Orange County has launched its new county logo design as part of its wide-ranging efforts to attract more visitors to the region and enhance its brand image. However, the public immediately saw its resemblance to the smash-hit TV drama series “The O.C.”

Both logo designs share the same graphics and font. The difference lies on additional elements of the new Orange County logo like the small blue wave cresting and the tagline “Forever Summer”.

Admittedly, the brains behind the new Orange County logo believe using a similar looking logo is a smart move to extend the seductive “fun-and-sun image” popularized by this TV series to encourage tourists to visit.

The overall marketing direction is not to create a new identity but to “leverage existing perceptions” to its favor. Aside from placing the new logo on newspapers and hotel pamphlets, it will be seen on gateways sign of every entrance to the region.

Is there any trademark infringement? According to Orange County Tourism Council, the patent was cleared by a trademark expert. However, other trademark experts do not share the same sentiment. Unfortunately, “O.C.” trademark owner Warner Bros declined to comment on this issue.

via OC Register

This entry was posted on Monday, February 25th, 2008 at 5:13 am and is filed under Logo Design News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.