Pissed-Off Mascots/Logo

[Guest]

 

 

 

 

If you're a logo designer in today's sports world, your first duty is to make the mascot scowl—make him, as the press releases and ensuing analyses always put it, "fierce." Most recently the Milwaukee Bucks and Cleveland Browns have gotten the treatment, going from fierce to fiercer. In previous years it's happened to the UConn Huskies, Charlotte Hornets, and really pretty much any team with an animal mascot. In May, the Philadelphia 76ers even committed to an angry Ben Franklin. Whatever it takes to give a team an added touch of menace.

But why is the evil eye so sought after? When did we decide every team needed to be seething with anger? Who pissed off all the mascots?

"The mark was a little benign in its original state," he said, "and we wanted to make it a little bit more aggressive, a little bit more piercing."

Before doing so, the franchise analyzed 1.6 million online conversations about the Hawks, revealing a high volume of what Sorckoff called "euphoric recall" around the 1980s team. So they set out to update that era's logo, to make it, well, fierce.

Not so simple, Sorckoff insisted. Even before the design, he sat down with coach Mike Budenholzer to make sure the logo would be "congruent with what he was putting out on the basketball side."

"We attack all the time, and we attack on offense, and we attack on defense," Sorckoff said. "Those were things that could connect the mark and our visual identity to the system of play that Bud is putting into place."

He believes their logo earns the right to be fierce. "Some people say 'angry'," Sorckoff noted, "although I don't choose to use that word."

I do, but we should probably get our terms straight. I wrote to Sonja Windhager, an anthropologist in Vienna who led a study a few years ago of the faces people see in cars. She found out that those rated as "angry" were more popular than friendly ones. Might her findings tell us something about these logos?

Maybe, but she had a different interpretation of the faces: "To me, the logos rather reflect determination and readiness to fight if you compare it to human and animal facial expressions (e.g., lowered brows, closed mouth). Thus, in a fight-or-flight decision, these expressions reflect the 'fight-mode' which likely is the socially-desired choice in a sports game."

 

https://sports.vice.com/en_us/article/who-pissed-off-all-the-mascots-an-investigation

[AHF]

 

Before doing so, the franchise analyzed 1.6 million online conversations about the Hawks, revealing a high volume of what Sorckoff called "euphoric recall" around the 1980s team. So they set out to update that era's logo, to make it, well, fierce.

 

If you check the footnote, 87.4% of those 1.6 million online conversations were started by Diesel.  Kudos to the Squawk's own!

[NineOhTheRino]

I prefer the mellow Hawk logo.

[AHF]

I'm just glad the Pac is back in any form!

[Guest]

Before doing so, the franchise analyzed 1.6 million online conversations about the Hawks, revealing a high volume of what Sorckoff called "euphoric recall" around the 1980s team.

From my understanding of linguistic analysis, you don't just shove 1.6 million observations into an algorithm and out pops "euphoric recall" or anything about the 1980s. If you were to start off an analysis with 1.6 million conversations (which is likely some combination of twitter, facebook, and various message boards that have been scraped for certain topics relating to the Hawks and mascots), then you'd start with a Word Cloud. This is a fancy way to look at the most commonly used words:

So you'd look at that to try and get some sort of an idea of where you should focus your analysis. There are algorithms available that can quantify a "post" on a spectrum of positive -- neutral -- negative based upon commonly used phrases in English. So you'd probably start dicing up the keywords from your word cloud into seeing what the general reaction for particular phrases. You'd likely get a sense of "ah, well when the conversation is about an 80s related word we see it scores +7 on our scale from -10 to +10." And maybe that was the overwhelming consensus going on. But I'd be concerned that anytime you do this type of analysis that you'll find the 80s always score high because of the online demographics and the bias of "well back in my day..." going on. Like, to classify this as unique to the Hawks seems dubious to me.

One thing I wouldn't be surprised is that anytime "pacman" and "Hawks" were mentioned together that the general reaction was overwhelmingly positive. I just find that the "good old days" type of explanation for this stuff is total bullshit. Like, you only bring up the "good old days" in a positive light even if they sucked. And as my last rambling note, is there even a comparison group for another sports organization that went retroish in a uniform change? It would be interesting to compare them to the Hawks.

