Superbowl XLIX aint got nothing on the Cricket World Cup 2015 when it comes to total viewership.
America’s most watched TV program drew in a cool 114 million viewers for the annual championship game. The Cricket WC15 match between India and Pakistan on the other hand, drew in a ginormous billion plus viewers. Let that sink in for a moment.
Played by 14 teams from across the world, cricket has come a long way since its first World Cup was held in 1975. It’s got a passionate fan base, TV sponsors, multifaceted advertising campaigns and more, making it one of the most prime time events in 2015.
Even though the first cricket World Cup was held in 1975, it was not until 1978 that cricket became ripe for a marketing blitzkrieg, thanks to the arrival and influence of the Kerry Packer World Series. You see, cricket was considered a gentleman’s game both figuratively and literally – a serious and somber game played by gentlemen in white uniforms by both teams.
The Kerry Packer World Series, first held in 1978, heralded a revolution. Suddenly there were colored team uniforms, matches taking under floodlit stadiums, an atmosphere full of frenetic energy and enthusiastic crowds in the stands.
Finally, in the memorable 1992 World Cup, the showpiece event finally debut its first official tournament logo design, a trend that continues to date. These logos have enhanced the marketability of cricket and served to highlight the cultural design trends from the world cup host nations.
We take a stroll down memory lane, observing how the world cup & championship logos represented the host nations and the era they took place in.
First up we have the 1992 World Cup, the first tournament to feature colored uniforms and a logo.
1992 was a simple time, ways away from the explosion of the internet and social media of the later years. The logo designers of that time created a simple yet elegant logo which would be super imposed on TV screens and print media effortlessly.
If one looks deeply at the logo, it would appear that the design subconsciously ends up projecting the tropical character of Australian and New Zealand territories, both host nations of the 1992 edition of the world cup.
But the biggest reason why this logo continued to be popular was this – it looked awesomely cool on the team jerseys. And dare we say there has never been a better collection of world cup team jerseys than ’92.
If this wasn’t a branding masterstroke, then we don’t know what is!
The 1996 edition of the world cup was co-hosted by 3 nations in the subcontinent – India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. The logo design of this world cup looked like a hastily put together hodge-podge of cut outs. The only reason why we know it’s a cricket logo is because of the presence of a batsman. Uninspired design choices punctuate this logo, which is why it doesn’t evoke any feelings of nostalgia from the viewer.
The earlier World Cups were largely held by the host nations, with the cricketing authority, the International Cricket Council (ICC), having a mere peripheral role in them. Starting from 1999, ICC had an expanded role as you can see in the title of the logo.
Since the ’96 logo featured a batsman, the logo designers decided on a bowler this time around. Indian bowler Debashish Mohanty was used as the official inspiration for the design. His tall and lanky frame coupled with a fast-paced bowling action caught the eye of ICC higher ups. The logo designers studied his bowling run up, graphically reconstructing the end of his ball throwing action with the help of stylish and disparate brush strokes. The multicolored brushstrokes represented the diversity of the world cup, with 12 teams from all across the globe participating.
The logo design was universally applauded for its simple yet highly stylized approach to the game of cricket.
South Africa, Kenya & Zimbabwe, a triumvirate of African nations, hosted this edition of the World Cup. The logo succeeds because with its simple use of a Zebra stripe and a yellow colored eye, it gives off an adventurous safari vibe. Just a cursory glance at the logo design for the 2003 WC is enough to tell you it’s being held in the African continent. It effortlessly highlights the African continent’s most identifiable and marketable point, attracting tourists and fans to the tournament and to partake in the natural flora and fauna of the region in the process.
The 2007 World Cup logo design is rich with symbolism and spirit. It perfectly captures the Caribbean lifestyle, with what appears to be a man running with a bat and dancing to the beats of calypso as it is. The maroon color is a nice call out to the threads worn by the West Indies team. No colors look out of place as the blue represents the ocean (since West Indies is an island nation) and the green represents the famous Caribbean coconut trees. It’s connected to a tree trunk, which, upon closer observation, easily doubles as the wicket on the cricket ground, thanks to the ingenuity of the logo designer. Any way you look at it, this logo is oozing with personality, something that a professional custom logo design firm can offer you.
Designed by the Australian firm Witekite, the logo design for the 2011 WC wins big points on high concept and simplicity both. The logo depicts a colorful cricket ball that exudes a sense of color, movement and action. Look at little closely and you will notice people and players forming on the cricket ball. All in all, the logo represents the sub-continental nations of India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh coming together to welcome supporters to the showpiece event.
Last but not the least, the WC 2015 logo incorporates indigenous design features from the countries it is being held in – Australia and New Zealand. The logo makes artful use of Maori and Aboriginal motifs, coming together to portray a batsman playing a masterstroke.
So whats your favorite WC logo? And why? As a designer, where do you draw the line when it comes to inspiration vs imitation?
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