MLS Impact Rebrand as Club de Foot Montreal

[Brian in Boston 2,689]

Look, the logo is certainly a fine evocation of the late-1960s to mid-1970s design aesthetic that's come to define a distinctive and important era in Montréal's history. As a depiction of a snowflake, if it were serving as the logo for an ice hockey team, a curling club, or a ski resort, I could be on board with it. However, as the central design element in the identity system for a soccer club that plays the bulk of its Spring-Summer-Fall schedule in the Summer, I find a snowflake more than a bit incongruous.

What's more, as  I've written elsewhere on the boards, it leans a bit too heavily into the American-held stereotype of Canada as "The Great White North". I have relatives who are born-and-bred Canadians, including Québécois. I can tell you that none of them spends the summer yearning for the return of winter... or, wants to be reminded of another winter-to-come while enjoying their summer activities.

"We are snowflakes"? Absurd.      

On the topic of marketing-speak, even by modern pro sports branding standards, the copy accompanying this roll-out is abysmal. This would have been more accurate:

The M's and arrows within the circle
form a sphincter. No two are
identical, but they all produced
this crap. It's indecipherable: freeform
gibberish meant to justify the turd.       

Okay, okay... I've gone too far. I'm certain that the members of the branding team are lovely people, possessing abundant talent. I'm also sure that none of them set out to create anything but a first-rate identity system. That said, I stand by the last three sentences. The copy that they satirize is stilted dung.
            

[gosioux76 2,381]

10 minutes ago, Brian in Boston said:

That said, I stand by the last three sentences. The copy that they satirize is stilted dung.                

 

I like the logo just fine. I'm just here to lobby for "Stilted Dung" as the team's new nickname. 

[bowld 2,146]

As someone who doesn't follow soccer I love this logo. Great work

[pepis21 2,161]

"We are snowflakes", "Sacrebleu" if it isn't a joke I'm gonna laugh so hard. Club de foot is quite an unfortunate name considering the clubfoot disease and the fact that even in France name like that isn't in use (Henry should know that). "Foot" alone yes, "Club de Foot" no.

"Impact black" as a nod to old name is nice.

Logo is great (Would be nice if Montreal host Olympics) but I don't see any sense with repeated club name. It look like they need to fil blank space and have no idea how to do that. I also don't know but I see an inspiration with new Iceland logo in that snowflake.

[Lights Out 4,905]

I thought "Club de Foot" was dumb enough, then I scrolled down and saw that they thought "we are snowflakes" would be a great slogan. Were they trying to set themselves up for ridicule?

[TenaciousG 865]

Club de Foot? What are they tryin’ to do folks, hire Rex Ryan as coach?

[SFGiants58 14,210]

21 minutes ago, Lights Out said:

I thought "Club de Foot" was dumb enough, then I scrolled down and saw that they thought "we are snowflakes" would be a great slogan. Were they trying to set themselves up for ridicule?

 

Maybe a CPL demotion?

[washingtonspride 29]

in my opinion this whole re brand is just awful all around. first of all the impact name was great, it just needed a new logo and new vision. the new logo looks like a ski company, i wouldn't have been surprised if i saw that on a jacket i found at dick's sporting goods. With a brand as bland and as unoriginal as every MLS franchise that's been added to the league since 2011. It's clear and obvious that the MLS wants to be like every single soccer league in Europe instead of being something distinctly north american, and i think that that is what has me losing interest in this league every passing moment. There is nothing to cheer for in the MLS, its colors behind a city, and is there really an identity to go with that city when its just FC this and SC that? How do you root for a team with no name? and that's the reason why the MLS couldn't care less about unique brand identity, as long as it gets them to be closer and closer to their big brothers in Europe that they've always wanted to be.

[gosioux76 2,381]

30 minutes ago, Lights Out said:

I thought "Club de Foot" was dumb enough, then I scrolled down and saw that they thought "we are snowflakes" would be a great slogan. Were they trying to set themselves up for ridicule?

 

Yeah, the snowflakes thing is hilarious. I haven't been in Canada for a while. It's possible they've completely divorced themselves from all American political rhetoric over the past four years. Maybe a snowflake there is just a snowflake. Sounds nice, actually.  

[Brian in Boston 2,689]

I just got off the phone with a dear friend who lives in Bloomington, Indiana.

 

He's going to check to see whether the municipal motto is now "We are Snowflakes".

[gosioux76 2,381]

1 minute ago, Brian in Boston said:

I just got off the phone with a dear friend who lives in Bloomington, Indiana.

 

He's going to check to see whether the municipal motto is now "We are Snowflakes".

 

That's remarkable. 

[Brian in Boston 2,689]

7 minutes ago, gosioux76 said:

That's remarkable. 

Actually, it makes perfect sense. Apparently, the Bloomington, Indiana City Council will be serving as CF Montréal's reserve team.

 

[gosioux76 2,381]

1 minute ago, Brian in Boston said:

Actually, it makes perfect sense. Apparently, the Bloomington, Indiana City Council will be serving as CF Montréal's reserve team.

 

Club De Hoosiers

[Brian in Boston 2,689]

4 minutes ago, gosioux76 said:

Club De Hoosiers

"We are Cornflakes."

[Magic Dynasty 2,402]

If the team is Club Foot, are the players Clubfeet?

[habsfan1 3,969]

The Fort Lauderdale franchise's name is Inter Miami CF in Spanish (Club Internacional de Fútbol Miami). The ethnic diversity gets to be represented across the league, thus Montreal went with a French FC identity repackage. I think it's great.

 

The Alouettes nailed their simplified rebrand. The team formerly known as the Impact followed in their footsteps with another awesome job.

[gosioux76 2,381]

48 minutes ago, Brian in Boston said:

Actually, it makes perfect sense. Apparently, the Bloomington, Indiana City Council will be serving as CF Montréal's reserve team.

 

The more I look at this — and genuinely can't believe its real — I think the Bloomington seal somehow looks MORE Canadian than the Montreal logo. 

[DEAD! 2,045]

I think you can fit this logo in the middle of that logo

 

[TrueYankee26 1,127]

With a logo like this I am a little surprised they didn't rebrand to Olympique de Montreal.

 

Winter Olympic looking logo, Olympique is the name of many soccer clubs from France like Marseille

[Digby 6,565]

Almost as if they intentionally used a “snowflake” shape as an homage to quilting that’s common to both indigenous art and cold-weather European colonialist knitwear!