The Jack Kelsey Fan Club Proudly Presents
The New Arsenal Football Club
Club Crest
(August 2002 - ?)
Arsenal's new crest shown with our current club badge
My apologies to the Club for the unauthorised use of the new crest but a lot of people want to see it.
According to the news hounds Arsenal have revamped their famous cannon crest as (and I quote) part of a major shake-up of the club's corporate image. Not that the corporate image needed a shake-up but let's not make it an issue here because AFC would have been mad not to have sown up shirt sales and all the other guff before building a new megastore at Ashburton Grove. To use the marketing jargon 'the rebranding will give the Gunners a tighter grip on merchandising as they had been unable to copyright their old badge'. The verbal garbage continues 'it is also designed to present a more modern look as they try to establish themselves as one of Europe's leading clubs'. What's with this trying to establish themselves - as far as I'm concerned we're up there with the best already.
The new crest will be unveiled to supporters at Saturday's Premiership game against Southampton at Highbury. No doubt most fans will complain because there's not many that like change and despite the fact that the design could have been as awful as Fulham's this one is not too bad at first glance despite the fact that it has too much blue in it which has never been an Arsenal colour of note. The badge will not appear on team shirts until the start of next season, when the club will also have a new sponsor. This move has been anticipated by many for years because they couldn't copyright the old one and at least everything is going to change at one go - badge, sponsors and new home shirt.
The marketing speak continues in overdrive:- The new design retains the famous Arsenal cannon but it now points east instead of west. (the buggers have turned it around so no one can miss the point that it's brand new). Out go the traditional gothic script, latin motto and heraldic badge in favour of a simpler, more modern image. The Latin motto is of course 'Victoria Concordia Cresit' which means 'Victory comes through harmony' - something that is as true today as when the motto was first introduced. Maybe a new motto of 'Don't let the referees grind you down Arsene' would have been appropriate this season.
Arsenal chairman Peter Hill-Wood also turned on the verbiage and insisted that the move was an attempt to combine the club's tradition with a forward-looking approach. "The new crest has been selected as it delivers the values of Arsenal in a clear and unique way. "But more importantly, it retains the traditional features such as the cannon and the shield which are synonymous with Arsenal Football Club. "I would also like to stress that this change is an evolution not a revolution. "We are not a football club that changes for change's sake. "We are extremely mindful of the special bond our supporters have with the present crest but are also confident that our supporters will be proud of the new design," Hill-Wood told Arsenal website Arsenal.com
Jim Thompson, brand director at 20/20, told BBC Sport Online: "Anything like this will be hard to accept at first because fans are always so passionate about their team. "But I believe that, given time, it will be seen as a much more exciting and dynamic badge than the current one. "This is about telling people that Arsenal are better and about being appropriate for the new stadium. "The old badge was state of the 1950s. "The new one needs to carry the tradition but also the values of Arsenal in the future as they will be competing at the very top of the game."
I don't think the new design is too bad but don't marketing men talk a lot of crap? Design just like fashion goes in circles and a quality design outlasts poor design. Just how good the new design is will be known until about ten years time but I'd bet big money that it won't outlive the timespan of our current badge. Personally my preferred design was the simple one used on our shirts in the early 70's whish showed a neat cannon and afc in little circles that looked like cannon balls. Now that was class.
Brian
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