03 October 2008

Is it just me or is this an incredible piece of marketing genius?

Not the campaign itself. I'm not part of the "green machine" that is trying to reverse global warming (which may or may not actually be happening).

Don't get me wrong. I know humans have a negative impact on the environment. We shouldn't be spewing excess fumes into the atmosphere or burying toxic waste in the ground. But I also believe that the earth is on a limited time schedule in and of itself.

When sin entered the world it wasn't only something that impacted the human race. It also impacted the physical earth. We went from the Garden of Eden in all its perfection to an imperfect world with temperature change, seasons, rainfall (after the flood) and natural disasters stemming from new-found environmental instability.

A theory I find fascinating suggests God allowed the earth to shift slightly on its axis during or just prior to the flood. This could account for the seasons we now endure, the redistribution of water during the flood and then the freezing of the waters into polar ice caps after the flood.

Undoubtedly changes like these would have a lasting impact on the planet and over time lead to deterioration and eventual failure.

Why would the earth be any different than a vehicle you buy? It starts beautiful, eventually gets scratches and dents and then rusts out and is replaced.

All because of sin...

Get Off Your Soapbox!
Sorry...back to why this marketing strategy stands out to me as profound. The easiest way is to show you graphically:

I'm sure you saw it already. I mean it isn't every day that you see a "w" that looks like that. So my OCD mind wants to turn the "w" into an "m" to keep the font/typology correct.

Now I looked all over the website to see if they mentioned this or in some way described the logic behind the logo. But I could find nothing. Still brilliant! A campaign to get us all working together (we) but with the understanding that each of us needs to take some responsibility for his or her actions (me).

Reminds me of one of my favorite logos of all time.

At first glance you eyes only see the letters. But look closer and you'll see a shape formed by the proximity of two letters. By placing the "Ex" in just the right way with the edges touching - a white arrow is formed between them.

Excellent! FedEx stands for quick and reliable shipping. And the arrow is the perfect visual representation of that.