MLS Chicago Fire FC Reveal Disappointing New Logo

[sky1324]

There's gotta be no way the MLS allows their image to be ruined by this, right? An accidental gang symbol in a team's logo? Not to mention that the logo sucks and everyone hates it, this will be gone in about 2.4 weeks, I bet. We'll see a rapid turnaround and everything will go back to what it was, right? The Fire won't change their logo and will just go back to the beautiful one they have right now, right? This is a rebranding disaster of Titanic proportions. I didn't even think it was possible to mess up this bad.

[FiddySicks]

35 minutes ago, Digby said:

 

The merchandising alone is so much more advanced for 2020 MLS compared with 15 years earlier. And this is also a league that regularly saddles new clubs with men’s-league catalog teamwear shirts for their first year. They’ve gotta be stuck with this albatross for at least a year...?

 

Yeah, that’s the problem with this particular design. For as much as it absolutely sucks (probably the worst I’ve ever seen), you can tell by the way they’re marketing it that the club has thrown just about every chip they’ve got into this. The difference between this and the Houston logo they scrapped is that Houston hadn’t started producing the physical materials in enough numbers to really hurt the budget. Chicago Fire, I’m almost certain, already has HUGE shipments of merchandise banners/signs, promotional materials, graphics packages, etc that’s already been made up or under contract to be made and there is absolutely no backing out of it at this point. Notice how they’re being pretty much dead silent right now despite the backlash? That’s because even though they know with 100% certainty that people HATE this, they’re already way too far along in the process to reverse this. As of now, they’re just trying to ride it out hoping the negativity dies down. 

 

Thats also another reason why every single member of the front office that had anything to do with this should be :censored:canned. They’re lying about taking “18 months” to do market research on this. The response wouldn’t be so overwhelmingly poor had they done even an ounce of due diligence to make sure this wasn’t going to bomb this hard.

[sky1324]

Just now, Bucfan56 said:

 

Yeah, that’s the problem with this particular design. For as much as it absolutely sucks (probably the worst I’ve ever seen), you can tell by the way they’re marketing it that the club has thrown just about every chip they’ve got into this. The difference between this and the Houston logo they scrapped is that Houston hadn’t started producing the physical materials in enough numbers to really hurt the budget. Chicago Fire, I’m almost certain, already has HUGE shipments of merchandise banners/signs, promotional materials, graphics packages, etc that’s already been made up or under contract to be made and there is absolutely no backing out of it at this point. Notice how they’re being pretty much dead silent right now despite the backlash? That’s because even though they know with 100% certainty that people HATE this, they’re already way too far along in the process to reverse this. As of now, they’re just trying to ride it out hoping the negativity dies down. 

Does MLS have a similar rebranding/new uniform rule to the NFL? Because I'd imagine that the Fire are hoping they can change this about as soon as possible. 

[aawagner011]

6 minutes ago, QueenCitySwarm said:

Does MLS have a similar rebranding/new uniform rule to the NFL? Because I'd imagine that the Fire are hoping they can change this about as soon as possible. 

Not sure on the league rules, but with new kits due to launch in about 3 months, there is no time left to reverse course. Not to mention the other massive amounts of merchandise and digital content on the way. All of this is likely contracted well in advance with league partners.

[FiddySicks]

It’s not even so much a rule that’s in place, it’s simply the logistics of it all. The operations side of these teams are still run on about as shoestring of a budget as they can possibly get away with. I guarantee you everything from their crests they put on the jerseys to their signage has already been ordered and paid for. They would be lighting a HUGE chunk (if not all) of that budget on fire (no pun intended) if they were to back out now. 

 

I’ll give you an example. My club made the very slightest changes to their crest last season, and one of those changes caused our fans to absolutely flip out. They decided to remove the championship star from above the kit crest (there was a logic behind this, and while I disagreed with it, I understood it). People had a meltdown and the club attempted to rectify the issue nearly immediately. The problem was, the final design had already been submitted and by the time they realized how big of an issue it was, everything had already been ordered and was in production. They found a middle ground (that wasn’t exactly ideal, but it worked), but with a lot of this kind of stuff, the point of no return is WAY before the official unveiling. 

 

That’s one of the biggest issues with this Nike style “market research” they keep talking about. They spend so much time and effort trying to build up these metaphors and brand speak to explain every little detail, that they often times overlook the most crucial aspect of this whole process. Common sense. Instead of asking why each line or shape connects to their city or culture or fan base or whatever, they should be asking themselves the most basic questions. Such as “Does this, without any context, actually look good?” Or, “Does this have the potential to alienate or anger out most loyal supporters?”. Even harder questions such as “How can this be negatively interpreted by people who aren’t in the design room?” are so often ignored or forgotten about that it makes me want to pull my hair out. 

