UK Conservative Party logo ($80k!)

While I'm not normally one to follow English politics very closely, when I come across an article about a logo design project that merited a payout in excess of $80,000... well, let's just say it piqued my interest.

Turns out the logo was redesigned last year, and is only back for a 're-treatment' this year. I read around abit, not enough to pass for local in a pub, just enough to see that the Conservative Party (the Tories) seem to be trying to convince the voting public to view them as a 'less harsh' and no longer a 'nasty party' as one source is quoted.

Well, "$80,000 is a small price to pay to win the hearts and minds of the voting public", I thought as a read on. After all, millions upon millions of dollars are spent in American elections. But, even with a fancy ($80,000 worth of fancy) new logo, and matching 'nicey-nicey' marketing, the Tories still seem to be having a bit of trouble convincing the masses.

The retreated logo maintains the shape of the contreversal new logo design, but contains an image of a blue sky, a few clouds and cheery sunshine with-in the scribbled tree shape. (see below)

Again, all the recent chatter is in regards to the retreated logo above, but I just had to check out the old logo and compare it to the new logo to see what $80,000 buys these days. So I did a little digging and here's what I found.

The Telegraph, a leading British news source said...

[exceprt from The Telegraph.co.uk: The Tory Oak Tree Turns Blue ]

Designers were paid £40,000 ...(thats about $81,100 US at the time of the post)... last summer to replace the torch with the oak tree logo, which party officials said it represented ``strength, endurance, renewal and growth'' while underlining Mr Cameron's environmental credentials.

The torch had been criticised as resembling communist iconography - a charge the party had denied.

The old Conservative Party logo is indeed more hard lined, consisting of a vector style line rendering of a bold, darkblue arm thrust forward,  a torch clasped in it's hand, with  red flames trailing back with the force of the logos momentum. A very powerful motif depicting power, a hint of righteousness and indications of forceful forward momentum. (see below left)

The new Conservative Party logo lacks the weight and the energy that the original logo had. It consists of a 'scribbled'/'brushed' shape of a tree, a large mass of green limbs and foilage, atop a strait blue trunk that extends to a flat blue base. While the imagery of an oak tree can indicate strength, stability and growth, the rudimentary way this is drawn seems more fitting for a children's cause, than to a political party. (see above right)

Is a logo that rekindles positive sentiment and re-engages a lost audience worth $80,000? Certainly! Was this logo worth $80,000....

I'm not so certain.