Atlanta: Branding & Web Stupidity
First, let me just say that I happen to really like Atlanta. I have visited the city a few times and enjoyed every minute of it and am looking forward to returning.
Ok, now, with that out of the way.
What the hell is up with the utter crap new theme song that Atlanta tax payers paid for? You will eventually be able to download it from BrandAtlanta.com. Yup, there is an Atlanta brand. They seemed to have broken their store implementation. It assumes that cookies are disabled on first visit and claims you have to have cookies enabled “for security reasons”. Huh? (To their credit, the company that built the site is extremely responsive — I received a personal response to my bug report within an hour of sending the initial message).
In short, it is a throwaway hip-hop track with bad vocals. No melody. Nothing to remember. Generic enough that they managed to produce a symphonic and a blues version to reach a larger audience. I like good hip hop. This is not good hip hop.
Where the music makes you drop to your knees
Yeah. If I were a citizen of ATL, I’d be dropping to my knees in despair of the notion that people are going to associate Atlanta with this craptastic music.
Sounds like an act of desperation. Honestly, I have no idea of the state of Atlanta’s economy. I think Flint, Michigan tried something similar after the car companies fled town. Didn’t go so well.
Silly. I can’t stand it when the bloody marketeers take something good and try to water it down to make it “more appealing” to a “broader market”. Same reason it is nearly impossible to find a jalapeño with any spice on the East coast.
November 15th, 2005 at 8:38 pm
Is it getting that much attention nationally? Oh lord.
I don’t think this was an act of desperation, as much as one of those “Good Ideas” created by a business development group with more money than sense. I’ve heard bad rumblings about the city (and county, since Atlanta is basically Fulton County) government, but never experienced much of it personally because I live outside the Perimeter (what they call the beltway around here).
December 31st, 2005 at 10:35 am
I know much has already been made about the new Atlanta branding campaign, but I feel compelled to enter my two cents, albeit several months after the initiative has gotten underway.
I can’t believe such a dull, drab logo emerged from this multi-million dollar endeavor. First, the swirl looks like a hurricane - and after 2005, how many people want to be reminded of anything closely resembling a hurricane? The font type the letters spelling Atlanta looks like nothing more than a hip hop club name, and using nothing but red couldn’t be more dull and lifeless.
I am embarrassed that yet another attempt to show ourselves to the world has fallen short. And the slogan - “every day is an opening day” ? What are we? A city of plays? A city of baseball teams? Just what is opening day? This is a good example of Las Vegas’ slogan being very apropos - “what happens here, stays here”. Lord, I hope that this slogan, it’s horrible logo and the idiots behind them stay right here and the world never finds out!!
Mike Waters