Look at this image. What do you see?
Welcome to WatchMojo.com, and today we're counting down our picks for the Top 10 Logo Fails.
For this list, we're defining a 'fail' as a logo that has, on the most epic level,
taken attention away from the product or organization it represents,
or led to embarrassment or financial loss,
even if the products or services they represented are on the up-and-up.
Please note, we've done our best to confirm that all of these logos are legit,
but in some cases, it's possible that it was just a fake that went viral.
Oh well, they're all still funny, right?
"When you look at the nutritional value of maple syrup, it's...
"The trace minerals are very high compared to any other kind of sweetener."
Let's say you're a graphic designer for a Japanese pharmacy, and they ask for a dynamic new logo.
You'd think that one melding together your organization's customer-centric philosophy,
and the first letter of its name would be a great idea.
The good news is the two-stickfigure logo received global brand recognition from the likes of Huffington Post,
Buzzfeed and Business Insider, to name just a few.
The bad news is it's because your logo looks like two people standing up and gettin' down, if you know what we mean.
Let's just say that it's referred to by some as the 'Rear Admiral'.
Perhaps Kudawara should've made lemonade out of lemons and focussed on selling erectile dysfunction drugs.
- "Come on, hurry... - (Man) "I'm trying...
- "Okay... okay. - (Man) Here, just let me do it for a second..."
Only the highest quality product gets Vermont's 'Pure Maple Syrup' label.
Perhaps this slow, painstaking process didn't leave time for little things like noticing that
their logo looks like a man relieving himself.
To be fair, when you stick a tap in a tree, and it drips, it's gonna look kinda funny.
But come on, Vermont. Your state looks like the profile of a pair of beefy legs,
and your Northeast looks kinda like a butt.
Putting a spout right at the base of the hand-like Lake Champlain Islands,
AND adding a bucket below it is bound to elicit some laughter.
Even so, the logo remains a symbol for the highest quality syrup, so why should they change anything?
"The great thing about it is maple syrup is a subtle flavor, and it's not...
"...You don't have to use a lot to really have an impact."
In 2008, it was reported that the UK's Office of Government Commerce spent £14,000 to create a new logo.
Unfortunately, when rotated 90 degrees, it looks like a person, or maybe a snowman,
engaging in self-gratification.
The general public and news outlets all noticed.
An OGC spokesperson responded, saying the logo, quote, "Caused a few titters among the staff."
However, they decided that ANY combo of the letters 'OGC' would halfway indecent,
and that such a logo was, *ahem* "Not inappropriate to an organization that's looking to have a firm grip on government spending."
Riiiiiight.
Three years later, the OGC was absorbed into another agency.
We have to assume that maybe its demise was due, in part at least, to the gripping logo.
"Come on, Laura. My cock is lost in the jungle and it's up for you to find it..."
Poor Locum.
This Swedish property management firm was just trying to thank their customers and wish them a Happy Holidays,
while in turn saving some trees, via electronic Christmas card.
To show their love, they replaced the 'O' in their all-lowercase logo with a heart,
and it looks, at least to English-speakers, like they're expressing a passion for a certain bodily fluid.
"Oh... it's so warm..."
Let's face it, Locum is playing with fire by having 'C-U-M' as the last three letters of their name.
And they poured gasoline on the fire by emailing out what would quickly become a viral sensation.
"When I came on your magazine James, it was a come for help.
"Just been crying and coming. Crying and coming.
"Tears from the tip of my penis, dudes."
It's a bit unfair to go after a small Mom & Pop satellite and antenna installation company
in the Lower Silesia Province of Poland.
But if you're going to humanise a satellite dish, you could have one very looong problem,
and Mont-Sat didn't take that into account.
"BONER! You got a boner!"
In this anthropomorphized design, the satellite part known as the 'support arm' is placed right above the legs.
The result? That satellite looks very happy to see us. But, there's something else about it:
"Mr. Burgandy, you have a massive erection.
"Really?"
Usually, someone with this particular issue would do anything to make sure that he's not seen,
but his hands are up and his tongue is out, however. And he's seemingly VERY impressed with himself.
