark. The new is thick only on the bottom, making the top of the head seem flattened. Also, look at the space between the bottom teeth and tongue in the old logo. See the separation the thick black area creates? Now look at the new. It's too thin. It will create a weird fill-in space when the logo is used small.
• Whiskers disappear. I liked how the whiskers in the old gave the mark some energy and movement.

Bottom line, I prefer the old Jags logo. The real question is: Will the fans in L.A. like it once the team moves there?

Read more: Brand New goes into detail on the scope of the redesign.

Go, Bulldogs. Go! (again)

Go, Dawgs, go.

Go by hustle.
Go by D.
Give-and-go. Knock down the three.

Go by Howard. Go by Marshall.
Go by Nored. Go by Mack.
Go by Smith. Go by Stevens.
Keep it going. No looking back.

Bulldogs at work.
Work, Dawgs, work!

Bulldogs at play.
Play, Dawgs, play!

Go by Hinkle. Go by Pitt.
Go by that street called Bourbon.
Beat the best to be the best,
and take your place at Houston.

Stop, Dawgs. Stop!
You’ve earned your cred.
Go, Dawgs, go.
Your destiny’s ahead.

The Bulldogs are going up.
The Rams are going down.

You’re almost there!
Now let's see
you climb that mountain and
bring back the NCAA trophy.

Bulldogs, Bulldogs,
Bulldogs, Bulldogs.

What a Bulldog party it will be!


Lovingly adapted from the P.D. Eastman classic, which you can most certainly order through the Butler superfans at Big Hat Books.

Run forest, run!

Check out Oregon's new basketball floor, courtesy of Nike founder and Duck alum Phil Knight.

Palin's on fire, according to NBA Jam

Finding ways to make your brand topical is key to connecting with consumers, ensuring your product spikes throughout the year by sparking timely conversations.

Take for example, NBA Jam - a fun franchise that, while a bit long in the tooth by digital standards, still knows how to keep fans surprised by hitting consumer hot buttons.



Its latest secret reveals the code allowing you to pit Democrats vs. Republicans. It's perfectly political right down to the red, white and blue ball. But will Sarah be a team player? Only W knows for sure.

The clever code for those of you literally playing at home:
From the front end menu, press left 13 times, then press "+" for the Dems; or press right 13 times, then press "+" for the GOP.

Have it your way or the highway

More fast food fun - this time from creative frontrunner Burger King.

We're awaiting the episode where Milka Duno comes in for an application, then gets put on probation because she can't turnover the drive-thru customers fast enough.

Finger-rolls off the tongue, doesn't it?

Conseco is changing its name.

Feeling 'Conseco' still conjures up negative reminders of years past, they will soon be known as 'CNO Financial Group' ('CNO' is their stock ticker name.)

How will this affect "Conseco Fieldhouse"? Don't know. But the Conseco brass - check that - the CNO Financial Group brass will be deciding soon. One option would be: "CNO Financial Group Fieldhouse."

For the love of Slick Leonard, let's hope for another option.

I know, the classic stadium names like 'Candlestick Park' are rare. But we need more 'Lambeau Fields' and less 'US Cellular Fields.' Too many capital letters smushed together scare me. I say keep 'Conseco Fieldhouse.' So what if it reminds people of awful financial situations years ago? It can't be as bad as the awful financial situation fans are going through now.

Go, Bulldogs. Go!

Go, Dawgs, go.

Go by hustle.
Go by D.
Give-and-go. Knock down the three.

Go by Hayward. Go by Veasley.
Go by Nored. Go by Mack.
Go by Howard. Go by Stevens.
Keep it going. No looking back.

Bulldogs at work.
Work, Dawgs, work!

Bulldogs at play.
Play, Dawgs, play!

Go by Hinkle. Go by Cali.
Go by Salt Lake City.
Beat the best to be the best,
and take your place at Indy.

Stop, Dawgs. Stop!
You’ve earned your cred.
Go, Dawgs, go.
Your destiny’s ahead.

The Bulldogs are going up.
The Spartans are going down.

You’re almost there!
Now let's see
you climb that mountain and
storm the Final Four party.

Bulldogs, Bulldogs,
Bulldogs, Bulldogs.

What a Bulldog party it will be!


Lovingly adapted from the P.D. Eastman classic, which you can most certainly order through the Butler superfans at Big Hat Books.

We dat.

A little social media experiment. Awesome if it works. If not, don't cost nothin'.
See previous cool Colts ideas here.

Cougar Woods

Can this Tiger change his stripes?

I bet Packer fans think this is just HILARIOUS.

In honor of the big game tonight, here are some classic outtakes from the Brett Favre "cold feet" commercial. Hey, if he's up for this, Eggo Waffles should give him a call. Note the green screen monitors in the outtakes before a generic boat montage was inserted in post. Makes me wonder what would've been better inserted into the final....Maybe his retirement press conference(s)? A Wrangler commercial? Footage of someone in flip-flops? On second thought adding something clever would've taken away from the concept. Right? Can't decide.

(The finished spot will play at the end.)

