For the final 11 days of 2011, we’re going to take a look at some of the top mistakes made this year in our industry… including social media, marketing, branding, graphic design, web design and SEO.
#6-Jack the Ripper doesn’t play baseball
The town of London, Ontario is excited to have a new baseball team and we think it’s great, too! One problem: the branding for the team, called the Rippers, has an amazing likeness to … you guessed it, Jack the Ripper.
Sure, the 19th century serial killer was in London, England…not across The Pond in Canada. But the dark logo with Jack the Diamond character (yes, that’s his name) looking like he’s going to whap a baseball in the same fashion that some cartoonists have portrayed Jack the Ripper murdering people … just freaks people out.
The problem was made worse when, instead of rescinding the logo, the team’s management created this complicated back story for the logo that would have to be explained in detail to even remotely hope that people didn’t think of a serial killer before a baseball team.
The lesson here: in an attempt to be coy, don’t have something that could be offensive or scary in your branding. If you make a mistake, fix it immediately and don’t try to explain it away.