 

You cant foresee every potential issue with this kind of stuff. Hell, you’d be lucky to foresee ANY of the issues that later become problematic. But sometimes you have to simplify your thought process and ask yourself the most basic questions before you make huge choices like this. 

 

 

Oh, also...

Burn baby burn, Soccer Inferno.

[GDAWG]

9 hours ago, Maroon said:

 

lol, they're even calling it their "Fire Crown"
 

 

 

"Forged in Fire" seriously?  Did they hire the guy who did the backstories on the XFL?

[Brian in Boston]

2 hours ago, Bucfan56 said:

Chicago Fire, I’m almost certain, already has HUGE shipments of merchandise banners/signs, promotional materials, graphics packages, etc that’s already been made up or under contract to be made and there is absolutely no backing out of it at this point. Notice how they’re being pretty much dead silent right now despite the backlash? That’s because even though they know with 100% certainty that people HATE this, they’re already way too far along in the process to reverse this. As of now, they’re just trying to ride it out hoping the negativity dies down.

 

Tough s***t when it comes to the financial implications of having to scrap "HUGE shipments of merchandise, banners/signs, promotional materials, graphics packages, etc.". Bull***t to there being "absolutely no backing out at this point".

Chicago is a city plagued by gang violence. It is estimated that 80% of all murders in Chicago are gang-related. Gold/yellow is a color linked to the city's largest gang, the Latin Kings. Further, a crown is first amongst the gang's "sacred markings". What is to prevent items bearing Chicago Fire SC's branding - which features a gold/yellow crown as its central device - from being co-opted by members of said gang? Worse yet, what if someone who was innocently wearing Chicago Fire SC apparel was mistakenly taken to be wearing a Latin Kings gold/yellow crown and, as a result, targeted for violence?

it doesn't matter what the likelihood is that the scenarios I've just posited actually take place. It's now bad enough that they could take place. It doesn't matter if, while developing a new team logo package, the powers-that-be within Chicago Fire SC ownership and management were unaware of the symbolic significance of a gold/yellow crown to the Latin Kings street gang. It's been publicly brought to their attention now. Ditto for whatever blissful ignorance the branding professionals at Doubleday & Cartwright labored under while designing the new Chicago Fire marks. Double ditto for the suits at MLS headquarters. We're all aware of the situation now.

Quite frankly, at this point, I don't see how the league doesn't step in and direct Chicago Fire FC to - at the very least - remove the "fire-crown" device from the team's identity package. Purely out of self-interest, you'd think that the league would want to cover its keister and avoid the public relations nightmare that would result from someone getting gunned down in cold blood because they were wearing licensed team apparel that could be mistaken for gang colors. 

Ignorance resulted in an important symbol for Chicago's largest street gang being incorporated as the central device in Chicago Fire FC's new branding. Arrogance would be for the powers-that-be to allow the implementation of said team branding to go forward now that the situation is open knowledge.

 

  

 

[San Diego]

Holy crap they actually did it lol. The Instagram comments are hilarious.

[FiddySicks]

7 minutes ago, Brian in Boston said:

 

Tough s***t when it comes to the financial implications of having to scrap "HUGE shipments of merchandise, banners/signs, promotional materials, graphics packages, etc.". Bull***t to there being "absolutely no backing out at this point".

Chicago is a city plagued by gang violence. It is estimated that 80% of all murders in Chicago are gang-related. Gold/yellow is a color linked to the city's largest gang, the Latin Kings. Further, a crown is first amongst the gang's "sacred markings". What is to prevent items bearing Chicago Fire SC's branding - which features a gold/yellow crown as its central device - from being co-opted by members of said gang? Worse yet, what if someone who was innocently wearing Chicago Fire SC apparel was mistakenly taken to be wearing a Latin Kings gold/yellow crown and, as a result, targeted for violence?

it doesn't matter what the likelihood is that the scenarios I've just posited actually take place. It's now bad enough that they could take place. It doesn't matter if, while developing a new team logo package, the powers-that-be within Chicago Fire SC ownership and management were unaware of the symbolic significance of a gold/yellow crown to the Latin Kings street gang. It's been publicly brought to their attention now. Ditto for whatever blissful ignorance the branding professionals at Doubleday & Cartwright labored under while designing the new Chicago Fire marks. Double ditto for the suits at MLS headquarters. We're all aware of the situation now.

Quite frankly, at this point, I don't see how the league doesn't step in and direct Chicago Fire FC to - at the very least - remove the "fire-crown" device from the team's identity package. Purely out of self-interest, you'd think that the league would want to cover its keister and avoid the public relations nightmare that would result from someone getting gunned down in cold blood because they were wearing licensed team apparel that could be mistaken for gang colors.   

