9/15/2011

Japan Tourism Agency unveils new marketing logo

Those fun-loving PR pros at the Japan Tourism Agency unveiled their newest marketing slogo and logo for “Cool Japan”…

However with the recent never-ending aftershocks, the tsunami and the triple meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear power plant, perhaps this logo would be more apropos …

Last year the Japan Tourism Agency came up with a better (although still rather boring) slogan and logo…

In response, this got posted…

The above slogans were in response to what the 3Yen reported on The trouble with “Yokoso Japan” (3Yen / 2007-07-17). That counter-intuitive marketing slogan had the rather obvious problem that non-Japanese tourists had no idea what Yokoso (welcome) meant.

Posted by Taro in Business News, General | 3 Comments »

DID YOU LIKE THIS ARTICLE? Bookmark it:

- Tell a friend

Your Ad Here

3 Responses to “Japan Tourism Agency unveils new marketing logo”

MARKed TRAIL Says:
September 15th, 2011 at 2:45 am
That “Japan Next” logo looks like the loopy lovechild of the flags of Bahrain and Greenland.

Bahrain

+

Greenland
George A. Says:
September 16th, 2011 at 7:00 pm
That looks like a comet strike is what is going to be “Next” for Japan. :-o
Wall Street Journal (via Taro) Says:
September 17th, 2011 at 1:44 pm
Sheee-it, he’s responsible for the swarmy SMAP logo too!

The Creative Mind Behind ‘Cool Japan’
– Japan Real Time – Wall Street Journal online | Sept. 16, 2011.

INTERVIEW with—Kashiwa Sato is the face behind many of Japan’s most famous designs — from the logos for Fast Retailing’s casual-clothing chain Uniqlo to artwork for Japan’s popular boy band SMAP …

JRT: Did you conceive of the “sun” as the symbol from the beginning?

KS: Not really. Several ideas and many approaches were under consideration…but I suppose this idea in particular resonated from the start.

JRT: What are the spikes on the sun supposed to represent?

KS: Speed and lively motion – it shows the people of Japan combining forces and moving together as one.

JRT: How does this project rank in comparison to your other achievements?

KS: Well, all I’ve done is come up with the logo and message. Whether it becomes a “masterpiece” depends on how it will be applied. Symbols are only as effective as how well they are used. I look forward to see how this logo will be used, like if it be branded on “Cool Japan” goods, I think it is only then that the message of “Japan Next” will begin to be understood.

Before you can determine whether a project turned out well or bad, you need to see how it is molded after the fact. For instance, I believe the Uniqlo logo became a strong brand because Uniqlo worked hard (to create the brand). The same goes with the National Art Center, SMAP and others

…more…