Local firms shunned in team logo design
It's unbelievable that the administration of Toledo Arena Sports Inc. totally shunned northwest Ohio's creative design professionals by not giving them the opportunity to create the Toledo Walleye's team logo and identity.
Instead, an out-of-state firm was awarded the contract. It's hard to get hooked on the team when it does not consider local businesses that are worthy enough to create highly successful identities for firms not only locally, but throughout the country and into the all-important global market.
The Walleye management would not have been sacrificing quality to keep the job local. In fact, the result may have been better than what was produced. As a local business owner, this is very frustrating and it's a slap in the face to the creative community.
The new hockey franchise will require a significant amount of local support to make it successful. So I'm wondering why that same sense of commitment is not demonstrated back to this community from the Walleye management.
It's hard to get excited about the new fish in town.
Joe Pinciotti
What do you think about this?
3 comments:
I think this is total crap. It's hard enough to get a design job, but to get a design job in Toledo, pshyeah, right. It really pisses me off that this administration says they want to bring new work in and blah blah blahs about local this and local that while doing this kind of crap. We have soooo many beyond awesome designers in our area, I would have loved to see what Madhouse would have done, or some of the other Addy award winning teams. Who designed the Mud Hen's logo? Glass City Rollers had a LOCAL contest for our logo and a LOCAL designer won it. We use LOCAL printers, etc. We're more of a TOLEDO team then they are and they just started! So shame on those idiots. Way to piss more people off. In addition, who the hell is going to be intimidated by a team named after freshwater fish?
-Rene
I agree that it was a bad business move to award this contract to an out-of-state firm when top-notch designers are available in the Toledo area. But then again, we're talking about the same people who secured the rights to Woodpeckers, Peckers, and Peckerheads as possible names for the Toledo Arena Football team. Toledo might consider themselves lucky that it's only a walleye. Check out these much worse mascots from across the world.
According to Wikipedia.com, the Mudhens logo as we know it was originally designed in 1965 by Gabriel Pinciotti, Joe Pinciotti's father.
I agree with Rene, Toledo, its businesses, and its people have given undying support to the Toledo Mudhens Organization for many years. They certainly owe loyalty to Toledo businesses in return.
A Bad Move All the Way Around
I see this as another example of anti-local snobbery and the "there's nothing good in Toledo" mindset that plagues this city.
I also consider it an example of marketing shortsightedness that bodes ill for this new team.
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