New Browns uni coming 2015

[GFB]

Are people really surprised that a conversation revolving around Nike, Cleveland, and old vs new is unproductive? All we need is for someone to bring up Native American relations and we'll have every hot button topic covered.

Are ANY of our discussions here productive?

I think quite a few are, actually.

[nuordr]

Awful looking how? Those are gorgeous. IMO the Browns' orange helmet is one of the ugliest of all time. They need to get rid of it for the sake of the entire NFL.

You have to be under the age of 20 to think the Browns' helmet is the ugliest of all-time. That winner goes to Jacksonville Jaguars!

[ScubaSteve]

People are throwing around the term "strong brand". IMO, the Browns don't have a "strong brand" just because their uniforms are old. IMO, they have one of the ugliest uniforms in NFL history, and it needs to finally be changed from head to toe.

I'd have to agree. I immediately think of it as classic, but why? Because its old looking and been around while. That doesn't mean it's a good looking uniform.

I'd like to see the Browns swap out the orange color with another. No reason not to other than that it's been around forever. Brown and powder blue seem to go well together for some reason and I think it'd be awesome if a team was ballsy enough to do that in any major sport.

But they won't.....

[BrandMooreArt]

There is some confusion as to what "brand" is. Brand is the intangible, the things you think of when you hear a name. Its reputation and connotation. For the Browns, it is very strong. Somehow they have the 11th best attendance in the league. The team is loved and in demand.

Identity is what you see. Logos, uniforms, colors, etc. the things that represent a product

[tigerslionspistonshabs]

Awful looking how? Those are gorgeous. IMO the Browns' orange helmet is one of the ugliest of all time. They need to get rid of it for the sake of the entire NFL.

How is it ugly? It's a plain orange helmet.

If anything it's one of the best and gets serious points just for being so simple and basic.

[TheSoundofThrowingPennies]

Everyone on here knows I'm a big fan of nike and the radical designs they have brought to football, but even I am scared for this one.

The Browns uniforms are just so beautiful. If I turn on TV and see them, I instantly get that fuzzy feeling about fall, because their uniforms just scream that it's fall.

On the other side of the spectrum, when I see those uniforms I'm also reminded of Red Right 88, the Drive, the Fumble, and 1995, so I can understand why Haslam might want to distance himself from that legacy.

On the note of changing the helmet without really changing it, I think a matte helmet with chrome striping could look pretty sharp. The difficulty would be determining what color of facemask to pair with it.

[nuordr]

There is some confusion as to what "brand" is. Brand is the intangible, the things you think of when you hear a name. Its reputation and connotation. For the Browns, it is very strong. Somehow they have the 11th best attendance in the league. The team is loved and in demand.

Identity is what you see. Logos, uniforms, colors, etc. the things that represent a product

When a helmet can be used successfully as a logo, then it should not be changed...I love the colors so much that I have them in my cube at work:

[IceCap]

Ditching the orange helmet? The hell?

I'd have to agree. I immediately think of it as classic, but why? Because its old looking and been around while. That doesn't mean it's a good looking uniform.

The fact that you think of it as a classic, for whatever reason, means it's a strong brand and shouldn't be changed.

I'm all for the Browns getting a proper primary logo to use at centre field, on apparel, etc... but the idea of changing the helmet is just insane. I think "Cleveland Browns" and that helmet is the first thing I think of. Without fail. Someone saying the Browns need to get rid of it for the sake of the NFL? That's just a silly thing to say, IMHO. If any helmet needs to be canned for the sake of the league as a whole it's the abomination the Jaguars use.

As for it being primarily orange and not brown? So what? The home jerseys are brown. Brown is represented prominently on the road jerseys (brown stripes and numbers). So it's not like the colour brown is underrepresented in their uniforms as a whole. Changing the orange helmet on the pretense of adding more brown to the set doesn't make sense to me.

I'm pretty terrified at the prospect of a "wild" and "cutting edge" Browns uniform from Nike, but at the very least their brand can retain some value if they keep the helmet untouched. Yeah, it'll look terrible when you pair a modern uniform with a traditional helmet (hello Cardinals) but at the very least a key element to the brand will be maintained.

Of course the simple solution is to say "well the Browns have one of the most recognizable, classic looks in the league and maybe that shouldn't be changed" but that ship sailed a long time ago, so all we can hope for now is for the damage to be contained below the neckline.

[daveindc]

There is some confusion as to what "brand" is. Brand is the intangible, the things you think of when you hear a name. Its reputation and connotation. For the Browns, it is very strong. Somehow they have the 11th best attendance in the league. The team is loved and in demand.

Identity is what you see. Logos, uniforms, colors, etc. the things that represent a product

When a helmet can be used successfully as a logo, then it should not be changed...I love the colors so much that I have them in my cube at work:

They use it as a logo, because they have nothing else. Doesn't make it successful IMO.

