I Should Really Charge For This Advice

Last weekend we did the long drive to and from the in-laws to celebrate Mother's Day. As my lovely wife has discovered the joy of gaming on the iPhone, a habit I encourage (anything to bring her back into the fold), I had some quiet time to think, which is typically not a good thing in my case as my mind is a dangerous place to wander alone. Anyway, while looking for things to distract me from the quiet and occasional cursing from my wife having issues with grenades or something, I saw one of my favorite logos on the side of a semi-truck, that of the Sherwin Williams people.



I'm all for tradition, and I understand that after 100 years, it's hard to consider rebranding (the current logo was, according to their site, creating in the late 1800s). Nonetheless, this...this doesn't jive with the current tree hugging, hippy vibe the country, nay the world, is currently embracing. In fact, I think this is possibly the least environmentally friendly marketing I've seen since the ill-fated Hummer campaign last year ("Sure the worlds running out of oil, but by then you'll be dead anyway. %#$@ the future." Wow that a bad idea.)

My complaint isn't even the slogan "Paint the World" (although that could use some work for sure). No, it's this image. I mean, we've all had it drilled into our heads that pollution is bad. A lot of us equate pollution with horrible stories of large corporations dumping chemicals into waterways, leading to frogs with extra limbs or rivers catching afire. Clearly, you guys are aware of these concerns, but I think it's time to finally commit and roll out a new logo. That or go ahead and come up with a slogan that matches the current image.

Might I suggest the one that comes into my head each time I see this: "Sherwin Williams - Buy our paint or we'll drown your world in a crimson bath of despair."?