Are Professional Sports Uniforms Too Sacred for Company Logos?

In an article last month in the New York Times, the NBA admitted it is considering allowing logos on player’s uniforms. This should come as no surprise to anyone who is familiar with the sports business; and yes, sports is all about making money. Just read this quote from Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks, about putting logos on NBA uniforms.

“Anything that creates new revenue sources is good for both the teams and the players,” he said. “The NBA is a business.”

There you have it.

Basketball is not the first industry to be tempted by the financial benefits of logos on uniforms. Remember the controversy that surrounded the proposal of promoting ‘Spiderman 2’ through Major League Baseball? The idea was to attract a younger audience to baseball games by putting the Spiderman logo on the bases. Eventually, the idea was canned, but these kinds of proposals will continue, and sooner or later, the business-minds in the sports industry will give in.

Should this be considered a shame—a breach of tradition? Do logos cheapen a sport? Before angrily protesting this monstrosity, consider this.

For years, NASAR has allowed sponsoring companies to plaster their logos helmets, uniforms and cars, and NASCAR is becoming one of the most popular sports in the country. In Europe, all the big soccer clubs have sponsors that put their logos on player’s jerseys.

Team sponsoring is a million-dollar-a-year industry. It’s only a matter of time before the NBA, NFL, NHL and MLB give in to logo filled uniforms. And it’s not a shame—it’s business.

Volvo and Men Share Logo—Jonathan Munk

This morning I came across an interesting article on abcnews.com that pointed out something I had never before realized: Volvo and men share the same logo. That’s right, the well-known circle with an arrow pointing diagonally to the upper right, made famous by disco kings of the ‘70s, is also the logo used by makers of the safest cars on the road. Just do a quick Internet search of the two symbols and it’s unmistakable.

When asked why the logos look so similar, Volvo’s product communication specialist told ABCNews “It’s not the symbol for male. It’s the symbol for Mars and Iron. It’s meant to stand for strength.” In theory this makes a lot of sense, but it seems Volvo has been limited in how it can promote this symbolism without bringing to mind to pimps and pink Cadillacs. In fact, most of the time you see Volvo advertisements, the name stands alone, unaccompanied by the graphic.

Luckily, I don’t think anyone holds a trademark on the male symbol, so the 81-year-old carmaker doesn’t need to fear a gigantic class action lawsuit for infringement. On the flip side, Volvo could be preparing to file a lawsuit against any man who promotes himself by using another registered trademark, especially as Volvo’s brand awareness continues to grow. Perhaps the company applauds the free publicity.

Still, it’s a wonder they have been able to keep this logo and use it so subtly that people don’t talk about it all the time. If Volvo had been on top of things during the ‘60s and ‘70s, their cars would have been the must-have transportation for all male hippies.