Ignorance resulted in an important symbol for Chicago's largest street gang being incorporated as the central device in Chicago Fire FC's new branding. Arrogance would be for the powers-that-be to allow the implementation of said team branding to go forward now that the situation is open knowledge.

 

Oh, don’t get me wrong at all. I agree with your assessment of this 100%, and I think it’s outrageous that it ever got this far. That’s why I think the people involved with this rebrand need to be removed from that position. This is EASILY the biggest disaster of a rebrand I’ve ever seen, and it goes far beyond just the aesthetics. This isn’t just a really bad oversight, this boarders on gross negligence. That might seem hyperbolic to some, but there are so many channels this had to go through to get approved that there really isn’t any excuse for this. 

 

But I’m just pointing out the reality of it. This is going to cost this club millions of dollars to rectify, and has already caused them a whole ton of embarrassment. I don’t know their budget, but it sounds like they’re struggling terribly for fan support, and I wonder if they’ll have the financial heft to even fix this without a bailout from the league (I assume they do, but you never can be quite sure with some of these teams). 

 

This whole thing is going to go down as a case study taught in marketing classes on just how NOT to handle these types of situations. I’m sure this whole nightmare is only getting started for this club, too. 

[Brian in Boston]

7 minutes ago, Bucfan56 said:

But I’m just pointing out the reality of it. This is going to cost this club millions of dollars to rectify, and has already caused them a whole ton of embarrassment. I don’t know their budget, but it sounds like they’re struggling terribly for fan support, and I wonder if they’ll have the financial heft to even fix this without a bailout from the league (I assume they do, but you never can be quite sure with some of these teams). 

This whole thing is going to go down as a case study taught in marketing classes on just how NOT to handle these types of situations. I’m sure this whole nightmare is only getting started for this club, too. 

 

Millions of dollars? A whole ton of embarrassment?

What price would you put on the cost to the reputation of Chicago Fire FC and Major League Soccer if - whether out of concern over losing the money they've already invested in uniforms/merchandise/signage bearing the new logos, or simply out of embarrassment - the club went forward with this mark and an innocent kid wearing new team merchandise was gunned down by a rival gang-member looking to dis the Latin Kings?

Imagine the nightmare of that scenario.    

[Alex2003]

10 hours ago, Bonnaroo42 said:

If there is a petition on either going back to the old logo or just a totally different rebrand, let me know and I will absolutely rally the forces to sign that because this is honestly embarrassing. 

http://chng.it/zDbG8mDk 2k signatories just about. Was featured on NBC.

[FiddySicks]

Absolutely. There isn’t a price you can put on fixing a mistake that has the potential to be deadly. Unfortunately, I’m not sure I have enough faith in the team or the league to take this seriously enough to do something about it. 

[Sodboy13]

The more I think about it, the more I'm convinced that this was Rodriguez's intended identity for renaming the club as Chicago City FC, but when changing the name of the club got lambasted far and wide, he backpedaled a bit, crossed out "City" and wrote in "Fire." The whole notion of "fire reflected in the past" sticks with me.

 

The good news for @Brian in Boston is that I don't think we have to worry about too many people wearing CFFC gear out in public, the way this is all going.

[Brian in Boston]

1 minute ago, Bucfan56 said:

Absolutely. There isn’t a price you can put on fixing a mistake that has the potential to be deadly. Unfortunately, I’m not sure I have enough faith in the team or the league to take this seriously enough to do something about it. 

Frankly, if that's the case, neither the team or the league deserve the support of a single fan/customer. 

[rams80]

This is neither here nor there, but why are they going back to Soldier Field anyway?

[Eastport76]

The new logo looks like more belong to a Arizona soccer club. Just a downgrade of their unique badge. Exactly, what they were thinking? I hope that new badge last only one year.

[Sodboy13]

16 minutes ago, rams80 said:

This is neither here nor there, but why are they going back to Soldier Field anyway?

 

Bridgeview was Soccer Glendale, and after a few years of trying, they finally found a way to break the lease that everyone could live with. There's nowhere else in the market for them to play but Soldier.

 

Anyway, the Fire's Supporter of the Year and Entire Focus Group sees what the real problem is here:

 

[Eastport76]

Also, even why they add the "FC" for? This isn't Europe, you know.

 

[xbhaskarx]

My bottom four crests in MLS right now, from worst to least objectionable:

1. Chicago Fire FC 
2. Nashville SC
3. New England Revolution
4. San Jose Earthquakes

 

One 1996 original and three relatively recent redesigns...

[AstroCree]

Is it possible for this to be so universally panned (which seems to be the case) that they have to go back to the previous crest or is it too late because of the merchandising?