[AHF]

From my understanding of linguistic analysis, you don't just shove 1.6 million observations into an algorithm and out pops "euphoric recall" or anything about the 1980s. If you were to start off an analysis with 1.6 million conversations (which is likely some combination of twitter, facebook, and various message boards that have been scraped for certain topics relating to the Hawks and mascots), then you'd start with a Word Cloud. This is a fancy way to look at the most commonly used words:

So you'd look at that to try and get some sort of an idea of where you should focus your analysis. There are algorithms available that can quantify a "post" on a spectrum of positive -- neutral -- negative based upon commonly used phrases in English. So you'd probably start dicing up the keywords from your word cloud into seeing what the general reaction for particular phrases. You'd likely get a sense of "ah, well when the conversation is about an 80s related word we see it scores +7 on our scale from -10 to +10." And maybe that was the overwhelming consensus going on. But I'd be concerned that anytime you do this type of analysis that you'll find the 80s always score high because of the online demographics and the bias of "well back in my day..." going on. Like, to classify this as unique to the Hawks seems dubious to me.

One thing I wouldn't be surprised is that anytime "pacman" and "Hawks" were mentioned together that the general reaction was overwhelmingly positive. I just find that the "good old days" type of explanation for this stuff is total bullshit. Like, you only bring up the "good old days" in a positive light even if they sucked. And as my last rambling note, is there even a comparison group for another sports organization that went retroish in a uniform change? It would be interesting to compare them to the Hawks.

 

I get your point on this.  That seems like PR paraphrasing of what actually went on to me.  

 

I will say that fans on the Squawk and RealGM have been clamoring for the return of the Pac as long as I have been active online.  

 

I'll also wager a pretty penny that you won't see much of the "good old days" bias for the ASG era years from now!

[Guest]

I get your point on this.  That seems like PR paraphrasing of what actually went on to me.  

 

I will say that fans on the Squawk and RealGM have been clamoring for the return of the Pac as long as I have been active online.  

 

I'll also wager a pretty penny that you won't see much of the "good old days" bias for the ASG era years from now!

"I recall a time, a glorious time, where the owners really cared. Where they treated everyone with respect and cared about the fans."

{/sarcasm}

(If I ever say something like that, then I'll need a good lawyer to sue Rumple for permanent brain damage...I hope it never happens.)

[Guest]

I'm getting a tattoo of that pac on my arm in a few months...should I get the 80's mellow or the angry hawk? Decisions decisions.

Ps it's my first tattoo. Anyone have tattoos out there? Does it hurt? Anything I should do pre/post tattoo? I'm stoked about this Hawks tattoo.

[nathan2331]

I'm getting a tattoo of that pac on my arm in a few months...should I get the 80's mellow or the angry hawk? Decisions decisions.

Ps it's my first tattoo. Anyone have tattoos out there? Does it hurt? Anything I should do pre/post tattoo? I'm stoked about this Hawks tattoo.

Get the 80's mellow one... it's a classic. I've never gotten a tattoo, but all I can say is pay the money to get it done right. Don't want to be running around with a chicken on your arm lol.

[AHF]

Don't get the same artist who did the Nique statue.  He screwed the pooch on the Pac.

[Randy]

I'd sober up first before going to a tattoo parlor.  

[Guest]

I'd sober up first before going to a tattoo parlor.

Just figured I been a fan for almost 30 years. It's now or never. Lol. Sobering up in general is a good idea tho lol

[ATLJA316]

Old pic, but have had this for years. Healed well, have lots of other things around it now. 

[Guest]

Old pic, but have had this for years. Healed well, have lots of other things around it now.

[/quote

Is that real? Or r u messing around?

[Guest]

I like it...just wondering if it's really on your body vs google image

[Sothron]

Apparently our logo is now triangles. Lots of triangles.

[Guest]

Apparently our logo is now triangles. Lots of triangles.

If the triangles are the first thing you see....oh well.

[Sothron]

If the triangles are the first thing you see....oh well.

 

Other than the word "Atlanta" because, I guess, people forgot the team is in Atlanta, the only other thing on the jersey are random triangles. Lots of random triangles.

[Guest]

Here's another article similar to the pissed off nature of mascots:

When rapper T.I. arrived at Philips Arena to perform before Atlanta's home opener against Indiana on Nov. 1, he was asked which Hawks jersey he wanted to rep.

"We had lots of options," Hawks chief creative officer Peter Sorckoff said. "But he opened up a bag and pulled out a lime-green flat-billed New Era hat with the blue brim -- he just showed up with it. He said, 'Man, I want the green one.'"

It was a 1970 Pete Maravich jersey, a throwback to the funky, avant-garde uniforms with green accents that Atlanta wore for just two seasons, and it remains one of the team's best sellers.

It felt like a serendipitous nod to Sorckoff, who was already months into planning the new uniforms the Hawks unveiled on Wednesday.

