"G" Whiz

Today in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Jim Stingl's column features an interesting article on a proposed overhaul of the Packers' iconic helmet logo from Charlie Radtke (pictured) of Milwaukee's own Phoenix Marketing Group:

Pitch for new Packers logo faces tough defense

The Green Bay Packers are not - I repeat, are not - thinking about changing their logo or tweaking the team colors.

But Milwaukee marketing executive Charlie Radtke believes it couldn't hurt.

"I think a little freshening up, a little face lift, might be a good idea," he said.

That's probably what Cher and Joan Rivers said in the beginning, too. I cautioned Charlie that this could be like depicting Jesus with a new hairstyle.

"I don't want to see torches and pitchforks, angry villagers, that kind of thing. It's just really an idea I've had for a few years," said the longtime owner of Phoenix Marketing Group, who is perhaps best known for the Sprecher beer logo.

He drew up some Packers designs and sent them to mostly sports writers and announcers. No one paid much attention until I called him back.

He asked me to let you see them. Feel free to tell me what you think. Or you can give feedback to Charlie directly at cradtke2@wi.rr.com.

Central to his idea is adding a B to the iconic G, which showed up on Packers helmets in 1961 and remains there today.

"The G that everybody is familiar with, it really doesn't stand for Green Bay. It really kind of stands for Green. Like the New York Giants don't have an N and the San Francisco 49ers don't have an S. They've got both letters on there," Charlie said, as we looked at his designs on the dining room table of his south side home.

Then there's the green and gold. Charlie would like to see a bluer green, something closer to the Philadelphia Eagles hue. And he favors a true gold over the current mustard, or, if you prefer, and I'm pretty sure you don't, baby-poop yellow.

Ron Wolf, the Packers' former general manager, proposed messing with the colors in the mid-1990s, but it went nowhere. You may know that the Packers used to wear blue and gold many decades ago.

The Lambeau Field denizens don't think anything is broken or in need of fixing.

"As you know, the logo is one of the most recognizable and passionately followed team logos in all of professional sports," said Packers spokesman Aaron Popkey.

Over the years, hundreds of fans and entrepreneurs have approached the Packers with ideas for new logos, colors, jerseys and products, he said.

Charlie is quick to point out that he's a Packer fan and well aware of the team's deep-down tradition around here.

"If the fans say no, absolutely not, I'll respect that," he said.

The video is here, and here are Radtke's three designs (click for larger):


So he wants fan response, does he? Well, this is as good a place as any. Please leave your comments, and I'll see what we can do about joining the conversation.

For my own part, I'm completely in agreement with Radtke on a few points, such as the single "G". "GB" just makes more sense. Of these, I'm rather partial to the bottom version, being the most similar to the current logo. It also fits the oval better - the other two have too much green space above and below, the initials not being fully integrated into the design. And is that middle one Copperplate?

I'd rather use the club's 1960s secondary logo as a springboard:

Hard to improve on Dad Braisher's original designs.

And while I've no problem with metallic gold replacing the athletic gold, I couldn't disagree more with changing the green. To my eye, the Eagles lost something when they moved from kelly green to their current ugly midnight-ish shade. There's an historical precedent for the Packers in bluish green going back to the 1950s, but forest green is a strong, bold color and ought remain.

So there you have it. Not opposed to a re-design, like the idea of using both initials, but not sold on these. But then again, take my opinion with a grain of salt. I'm probably the only Packer fan who was disappointed when Ron Wolf pulled the plug on his 1994 uniform redesign.