European Commission embarrassed by logo error
After the fiasco with the Olympic logo last year, I'm starting to wonder if we've seen the end of cool logo design ideas. Gone are the classics, as these days they either look like Simpsons characters performing lewd acts, or ressemble other marques so closely that they have to be canned -- as is the case with the proposed design for a new EU wide organic logo.
The already contentious design, which would have been compulsory on all organic packaged products produced in the EU, has had to be scrapped after it was realised it was too similar to the organic logo used by discount supermarket Aldi.
Richard Jacobs, Chief Executive of leading UK organic certifier, Organic Farmers & Growers (OF&G) said the last-minute ditching of the planned symbol was a farcical situation which could be costly for processors and retailers. "We have gone from a situation where we found out at very short notice that this would be implemented from the beginning of 2009, to a state where our licensees and others are having to put the brakes on preparations they were making for the introduction of the logo".
According to a number of sources, the Commission is now planning to run a competition in the summer for any citizen of the EU to submit designs for a new organic logo. It will be asking the Council to delay the introduction of the new symbol until 2010. At present, individual member states are responsible for certifying and labling their own produce.