"It almost validated what we wanted to do," he said. "We would've chosen [green] anyway even if it didn't forecast well because of what it meant to us and to our history, but there's a very real science behind it."

Atlanta's new jerseys include repeatable feathery V patterns, recalling a swooping bird of prey, and the collegiate ability to mix and match tops, bottoms, socks and even shoelaces. But Sorckoff is most excited about the surprising introduction of a road charcoal jersey the team calls Georgia Granite Gray. It's highlighted by bright green accents, like Maravich's shade but electrified, that were previously hinted at on the team's 2015 Christmas jerseys.

"It's the most arresting," Sorckoff said. "The gray is a color that's new for us, and really to the best of my knowledge has never been deployed anywhere in the NBA before. Between that color and the Volt green, we feel we're doing something that's never been done before."

Even within the world of marketing, the notion of color forecasting is nebulous. Companies like Pantone zoom out and take macro views of cultural shifts to decide which direction certain shades are trending. It can be as simple as brighter colors receiving a boost because superhero movies are having a good year.

Volt is en vogue. It's still a relatively fresh look that visually pops on HD screens and invokes a sense of speed. The Seattle Seahawks wear a version of it. The U.S. women's national team is currently competing in the Women's World Cup in uniforms with Volt trim, and the same look has recently infiltrated the Pro Bowl and the NHL All-Star Game.

Maybe most famously, the University of Oregon's football team has sported the look off and on during the past half-decade. The Hawks would be proud to draw that comparison. Early in the design process, Sorckoff even called Oregon assistant athletic director Craig Pintens to pick his brain. Oregon lets players have a large say in what they wear on the field -- a major recruiting boon with the corollary benefit of increasing team bonding and communication.

"What the coaching staff really wants is athletes that are involved," Sorckoff said. "Within the millennial set, that really resonates. They know that we want to appeal to a younger group."

Not every Hawks player was initially on board with the style's micromanagement, so Sorckoff focused on explaining why he believed in the new look.

"I asked them, 'Are you going to be OK wearing a certain sock? I might even ask you to wear a certain lace color,'" Sorckoff said. "If you think about our story this year, it's really about being a team. While that doesn't mean losing your individuality, it can mean giving up some for the greater good."

It also meant a lot of back-and-forth. Sorckoff recalls a conversation with Hawks forward Kyle Korver about an early prototype that tested flared sleeves. Last season's most accurate 3-point shooter was hesitant about anything that could affect his stroke.

"It was cool that the shoulders looked like that, but Korver was like, 'I gotta have straps. I can't have heavy shoulders because I feel like that's going to hurt me when I'm shooting.'"

On the flip side, once players realized the depth of the team's commitment to experimentation, they began coming up with their own subtle requests, according to Sorckoff.

"[Players] said, 'If you can do all of that, can you maybe do this too? Or this? Could you tweak this a bit?'" he said. "It was really a collaborative process."

Much of the past two years has been spent redefining the Hawks' brand -- everything from the logos to the concession stands -- in an effort to appeal to younger and African-American crowds.

The Hawks employed Chicago-based MotiveQuest, a data-insight company which uses decommissioned NSA software to canvas the web to search for specific topics. The firm used advanced algorithms to parse millions of online conversations about the Hawks, dumping them through filters sorted by topic and sentiment.

One major takeaway was fans' continued love for the Hawks' old "Pac-Man" logo, a victim of the organization's mid-'90s rebranding.

So the team brought back a revamped version, one a little sharper and more menacing that is known around team offices as "Evo" -- short for evolved.

Next came the secondary mark, a flaming, flying basketball inspired by the City of Atlanta's seal that fulfilled an NBA rule stipulating at least one team logo centrally feature a ball. That may seem arbitrary, but it comes in handy in unfamiliar territory overseas.

What's next? Would the Philips Arena court look good in Georgia Granite Gray?

Sorckoff knows he can't please everyone -- that no amount of brand strategy and creative cleverness will convince everyone a new look was a good idea. Art is, after all, subjective.

He also knows the knee-jerk reaction to visual rebranding can be unpredictable -- just ask Steve Ballmer.

"Look, this is who we are," Sorckoff said. "This is what we represent, and we hope you like us. But we also know we're not for everybody. We're not out to make everybody like us because that's just not possible. But if we can be truthful and transparent about who we are, I think that goes a long way."

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/13140797/the-story-atlanta-hawks-new-uniforms

[Guest]

Here's another article similar to the pissed off nature of mascots:

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/13140797/the-story-atlanta-hawks-new-uniforms

So instead of Spirit the Hawk it'll be Evo the Hawk?

Love that the players were able to have some input on design.