I have some bad news. Deep breath, designers. Here it is:

The Nike logo isn’t the greatest mark ever created.

There, I said it. I feel better, but chances are you disagree with me or are slightly uncomfortable with my blasphemy. Now don’t get me wrong, it’s a quality mark, but in my humble opinion it is certainly not the end-all, be-all in corporate identity.

Why is it so popular then? Three reasons; (1) Nike sells quality products and good looking products to boot, (2) their advertising rocks, and (3) Nike’s brand equity has been well managed. If Nike sold toilet brushes on late-night TV via shoddy homemade style commercials with a guy in a bad suit shouting tired slogans, I doubt as many people would be drooling over the swoosh.

So now you might be saying, “Ok, point taken, but why do you think it’s lame, logo-critic?!?!” Well, I don’t think it’s lame. I just don’t think it’s that great, and here’s my reasoning:

1. Shouldn’t a mark communicate something about the entity it represents? I think so. (Nike’s doesn’t)
2. Without the mountains of advertising would you know what the swoosh represents? (You wouldn’t)
3. It’s a glorified check mark. (Old news)

Note: I’m typing this as I wear my Nike shoes and prepare to run this evening with my Nike watch. I simply feel as if the logo has been elevated to stardom through quality brand management versus the merit of the mark itself.