[TheSoundofThrowingPennies]

Exactly. And, off the top of my head teams who have a secondary color helmet:

Cowboys

Broncos

Jets

Colts

Dolphins

Bills

Patriots

Cardinals

Niners

Raiders

Browns

Packers

Lions

Panthers

Saints

Falcons

Bucs

In fact, I just realized that one of the things that makes the AFC West and (before the bucs change) NFC South so aesthetically pleasing is that 7/8 have a secondary colored or contrasting helmet.

[daveindc]

Ice_Cap- just because things have been around for a long time, doesn't mean it doesn't need changing in my opinion. This is change that I can believe in. Yes we can.

[CubsFanBudMan]

This thread has somehow gotten worse. The brand debate ... oh my. Long way to go for 2015 changes. Sit back, relax and strap it down.

[wonderbread]

Ice_Cap- just because things have been around for a long time, doesn't mean it doesn't need changing in my opinion. This is change that I can believe in. Yes we can.

change for the sake of change is never a good thing

[Claystation360]

Nothing more then a modernization is needed to Cleveland you look back at NFL films & pictures it's essentially still the same uniform Jim Brown wore. Few franchises can say that they've retained relatively the same look that long or they end up going back to an iconic look, the Browns orange helmet is priceless.

Remember cherish your uniform & helmet while you have it.

Signed A Jags fan.

[MDGP]

They use it as a logo, because they have nothing else. Doesn't make it successful IMO.

But that's the thing, they DO have other things they could use as logos. Both the <=B=> logo AND the Bulldog are secondaries that could easily be used as primary logos.

Why don't they use them? Because the brand of the Cleveland Browns revolves around that helmet. They've had the same one (more or less) since the 1950's, and have had plenty of opportunities to change their identity and brand, but they didn't for a reason, and that's because the plain orange helmet with the brown-white-brown stripe is instantly recognizable as the Browns. That helmet says the Browns are a team steeped in history, and they're proud of that fact. It's similar to why a team like Penn State refuses to put a logo on their helmets, because the brand is built around the simplicity and historic values of the team, and changing that compromises that brand entirely (neither team should ever put anything more than numbers on the helmet). Just because something is old, does not mean that it has lost its worth.

Changing the helmet would be incredibly stupid (about as stupid as the Packers or Bears changing their) and at least Haslam is smart enough to realize that. The plain orange helmet IS the Cleveland Browns, and the fact that one can say that makes it pretty damn successful as a brand.

[mmajeski06]

They use it as a logo, because they have nothing else. Doesn't make it successful IMO.

But that's the thing, they DO have other things they could use as logos. Both the <=B=> logo AND the Bulldog are secondaries that could easily be used as primary logos.

Why don't they use them? Because the brand of the Cleveland Browns revolves around that helmet. They've had the same one (more or less) since the 1950's, and have had plenty of opportunities to change their identity and brand, but they didn't for a reason, and that's because the plain orange helmet with the brown-white-brown stripe is instantly recognizable as the Browns. That helmet says the Browns are a team steeped in history, and they're proud of that fact. It's similar to why a team like Penn State refuses to put a logo on their helmets, because the brand is built around the simplicity and historic values of the team, and changing that compromises that brand entirely (neither team should ever put anything more than numbers on the helmet). Just because something is old, does not mean that it has lost its worth.

Changing the helmet would be incredibly stupid (about as stupid as the Packers or Bears changing their) and at least Haslam is smart enough to realize that. The plain orange helmet IS the Cleveland Browns, and the fact that one can say that makes it pretty damn successful as a brand.

THIS.

Love the Penn State comparison. They have one of the better logos in college sports, and still they refuse to slap it on the side of the helmet because of tradition.

I'm hoping Nike modernizes the old elf logo.

[ScubaSteve]

Let's not even get started on Penn State and their values...

[Soarindude]

If the Browns do make some changes regarding primary, secondary logos than I highly doubt they would go with the B logo or the Bulldog. Or even the current elf for that matter. A new logo would easily be made, they wouldn't recycle logos that have been surrounding this team for quite some time.

[TheOldRoman]

Ice_Cap- just because things have been around for a long time, doesn't mean it doesn't need changing in my opinion. This is change that I can believe in. Yes we can.

If you like your helmet, you can keep your helmet. Period. Which means the Browns will be changing their helmets, to something much worse. The Browns will insist that the new helmets were absolutely necessary, but after the unveiling they'll keep wearing the current ones while pushing back the uniform change for 3+ years.

[TheOldRoman]

Are people really surprised that a conversation revolving around Nike, Cleveland, and old vs new is unproductive? All we need is for someone to bring up Native American relations and we'll have every hot button topic covered.

Are ANY of our discussions here productive?

I think quite a few are, actually.

I don't know about that. Maybe in the concepts forum, but I largely stay away from that. We always have a huge array of opinions, and people who jump for anything garish, to the point of seeming like trolls. And even if we ever did agree on anything, it doesn't matter because we're all just a bunch of dudes talking about sports uniforms on our computers.