New Orleans Hornets Will Rebrand as Pelicans in Time for 2013-2014 NBA Season

[CrazyAnna]

I wouldn't count the Wizards due to that just being a basketball. The other two are more closely related.

[Atom]

The Crescent City logo reminds me of SB Nations new redesign.

[shaydre1019]

Davidsons work right?

And honestly I don get all the hate for roundels, IMO they look great more often than not. if it were legal in Texas and I found one with whom I shared common interests with id marry one.

[-DASH]

wtf?

[Chawls]

It's obviously a photoshop job. That's not even the font the Pelicans are using.

[Gothamite]

So the Pelicans and the Nets, the most recent teams to re-brand, both now have secondary roundel logos focusing on the city to the exclusion of the team nickname:

Wonder if this is the new thing?

going to include this one too

Ah, forgot about that one.

Not quite the same thing without the text, but close.

[Nyk33]

it's hard to get behind the Pelicans name, i dont think i'll ever like it, but it will grow on the majority of their fanbase over time.

I don't think the people in New Orleans will find it hard to get behind.

From folks I've talked to and the local media, that does not appear to be the case;

Poll last night on WWLTV:

What do you think of the new name and rebrand?

Approve 21%

Disapprove 79%

This mirrors a Twitter poll last December from beat writer Jeff Duncan of the Times-Picayune, when he asked if people liked the idea of a name change from Hornets to Pelicans:

77 against

19 for

Regardless of the appropriateness of the name, the look of the logos, etc., the truth of the matter is the new ownership dropped the ball in the way they did this. Benson had such positive spin when he bought the team. He has more season tickets sold than at any time in the franchise's history in New Orleans (over 12,000 for a 17 some-odd thousand arena), he gets the #1 draft pick, he announces that they're looking for a local rebrand, yet he has NO public input-- not even a token contest or something to make people feel they are being heard-- and without any public involvement picks a name and look that almost 80% of locals (who will be buying the merch, tickets and supporting the team) don't like? Massive fail in that regard.

screw "public involvement". good brands listen to their audience, but they dont let everyone decide who they are.

the poll numbers there are not surprising at all. but you have to know that it dosent matter much either. i dont like the name, but plenty of sports brands are successful even with a dumb name. how about the LA Lakers, or Cleveland Browns, or Oakland A's? you know what those teams have that the Pelicans don't? a ton of brand equity. they've been around long enough to earn their credibility and become part of the culture of their local areas. so much so, that if you try to change them or take them away, people lose their minds and beg for a return even if they have been a sorry losing franchise for decades (Browns). the "Pelicans" can do it too; let's take this poll 5 or 10 years down the road and see how many people want to change it, because i will guarantee their fanbase is going to love their goofy ass team name

You mean like how people in Charlotte love the name Bobcats?

hows their winning percentage? they've been around what 10 years? since 2002? and what have they done? at least the Browns have some hall of fame players, and pre merger championships

You think the Pelicans are going to become a good team in the next five years? It is going to take a very long time for that team to build itself up basketball wise which will not lend itself well to the local population. What will happen once Anthony Davis decides to get out of New Orleans for greener pastures?

[tigerslionspistonshabs]

Am I the only one who immediately thinks of the Shriners when I look at that?

[spillpronecanvas]

Davidsons work right?

And honestly I don get all the hate for roundels, IMO they look great more often than not. if it were legal in Texas and I found one with whom I shared common interests with id marry one.

Not that I'm aware of; here is Davidson's Pelicans concept.

http://www.fieldtheory.co.uk/NEW-ORLEANS-PELICANS

While the official logo isn't bad; Davidsons is far better. Dude is an elite-level sports identity designer. His fluer KILLS the official one, and even the old Hornets one.

[JPDesign]

He meant the roundels for SBNation. Davidson did all of those.

[TheOldRoman]

Pelicans = state bird

Official colors = colors of the New Orleans city flag

2 wins right off the bat. Love their decisions.

No, New Orleans' flag uses royal blue.

[Gothamite]

Looks about the same as the American flag to me.

[TheOldRoman]

It was hard to tell since every picture I pulled up on google looked different. Still, the American flag doesn't use navy, either. The Pelicans might try to sell this as using the city's colors, but in the end, we know that they needed a FIERCE! AGGRESSIVE! primary color, as all teams do nowadays, and the only options were navy and black.

[Chawls]

Am I the only one who immediately thinks of the Shriners when I look at that?

New Orleans police badge:

[Gothamite]

It was hard to tell since every picture I pulled up on google looked different. Still, the American flag doesn't use navy, either. The Pelicans might try to sell this as using the city's colors, but in the end, we know that they needed a FIERCE! AGGRESSIVE! primary color, as all teams do nowadays, and the only options were navy and black.

I sympathize with your general complaint, but the US flag uses a pretty dark blue as well.

https://www.pantone.com/pages/MYP_myPantone/mypPaletteDetail.aspx?p_id=75&p_type=p_detail

There have been complaints that they're using metallic gold instead of the flag's athletic gold.

[TruColor]

It was hard to tell since every picture I pulled up on google looked different. Still, the American flag doesn't use navy, either. The Pelicans might try to sell this as using the city's colors, but in the end, we know that they needed a FIERCE! AGGRESSIVE! primary color, as all teams do nowadays, and the only options were navy and black.

I sympathize with your general complaint, but the US flag uses a pretty dark blue as well.

https://www.pantone....p_type=p_detail

There have been complaints that they're using metallic gold instead of the flag's athletic gold.

Nice. You referenced an old myPANTONE Palette of mine from a couple of years ago.

I've been trying to nail down the Orleans Parish flag Pantone colors as well; can't find a definitive set of color values for it yet.

[TheOldRoman]

It was hard to tell since every picture I pulled up on google looked different. Still, the American flag doesn't use navy, either. The Pelicans might try to sell this as using the city's colors, but in the end, we know that they needed a FIERCE! AGGRESSIVE! primary color, as all teams do nowadays, and the only options were navy and black.

I sympathize with your general complaint, but the US flag uses a pretty dark blue as well.

https://www.pantone....p_type=p_detail

There have been complaints that they're using metallic gold instead of the flag's athletic gold.

I think the blue is medium, between navy and royal. America had always used royal blue for athletic colors until maybe 1992.

[McCall]

It was hard to tell since every picture I pulled up on google looked different. Still, the American flag doesn't use navy, either. The Pelicans might try to sell this as using the city's colors, but in the end, we know that they needed a FIERCE! AGGRESSIVE! primary color, as all teams do nowadays, and the only options were navy and black.

I sympathize with your general complaint, but the US flag uses a pretty dark blue as well.

https://www.pantone....p_type=p_detail

There have been complaints that they're using metallic gold instead of the flag's athletic gold.

I think the blue is medium, between navy and royal. America had always used royal blue for athletic colors until maybe 1992.

I know the basketball team used navy in 1984.

[TruColor]

I think the blue is medium, between navy and royal. America had always used royal blue for athletic colors until maybe 1992.

I know the basketball team used navy in 1984.

USA Basketball has used this color for years and years:

The World Baseball Classic U.S. team uses this:

[jhans203]

wtf?

Not to mention odds are they'll continue using New Orleans on the home and aways, especially considering the logo.