Best Cubs ad ever

Typesetting and retouching aside, this ad taken out in the Chicago Tribune earlier this month may be the best way for those lovable losers from the northside to be remembered for their century of futility. Certainly more memorable than the '09 Cubs themselves. Wonder if Bartman will be the godfather?

Just based on brand loyalty, would you rather your brand image be that of the perennial machine that is the Yankees or the perennial punchline that is the Cubs?

A Tyler Hansbrough sighting

Hey, Pacers fans. If you haven't seen the new AT&T commercial with the little girl who has lost her dog, you're missing Tyler Hansbrough's commercial debut. Of course, if you have seen it, you probably missed it anyway. Let's just say his eyes are the only things that give him away. Here's the proof, so you can win/lose that bet you just made with your buddy.




Trivial trivia:
- Spot was shot at Chapel Hill, home of Hansbrough's alma mater UNC.
- The address on the flyer - Poplar St - is a subtle nod to his hometown of Poplar Bluff, MO.

Horsin' around

A little fun to usher in the new NFL season.
Go Colts! Already ahead of Tennessee in the division.



Like it? We've got more great ideas here.

Told ya.

Brett Favre has decided to come out of retirement and sign with the Minnesota Vikings.

We posted this image over three months ago. Keep scrolling through the blog if you don't believe me.

Game over for arena football

Call it the ceremonial kneel-down.

Remember the Indiana Firebirds? No? Well, remember the Arena Football League? No? Well that's the problem. No buzz and no audience. The league that brought us Kurt Warner is officially shutting its funny little doors today. Gone are the 50-yard fields and the 99 to 85 scores. Gone are the front row fans getting drilled by a player. Gone are the wacky team names like the Desperados, Voodoo and the SaberCats. It will go down in history as the coolest sport no one cared about. They were football's version of Slamball.

Neither rock legend Jon Bon Jovi nor NFL Hall of Famer John Elway (both team owners) could save the league. That's saying something. I don't know what, but it's saying something.

Which leads me to Bon Jovi's hit song "You give love a bad name". It had some foreboding lyrics that make me wonder if the song was actually about Arena Football. "You're a loaded gun, there's nowhere to run. No one can save me, the damage is done. I play my part, and you play your game." Huh? I know, spooky right? All this time we thought the song was about some awful girlfriend.

But cheer up, AFL. 22 years is a good, long run and something to be proud of. That's 21 years longer than the XFL.

NASCAR fan experience: A party from front to back

Recently, we helped create the Metropolis 400 - a NASCAR fan experience a few miles from the Speedway leading up to this weekend's Brickyard 400.

Metropolis outdoor mall in Plainfield played host as fans lined up to race tricycles through obstacle courses and for their chance to zip around in an official street-legal NASCAR 2-seater.

The kids even got into the act with their own Mini Metropolis 400, racing remote control cars.

Snatching victory from the jaws of deficit

As the Lakers wrap up their 15th championship, the story shifts to the victory parade. With L.A. and the whole Golden State facing an immense deficit and looming layoffs of some of the city's civil servants, the $1 million price tag for your typical ticker-tape parade might be just too hard for the City of Angels to swallow.

The city council seems split on the decision. Some think the franchise or the NBA should foot the bill. Others believe that the city has an obligation to put on the parade. One such zealot is Bernard Parks, who said "This is one of those things that happen once a decade."

Really? Apparently math is not one of the prerequisites of chairing L.A.'s Budget and Finance Committee. Because that would mean the Lakers is a storied 150-year franchise.

The team already won. Hopefully the city can find a creative solution that's a win for the fans, too.

Indy 500 takes Fishers detour

Indy Tire & Auto Service in Fishers played Gasoline Alley yesterday, hosting an adrenaline-fueled fundraiser for Riley Hospital for Children. With the help of Firestone, the event brought Indy 500 drivers Paul Tracy, Alex Tagliani and Will Power by for photo ops and autographs.

And for a small donation to Riley, people got to scream around town at street level in an official IRL race car, abusing a quarter-mile of Eller Road like the backstretch at the 500. The only thing missing was Jim Nabors.


aliign

Favre plays all-too familiar game

Who's your George Mason?

It's NCAA tourney time, and as we look over our brackets, we wonder: What underdog (Bulldog) has what it takes to make a run like the George Mason Patriots in 2006? Who has a hidden strength that can take the big names by surprise? Who will capitalize on the lucky breaks that come their way and capture the imagination of fans?

Now replace that bracket with your brand and competitors? What under-the-radar product or service do you have that is ready to go from obscurity to a household name? Are you bold enough to bet on customers like Hyundai's Assurance Program (which helped increase their sales despite the economy), shrewd enough to offer a lower-cost point of entry like KFC's new dollar menu or savvy enough to make yourself the center of the conversation through your creative experimentation like Skittles?

Right now, we're helping a client with ideas to bring their geothermal systems from the fringe to the front of customers' minds. It's green. It's highly efficient. And it doesn't hurt that thanks to the recent economic stimulus bill, homeowners can take a 30% tax deduction on the total value of the installation with no limit. It's a bigger trifecta than the one Bryce Drew hit for Valpo in '98.

So show some poise, dig deep and play to your strengths. Even if that means rediscovering what your strengths are.