Stella Artois “Recyclage De Luxe” Campaign
September 28th, 2009
Designer: Cristiana Couceiro for Mother London
Client: Stella Artois
Date: 2009
Wow. We’ve posted Cristiana Couceiro’s work before — and even then we were certainly, well, familiar with her source material. The piece was a part of her personal portoflio, and we wrote it off as a collage/homage to one of Canada’s most recognizable logos. This time, however, it looks as if Couceiro has used the CBC logo for actual client work — for Belgian beer brand Stella Artois.
Now, one could argue that Couceiro is simply using a series of red and yellow concentric circle segments that just happen to look like the CBC logo — were it not for the fact that if you look at the piece we posted in March, you’ll see a definitive slice in the right side of the central circle, creating a ‘C’ (note that the slice is no longer visible in the Stella work). Definitely a dead ringer for Burton Kramer’s iconic ‘exploding pizza’ CBC logo.
Ironically, the Campaign title is “Recyclage De Luxe”, and the message below it reads “Our cans are made of 50% recycled aluminum”. But I can’t seem to find “and our campaign was created using 50% recycled logos” anywhere.
[UPDATED: This campaign was created by Mother London for Stella Artois and has been appearing throughout the London Underground.]
-John Ryan
- filed under absolutely “Not Canadian” –
Entry Filed under: Graphics,Illustration,Logo,Not Canadian
11 Comments Add your own
1. Bob K | September 28th, 2009 at 22:31
Was this photo taken in France or is it a Canadian campaign?
“…and our campaign was created using 50% recycled logos”, perfect.
2. Darcy McGee | September 28th, 2009 at 23:16
Heard about this on As it Happens tonight. At the time I hadn’t seen it. Seeing it makes me even more…disgusted. Even the colour scheme is the same.
What _surprises_ me is that anyone who would call themselves a “designer” would do something so clearly, blatantly and badly derivative. I hope Stella pulls the campaign. I know I”m not drinking it anymore.
3. John Ryan | September 29th, 2009 at 06:17
Good question Bob, to clarify, it’s a campaign created by mother london, and is currently running at tube stations in the London Underground.
4. Dave | September 29th, 2009 at 06:43
I love it. I hope they don’t get sued. So gorgeous.
5. John Ryan | September 29th, 2009 at 08:04
@Dave No doubt it’s gorgeous. Though it helps when you’re working with gorgeous source material.
I think what’s got people rankled (or, at least, what’s got me rankled) is that the CBC logo is both fundamental to the design and yet completely superfluous. It’s a solid concept for a campaign (the beer can extruded from the hood of the car) that could stand on it’s own, yet the addition of the deconstructed CBC logo is what gives it all its flourish.
If it’s the details that make the campaign pop, then don’t you think the details should be at least somewhat original? The fact that the illustrator has gone to the effort of removing the gap in the C illustrates that they know where the source material is coming from, and have tried to conceal it.
The strange thing is, this campaign would have had huge impact in a Canadian market (for better or worse) — where the logo has serious cultural resonance, and its use fits perfectly with the theme of “recyclage”. Yet, in its current form and context, it’s misconstrued as the illustrator’s expert hand creating unique and original ornaments for a solid bit of campaign imagery.
As for suing, as of right now the CBC’s Jeff Keay says, “people are currently looking into the situation…but no law suits are suspected [sic] at this point.” (http://bit.ly/75I6M)
6. Lindsay | September 29th, 2009 at 08:07
Unbelievable. CBC needs to make them pull the campaign. What a bald ripoff! I wonder how many of the thousands of Canadians visiting and working in London have been startled by these ads, because to a Canadian they don’t even make sense. Not much of a Stella drinker anyway, but the campaign turns me off the designer.
7. John Ryan | September 29th, 2009 at 08:13
That being said, I’m conflicted, as it really is a great bit of work. Had it been something abysmal such as this (http://bit.ly/M9mT8 c/o Inside the CBC), or this (http://twitpic.com/83o2b c/o @laurenlgmarch) it would have been easy to raise the pitchforks and light the torches. But ultimately, I quite like it.
8. Dave | September 29th, 2009 at 11:27
I agree that is superfluous but in beer advertising…often it is about lifestyle and sex appeal that works best. For men and for women. A rip off? Yes. No idea? Agreed. Sexy as hell? Damn right.
9. Joe | September 29th, 2009 at 18:39
Cristiana’s previous work showing the CBC logo used without even covering up the line to make the “C” removes any doubt that this could be an accident.
Cristiana your work is elegant and beautiful, however this is completely shameful.
The ads should be pulled, Kramer/CBC should be compensated.
10. Jibbidy | September 29th, 2009 at 19:46
Gosh, I do hope this ends up on Have I Got News For You.
Let’s make a huge fuss and get Canada some free advertising back on Blighty.
11. James | October 2nd, 2009 at 07:12
Stella Artois is a Belgian beer brand (Inbev S.A.) not French.
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