Let's just hope their in-home technicians keep things classy.
"Hard...
"Erection?
"[sighs] No. But thanks for noticing."
Kerning is the term used in typography to define the space between lines.
Too much or too little space and readability suffers.
Perhaps the greatest kerning cautionary tale is the alleged one-time logo for the Kids Exchange
you've surely seen on lists like this before.
First of all, care is always warranted when the letters S, E and X are clustered together in your organization's name,
especially when your business is focussed around children's items.
Also, a person not versed in the laws and regulations of sexual reassignment
might find it odd that kids can get a sex change down at the local strip mall.
"Boys have a penis, girls have a vagina."
Calling anyone out there using this 'Kids Exchange' logo: Can you please just hit that space bar for us a few more times?
"And you said you graduated from typing school!
"I have trouble with the space bar."
An Olympic logo can be a very dynamic representation of the country and city hosting the Games.
Get it wrong, and ooh boy.
London's 2012 logo cost a reported £400,000,
and unfortunately, that expenditure didn't help them avoid major headaches.
Problems started back in 2007 when the UK organization 'Epilepsy Action' reported complaints of seizures
from animated footage promoting the logo, but that was only the start.
Iran, the country, lodged a formal complaint saying that the letters spelled 'ZION', and they threatened to boycott.
And as always, there is a sexual connotation,
with some saying that it looked like Lisa Simpson giving Bart... oh man, do we have to say that?
"Now Ralph is in the play with me. I just know he's going to embarrass me in front of the whole school."
Anyway, despite the criticism, the London organizers kept calm and carried on, logo and all.
Is it really a fail if they meant to do it?
When A-Style founder Marco Bruns created his logo, there was no business idea, no product, no store, just a logo.
You could say that Bruns built his success through the back door,
by affixing stickers of his 'doggy-style' stick figures wherever he went, from Milan to Moscow to Miami.
He also painted it on the track of the 2004 Tour de France. People noticed and the brand grew.
Now it's years later, and the A-Style sells clothes and accessories displaying their logo,
worn by the likes of football megastar Lionel Messi, and appearing on motorcycle helmets at MotoGP events.
You could say that A-Style is living by the old mantra, "No publicity is bad publicity."
A sunrise over a pagoda can be a beautiful thing.
It can also be very... penetrating.
Our #2 logo is shrouded in mystery. Who designed it? Who used it?
Several sources attribute it to Sunrise Sushi, a restaurant that may or may not have been undone by its suggestive logo.
The London Telegraph reported that the Federal University of Santa Catarina in Brazil
used it to represent its Oriental Studies department, but withdrew it when the logo went kinda, you know... viral.
"I am NOT Jerry, under any circumstances doing any... inserting in that area!"
What we do know for sure is that the pagoda is a mainstay on 'logo fails' lists,
with the UK's Independent placing it among the worst logos to ever be designed.
We also know why it became a viral sensation, and so do you - admit it.
Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable, or in this case, dishonorable mentions.
"It uh, it looks like this, okay? Right there... [Audience laughs]"
It was 1973, and the Archdiocesan Youth Commission, an organization within the Catholic Church,
apparently started using this new logo.
We should mention that at the time, the only people privy to the details about the Catholic abuse scandals
were those within the inner circle of the Church, and unfortunately, those who were exploited as well.
It wasn't until a groundswell of mistrust and tenacious investigative journalism in the 2000s
that many very shocking truths were uncovered.
"But you admit to molesting boys at St. John the Baptist?
"Yes, yes, but as I said, I never got any pleasure from it."
And according to a rumor perpetuated repeatedly online,
the Archdiocesan Youth Commission was an unfortunate victim of the incident,
and the overnight memeification of found images.
'The Atlantic' asked readers if this was the worst logo ever.
Even if this logo is fake, the irony of the inappropriateness means that our answer is an emphatic 'YUS'.
Do you agree with our list? Which logo do you think is the biggest fail?
For more failtastic Top 10s published every day, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.
- "Oh, creamy. - "They're awesome! Oh!
[muffled murmuring, gargling]