Some see sperm in town’s new logo
Some people claim that the new logo in a north Devon resort town looks like a sperm.
The resort town of Ilfracombe in Devon needed to rebrand the tourist area with the hope of giving it new appeal in tough economic times. Yet some people say the rebranding effort went astray with a swirl over the “i” that too closely resembles a sperm.
The town’s Web site was busy with responses to the new logo, created by Fresh Bread Marketing. One blogger stated: “How on earth did they miss the sperm. On the plus side, they could always market themselves as England’s most fertile town.”
Ilfracombe has been noted as having very high levels of teen pregnancy, leading some to believe that the logo was designed with a double meaning.
However, the marketing company’s Tessa Martin said that no one had said anything about the resemblance of a sperm during the logo’s launch party.
“People have their own interpretations and see it in different ways, but it was always meant to resemble a fish or the aerial view of the harbor,” said Martin. “Some people have said it looks like an ice cream, but only one or two people have complained.”
A town council member, Paul Crabb, defended the town’s new logo. “The squiggle is what your mind’s eye makes of it,” said Crabb. “It’s a way of making us feel fresh and vibrant.”
Another council member, Andrea Beacham, told the BBC that the council was excited about the attention the new logo was nationally getting.
“We’re quite laid-back about the sperm references,” Beacham told BBC News.
“We’re not a stuffy town and the logo was always intended to have a hint of humor as well as curiosity. Ilfracombe is undergoing a re-birth and regeneration with such new opportunities as the Ilfracombe to Swansea ferry link, so it fits quite well.”
The council has described the rebranding as “encapsulating Ilfracombe’s fascinating and appealing attributes into one logo, strapline and brand that reflects and reinforces the distinctive essence of Ilfracombe.”
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Vicky Harper on Sat, 28th Nov 2009 5:04 pm
I can not believe the negativity of the logo of Ilfracombe, surely we have not and can not believe that a logo of a dolphin can represent teen pregnancy!!!! What about the problems of antisocial behaviour and drunkeness can we blame those on a dolphin logo too? Maybe parents should look at the type of films and games consoles our teenagers are looking at before we shift the blame. Ilfracombe needs a new start and a new beginning and if some people feel the need to critisise well so be it we all have a right to our opinion, but maybe it is wise to look at the bigger picture as I believe the rebranding is fresh and vibrant and modern helping the local people to have a better and more prosperous future within family tourism.
harry on Mon, 7th Dec 2009 10:48 am
Well done Vicky, you have now told lots of people there are problems with anti social behaviour and drunkeness in ilfracombe! Why on earth do you think people are blaming the logo for teen pregnancy? The issue is that a reporter has picked up on the sperm angle and linked it to teen pregnancy, so now anyone who sees the ilfracombe logo will link it to that story.
Not great for a tourist resort.
I think the branding looks cheap and tacky, as does everyone without questions I have spoken to. It doesn’t feel friendly, only childish. It didn’t make anyone smile, only laugh at how awful it looked. These are people the town is supposed to be attracting.
The logo seems to be used really big in the guidelines and on some window displays that looks really corporate with lots of nasty gaudy colours. In short, it’s really poor. The marketing company clearly don’t know what they are talking about with talk of ‘idiosycratic swirls’ which just sounds like bullshit.
Some say Ilfracombe doesn’t need branding at all, certainly not before they do the town up a bit. I went there last year and it looks shabby. Shame as it’s in a beautiful area.
Logo’s aren’t magic. They wont make the town look better. They wont make the town more popular, they will just get it noticed If people have nothing to do when they go or they think it looks nasty they wont come back. The branding could do more harm than good.