


The recent campaign of Bank of India had everything going right for it. Good layout, good headline. The job of image enhancement seemed to be on track till one's eye went on the logo. Not only is the logo bulky but what stands out like a sore thumb is that its translation forms part of the unit making it even more bulkier.
It is strange that advertisers translate brand names. How can one translate a brand when by definition a brand is nothing but a collection of physical and emotional associations. Hence, if a set of these associations needs to point to one direction, it needs to be unique.
A logo / brand should be independant of language. Cadburyrs, Nike, Addidas, Raymonds, Coca Cola may be written in english script but is still recognized by those who perhaps have high levels of discomfort with the english language itself.
Take the case of the brand Lux. Do women in smaller towns and village not understand it? I doubt.
The logo and brand name is to be looked at as a convert to curve image as against a collection of independent fonts. It is like a picture. One does not have to delve into its language.
Take for instance brand "Tantra". It is a sanskrit word written in english. That is the picture of the brand name, period. Further analysis is not called for in this case.
Lets look at some other examples - Nokia, Toyota, LG, Samsung, Hyundai, Benetton, Gucci, Pierre Cardin, Louis Vuitton, Nescafe, Nivea, Chanel, Lexus, Smirnoff. These are not words. They are brands. They cannot be translated. If you try to translate the language you end up changing the soul of the original brand.
In the case of Bank of India, the least the advertiser should have done was desist the temptation to translate the brand name. To stand tall on the brand pedestal, one can adopt a unique typography, a unique color, a unique layout etc but definitely not make an attempt to translate.
These smaller nuances of brand building makes it a challenging subject even for those who like to believe they have all the knowledge in brand building.
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