Bill Hicks got it right..
"If anyone here is in marketing or advertising, kill yourself"
We're delighted to inform those of you who're reading this to the sound of whalesong, whilst enveloped in thick joss-stick-generated fug that the Greater London Authority needs your help in defining the capital's identity paradigm, via a "brand engagement process" with the "widest range of stakeholders possible", leading to a …
"with the "widest range of stakeholders possible", leading to a unified brand for London which sets the vision for a post-2012 metropolis."
Gotta be something catchy, the sums up London, it's huge size, it's CCTVs, its random stop and searches, it's criminalization of protests..... how about "metropolistate". Too many syllables perhaps?
How about "London, Watching You Watching the Olympics"
Or a nanny reference, "London: Europe's Naughty Step"
Or Orwell reference, "London, Double Plus Good"
We must face facts: 'London' has been a brand for about 2,000 years now. I don't know about you, but all I ever think of is Roman invasion and that Time Team lot digging up archaeology in Cheapside. I hope the new branding also includes a nice logo: perhaps one that can be tattooed on the denizens of NuLondon.
Day after day, alone on a hill,
The man with the foolish grin is keeping perfectly still
But nobody wants to know him,
They can see he's just a fool
And he never gives an answer.
But the fool on the hill sees the sun going down
And the eyes in his head see the world SPINNING round.
Well on the way, head in a cloud,
The man of a thousand voices talking perfectly loud.
But nobody ever hears him
Or the sound he appears to make
And he never seems to notice.
But the fool on the hill sees the sun going down
And the eyes in his head see the world SPINNING round.
And nobody seems to like him,
They can tell what he wants to do
And he never shows his feelings.
But the fool on the hill sees the sun going down
And the eyes in his head see the world SPINNING round.
He never listens to them,
He knows that they're the fools
They don't like him. The fool on the hill sees the sun going down
And the eyes in his head see the world SPINNING round.
Dear GLA
I hereby submit my brand solution for your consideration. I believe it fulfils the remit to offer 360° engagement with all stakeholders by leveraging traditional brand values whilst initialising a paradigm shift to a new, more dynamic proposition.
http://i26.tinypic.com/10dxwt5.png
Many thanks and warm regards
Lunatik