Reminded of this 2002 article from theooze while reading Phil Cooke's, Branding Faith in 2008. Why did he reference an article that's over six years old? It's still as applicable as it ever was. Want to understand the power of branding with spiritual undertones?
"If sport is the religion of the modern age, then Nike has successfully become the official church. It is a church whose icon serves as an allegory that formulates salvation in a special parabolical and symbolic language. The Swoosh is a window on the border between this world and the other, between your existing self (you overweight slob) and your Nike self (you god of fitness), where salvation is the attainment of the athletic Nietzschean ideal: no fear, no mercy, no second place.
The Swoosh is a true religious icon in that it serves as a representation of the reality and as a participant in the reality; you do after all, have to wear something to attain this special salvation, so why not something emblazoned with that Swoosh?"
More people worldwide can identify the McDonald's arches than the christian cross
http://books.google.com/books?id=51Oh15AvRQkC&dq=%2250+Facts+that+Should+Change+the+World%22Â++by+Jessica+Williams.&pg=PP1&ots=pAym4mWzEU&source=bn&sig=qlkaI9riCG8kOGDDZWHppuzLtFM&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=4&ct=result
Posted by: jake dockter | Dec 01, 2008 at 10:55 PM