Monday, July 2, 2012

Crazy Like a Fox or an Evil Wizard

I live in Southern California, which has a large Spanish-speaking population.

Incluyendo mi esposa, por ejemplo.

So, Spanish-language television has a large presence here, and I have been seeing billboards for a  venture started this year by Fox Television: MundoFox.  Thirty-four stations around the country are signed up to carry its programming.  But I am puzzled by the logo.

When I saw my first MundoFox billboard I thought it was announcing the grand opening of a Target in Mordor. 

I realize the logo is most likely intended to look like the "on" button for an electronic device.  You know, in binary code 1 is "yes" and 0 is "no," so 1 = "on" and 0 = "off."  So Fox is announcing that it is "turning on" its Spanish-language network.

However, my initial association is with the much-more famous Target logo and the fiery eye of Sauron from the Lord of the Rings films.

And even though I know what the billboards advertise, that logo makes me curious less about watching futbol or telenovelas and more about whether I can buy orc-sized tube socks.

1 comment:

  1. I agree, the logo could be better. I'm not a fan of the red either. Reminds me of a stop sign. Are any red on/off buttons out there? The one on my laptop is green. Red usually warns us of danger, but it can also represent sexuality. Maybe that is why they chose red?

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