Spoiling Your Work With Brand Partnerships

Insa has done some great gif work in the past, turning murals into internet art that boggles the mind. Sadly he decided to ruin all of that by producing this ad for Kettle One vodka which will now be forever linked to his aesthetic in my mind. While this is obviously a personal opinion that many people wouldnt agree with, I find it hard to imagine why an artist who takes years to develop an aesthetic, an identity, brand, or style, would allow that said identity to be linked to a very specific commercial object.  I just cannot imagine that the compensation is worth the permanent association that your artwork becomes for so many people. Ahh fuck it lets hit the bar.

NEW YORK CITY’S BIKE SHARE IS SORT OF SHADY

While I am a full supporter of the bike share program in NY, having made good use of similar programs in other European cities, New York's share is shaping up to be a branded nightmare. You might say that branding the bike share program is the only way we can afford it, to which I call bullshit, but I would like to suggest another version of the share program still sponsored by Citi Bank. Why doesnt Citi bank give the city 41million to start the program and leave the damn bikes unbranded, make it very clear that they donated the money and have no plans of splashing their gaudy logo over everything. Then they can sit back and watch as the world applauds their actions and willingness to help NY altruistically resulting in a better business client relationship and a less obtrusive bike share program for all. 

VIA Animal NY

The mayor’s office recently announced its plan to install 10,000 bicycles at a total of 600 bike share stations throughout the city in July, and yesterday, the look of the bike share was revealed. They’re basically electric-blue Citibank ads on wheels. Citibank invested $41 million in the bike share program, to be called “Citi Bikes.” More [Here]

Boris Johnson's London Cycle Hire scheme flogs our birthright to Barclays

London's long-awaited cycle-hire scheme is launched this week. While there's no doubt it's a valuable addition to the capital's public transport options, it strikes yet another blow to the idea of London as a dignified city. First of all, there's the name. Paris has the Velib, Montreal has the Bixi; what does London get? Barclays Cycle Hire. Clearly the good people at Barclays marketing thought long and hard about that one.

Maybe it's not worth getting too wound up about the name – selling the rights to popular institutions is unlikely to make anyone who watches, say, the Barclays Premier League or the Npower Championship even blink. What is new, however, is the prospect of more than a hundred kilometres of the capital's road surface being branded with corporate livery. The city's new dedicated cycle lanes – two of which recently opened, with another ten to come before the Olympics – are called "Barclays Cycle Superhighways" and painted Barclays blue. More [Here]