It’s not like anyone with half a brain cell in the A didn’t anticipate this: Brand Atlanta has lost its $8M funding from the city of Atlanta. I don’t know what it is with Atlanta and sinking money into huge public projects that eventually peter off into public ignorance, but I’m glad they cut the purse strings on this shit.
Unfortunately, signs of the red bullethole won’t be disappearing from public sight any time soon. The city paid for it, so you’ll still see it along the Peachtree Corridor, the airport, and probably a few family-friendly spots around the city. And should we receive some that stimulus cheddar Obama’s about to dish out, I can bet you a Chick-fil-A sammich that some of it will go back into Brand Atlanta depending on whomever our new mayor is going to be. Why you ask? I actually fleshed it out pretty well a few years ago:
You know, it’s been over a year now since the Brand Atlanta campaign released their universally panned “every day is an opening day” motto with their equally unimpressive logo…and we still don’t know what Atlanta is supposed to be. I hear people down here say all the time “Well I wish ________ was like New York.” And true, Atlanta ain’t New York. But then again, Atlanta ain’t Atlanta (at least not to all its residents). The residents divide this city more than any government or civic agency can, and I really think because of that, the city will never have a real tangible “something” that makes people say “Hey, this is Atlanta.” There’s Black Atlanta, White Atlanta, North Atlanta, South Atlanta, ITP, OTP, gay Atlanta, straight Atlanta (if that exists), and different levels of the city that are experienced according to your annual income. Aside from incredible traffic, Coca-Cola and citizens that hate their mass transit authority, what in the hell is Atlanta?
Now, over two years and $8M later, we still don’t know what Atlanta is supposed to be. But I can tell you what we look like – a city that is still trying to find it’s identity by buying up expensive shit. Georgia Aquarium? Check. Atlantic StationBETA? Check. New World of Coke? Check.
Brand Atlanta? Check, please.
Failed short-sighted marketing attempt aside, Brand Atlanta was good at one thing. It brought together a lot of people to a common source of hate, regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, or socio-economic class. Brand Atlanta, even with its lofty goals of empty togetherness, came off to regular Atlantans as nothing more than some business objective cooked up and shoved into the faces of those who weren’t having it. And the more the concept was built up and shoved around, the more it was ignored. Nice idea, but shitty execution.
You know the other title I was going with for this entry? A-T-Fail.
Whatever. You love it.
Don’t forget that I’m giving away 1000 free business cards and an 18″x24″ canvas print on my birthday (3/18) courtesy of UPrinting.com. Just leave a comment on the entry “Snooty Designers, Eh?” and follow the rules to become eligible.