LeBron James: Is His New Logo His Latest Public Relations Blunder?
LeBron James' new logo is out.
Look at the photo above. It appears on the corner of his shirt on his polo: It looks like an "L" with a "J" joined by a crown.
James has misjudged public perceptions a few times the past few months. Was this another case?
Inside are five reasons that say yes, five that say no, with an overall answer at the end.
No. 5: Yes, The Logo Doesn't Win Games
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Nike has yet to explain whether or not LeBron's new logo will actually contribute points, rebounds, or steals to the Miami Heat team.
Unless it does, the Heat aren't any better than their 8-7 record.
The only way LeBron's move to Miami would be justified is if the Heat won an NBA title. Actually, he probably needs to win several considering how much talent is on that team.
As of now, if the season ended today, the Heat would be a sixth seed: not the 73-9 team some thought they would be.
Critics will say that instead of doing advertisements and caring about the logo on his shoes, he should be focused on basketball.
No. 5: No, The Anti-Kobe
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It's ironic that LeBron's new logo would come out two weeks after the Kobe Bryant Black Ops commercial aired.
There was a great deal of criticism about Kobe for appearing in the violent video game, holding an assault rifle with his nickname on it.
That may have been completely overblown, but some people still didn't like it.
LeBron one-ups Kobe a tad for making news that is benign and not incendiary.
That's a start.
No. 4: Yes, What Should I Do?
3 of 11It's strange that Nike would resume their LeBron campaign so close to the "What Should I Do?" advertisement that hit the internet and television just a few weeks ago.
To some people (did you see the South Park episode where Cartman spoofed it?) there was even more "outrage" over that commercial than anything LeBron had done in recent months.
That is still fresh in some people's minds. So putting LeBron front and center again isn't necessarily a good idea.
No. 4: No: Corporate Marketing
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LeBron isn't "in the doghouse" with many people in the public because they think he's greedy: he actually took LESS money to go to Miami than he could have pulled in with other teams.
So reminding people that he gets millions from Nike for their over-$100 shoes isn't going to harm him.
In fact, it can go a long way to help him. Nike is the most popular sports apparel in the history of the world. In some ways, re-hitching his wagon to the Nike star is a good move.
No. 3: Yes: Managers, Agents, Marketers, Decisiond Makers
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LeBron may just be getting bad advice.
He may have been convinced that "The Decision" was a good move and that all the pomp and circumstance was important to make him look authoritative or whatever.
But it didn't go over well.
Releasing this logo may seem harmless, but it also displays the sort of self-importance that turned away many fans with "The Decision."
LeBron is supposed to be a team player who is most interested in distributing and getting his teammates involved. But the me-first image of your own logo takes away from that.
The conflict between his on-the-court personality and his off-the-court personality suggests that people in his ears are pushing him in a different direction, away from the arena.
No. 3: No, LeBron's Playing Well
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The Heat might be struggling right now with three straight losses, but LeBron has been pulling his weight, and then some. LeBron can't play all five spots on the floor.
Dwayne Wade was playing excellently....until he hurt his wrist and started really struggled lately. Chris Bosh started slowly, but has begun to post up bigger numbers.
But the rest of the Heat bench has been the biggest problem.
Ultimately, the number of titles that he wins will be how he is measured, but if he continues to play MVP-caliber basketball, there's not much more he can do to win a championship.
James is averaging 28 points and 6.5 assists per game in the past four games. He's reached the 20-point mark in each of the last 12 games and has several near triple-doubles to go with the one he recorded against Utah.
With all that he's been able to achieve, if he wants to put energy into a logo, maybe he has the right. If he was averaging 13 points per game, shooting under 40% for the season, and not contributing on defense (he has 26 steals and half-a-block per game this year), then maybe not.
No. 2: Yes, He's Not Jordan
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There isn't a more iconic sports merchandise logo than Michael Jordan's "jumpman" logo.
MJ's logo is certainly more famous than Tiger Woods'.
You could even argue that his personal logo is more recognizable than the Nike logo itself.
LeBron's new logo seems like an attempt to re-cast himself as the heir apparent to Jordan.
It feels a bit transparent and cheap. Especially with the crown in the left corner.
No. 2: No, He's Not Tiger Woods
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LeBron hasn't done anything immoral or illegal. That's important to remember.
Nike's other all-world ACTIVE spokesman, Tiger Woods, may not have done anything illegal either, but his scandal was actually a scandal. There were questions about morality and "value."
No matter what, that cannot be said about LeBron.
So in some ways, releasing this new logo helps him stand at the top of the Nike mountain (the entire sports marketing world in some ways) with Tiger. And next to Tiger, LeBron's "mistakes" seem benign.
No. 1: Yes, Timing
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As far as we know, Nike isn't hurting for dollars. And we know LeBron isn't either.
So it's a little bit surprising that this new LeBron campaign would come out now, at a time where the Heat are reeling with three straight losses.
A few other slides on this list debate whether the logo itself is a PR mistake: maybe it is, maybe it isn't. But either way, this isn't a great time for the Heat and for LeBron.
Sure, they may be trying to "flip the script" and draw attention away from the fact that the Heat are not doing well. But they could at least wait to do it AFTER the Heat win a game.
No. 1: No, It's a LOGO!!
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For a logo (at least not a logo that isn't violent or gross or sexually explicit) to be a public relations disaster, it would take a lot more than whatever is in LeBron's newest logo.
LeBron has made some bad PR moves this year: including some of his comments and "The Decision."
But to say that the new logo is a "disaster" is far too much of a stretch.
Analysis
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Look, there's a lot we can complain about regarding LeBron: "The Decision," the perception that he "played the race card", "The What Should I Do?" ad, never winning a championship, etc.
But releasing a new, completely tame, logo is not one of them.
And it's not like he spent weeks of his own time drawing it up, testing it in focus groups, purchasing the material. His play hasn't suffered so in his limited free time, he can do what he wants.
