I have what feels like an unpopular opinion in the community…. I quite like the new Eurovision Song Contest logo.
I know, no one likes change, especially from a brand with so much nostalgia around it as the Song Contest, which is partly why everyone seems to be having a meltdown online. Formerly, I worked in global organisations, from banking to pharma (all the big, bad ones) in PR and marketing departments, specialising in social media management.
Early in my career, our head of department breathlessly delivered the ‘once in a career’ news that the global brand name and identity of our professional services firm was going to change. They handed over millions of pounds to an agency which rebranded us with an internal name we’d been using forever, kept the colours of the brand and just made some tweaks to create a new logo.
As it turned out, I’d do it all over again at a different company, so it was hardly a once-in-a-career opportunity; as we know with the EBU, change is the only constant.
Now it’s Eurovision’s turn, and I don’t work there, so I get to have an opinion.
The Appeal Of The Logo
Last year, there was new audio branding. Now it’s the big one, the all-important logo, dropped right at a time to enable us to all get used to it before the September 1st “new season” arrives
Compared to the logo we’re used to, I’ve seen a lot of people saying the new one looks ‘juvenile’… here, for example, and see the comments on this Reddit thread: “Use it for JESC“ Swap that pejorative term for ‘young’, and you’re on the money.
To have any longevity at all, this logo needs to appeal to Gen Alpha, those born after 2015, who are coming into their first Eurovision watching days when core memories are formed and the seeds of obsession are sown.
With more competition than ever from other platforms like TikTok, YouTube, online gaming and wherever else it is the kids are hanging out now, the EBU is leaning in to not only using the platforms, but mimicking the look and feel, so future fans will feel right at home.
At the same time, you don’t want to leave your established fan base behind. But trying to please everyone risks alienating all, and is in part responsible for the ‘design whiplash’ a lot of people are feeling, looking at the new logo.
Is it modern? Is it old-fashioned? Is it more like the ‘That 70’s Show‘ title? Utterly Butterly? Or like TikTok’s ‘note’? Certainly, the eurovision.tv homepage has a lot of text with curly bits, reminiscent of the TIkTok ‘note’ currently ; thankfully, minus the ‘3D glasses’ effect.
It’s trying to be everything to everyone, plus ‘reflect’ the long history of a brand, and that’s a risky strategy.
L Is For Logo, L Is For Liverpool
It makes sense that it’s PALS doing this. They delivered the Liverpool 2023 strategy, which neatly dipped the Eurovision Song Contest into the Instagram age with a saturated colour palette. Malmo’s Uncut added extremely Instagrammy gradients everywhere ‘in homage to the Northern Lights’ (insert my eyeroll here). Basel swirled the lights around and added hearts, keeping the aesthetic going. As an aside, for a fascinating summary of ESC branding through the years, see Dawn Creative.
Sometimes, when agencies come up with new brand concepts, you feel like they’ve had one idea and then they’ve chucked in a load of other ideas, rejected by different clients and kept in a drawer for reuse and re-rejection.
This feels very much like a custom idea that’s had some thought behind it and has been sculpted behind the scenes for some time. I’m not buying the ‘because we’re 70’ sentiment in the press release – this was going to happen at some point.
I suspect the new logo was already being worked on in 2022 as part of a whole brand redesign package, which is how we found our way back to PALS. A ‘brand evolution’ is a lot easier to land than a wholesale change, and to be fair, PALS did win an award for their work.
So here we are, same agency, years later, but by now, they’ve even designed not just the logo, but built the lettering out into the custom font. Calling the new font ‘singing sans’ makes me want to throw up in my mouth just a touch, but at least it’s easy on the eye.
Here’s Why It’s A Positive Change
The new ‘E’ is, for me, a massive improvement. Who writes an E like a sideways M? It felt old-fashioned at best, and a mock Disney font at worst. I don’t know if the EBU were worried about being sued or if there was an internal movement to stop us all being mistaken for Disney adults? While it works for me, I am aware that a lot of people on Reddit disagree.
The previous logo was supposed to look hand-written. The problem is, Gen Alpha don’t really write – why bother, when you can type on a digital surface – so it probably makes sense to move away from that style.
I believe it is easier to read and, therefore, could be better for accessibility as well. While a logo is less about ‘reading’ and more about recognition, if they want to use the font as an actual font – and it seems like they do – it’s an important aspect.
Having ‘Eurovision’ and ‘Song Contest’ in the same font is much cleaner. Let’s be honest, the recent arrangement is a bit messy – we’re just accustomed to it. And no one likes being shouted at, so losing the all-cap SONG CONTEST feels good, too.
Finally, I know people are complaining that ‘things keep changing’. Apart from that being life, this is just another puzzle piece in a brand evolution.
But The Heart Remains
The Eurovision heart, something we’ve grown to love and is staying in the new logo – was brought in in 2004, and has practically stayed the same ever since—hardly a constant change.
Remember when the logo and all the branding used to change every year? Nightmare. As I learned working in global organisations, there’s a lot of value in a global, recognisable brand – and almost all of them will evolve over time, to appeal to new generations – otherwise a brand will die out.
If I’ve not convinced you that this isn’t the end of the world, think of all that merch with the old logo on they’ll want to offload for cheap, and you can prove your long-term fandom by sporting your old stuff for years to come. Congratulations, you’re retro, but also living in the present! Just like the new logo.