Trump’s latest trademark has people scratching their heads
Why did the company that files trademarks for Trump’s businesses file a trademark for something campaign related? Also in this week’s issue of the Yello newsletter:
Here’s the U.S. Space Force logo
Jon McNaughton made some curious choices in his new painting
Actually, the Washington Football Team’s rebrand is fine
Yours,
Trump’s latest trademark has people scratching their heads
Facebook video of Trump’s Wisconsin “telerally.” Credit: Donald J. Trump/Facebook
President Trump is trying to trademark “telerally.”
A trademark application for the word was filed earlier this month by DTTM Operations, LLC, a Trump holding company, and the application states that the phrase will be used for “organizing events in the field of politics and political campaigning.” Three days later, the Trump campaign held its first “TELE-rally,” targeting voters in Wisconsin.
What’s interesting about the trademark application, first noticed by intellectual property attorney Josh Gerben, is that DTTM Operations LLC handles trademarks for Trump business trademarks. According to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, they’ve filed trademarks for things like Trump hotels and a Trump fragrance.
Meanwhile, political trademarks are handled by Donald J. Trump for President, Inc., which filed for trademarks for phrases like “Make America Great Again” and “Keep America Great.”
It’s not clear why Trump went the business route to trademark a campaign phrase rather than file through Trump for President, Inc. The Washington Post noted that trademarking the word would allow Trump to stop others from using it or enable his company to license “telerally” for a fee, but the Trump Organization did not respond to questions.
Trump seemed to forget the word “telerally” during his telerally.
“I’m doing telephonic rallies,” he said. “We’ll call them the telf—… the Trump rallies, but we’ll do them by telephone.”
Here’s the U.S. Space Force logo
The U.S. Space Force unveiled its official logo last Wednesday, not to be confused with the USSF seal, which was already released back in January.
Both the seal and logo use a delta shape, inspired by past Army Air Force symbols. The difference between the two, though, is the seal is “a heraldic item that is protected by statute against unauthorized commercial usages and is for official use only, such as on letterhead for official correspondence, diplomas, and memorials approved by the Department of the Air Force,” Lynn Kirby, a U.S. Space Force spokesperson, told Yello in an email.
The new logo, however, “represents the public-facing brand identity of the Space Force and is used commercially, as well as in routine communications across all echelons of commands such as briefings, visual arts displays, program products, etc.”
The logo was released alongside the USSF’s new motto “Semper Supra,” or “always above.” The logo was designed by the Air Force’s creative partner GSD&M Advertising.
“Feedback from a broad demographic of service members and the general public was incorporated into the research and decision-making process that led to choosing the official logo and motto,” Kirby said.
In an explanatory blog post, the Space Force outlined the symbolism of the logo. Here’s what it represents:
The silver outer border of the delta symbolizes “defense and protection from all adversaries and threats emanating from the space domain.”
The black interior symbolizes the “vast darkness of deep space.”
The two-piece, silver, beveled element represents four other U.S. military branches helping the USSF’s space mission: the Air Force, Army, Navy, and Marines (sorry, Coast Guard 😔).
The spires near the point of the delta signify a rocket launch.
The four-pointed icon in the center represents the star Polaris to show how core values “guide the Space Force mission.”
On a related note, the Trump campaign is still selling Space Force branded items in its campaign shop in an apparent violation of Defense Departments guidelines against unauthorized fundraising off a military branch.
Subscribe to Yello for the latest news on the culture, branding, and visual rhetoric of politics, delivered each week:
“Enough of Trump” art campaign calls for Trump to be voted out
Credit: Hank Willis Thomas (left) and Shepard Fairey (right)
The progressive group People For the American Way has teamed up with artists for a poster series built around the theme “Enough of Trump.” Artists include Hank Willis Thomas, the co-founder of the civic billboard campaign For Freedoms, and Obama “Hope” creator Shepard Fairey (above).
Ed Ruscha, whose work hung in the Obama White House, did the below left “EE-NUF!” poster, while Carrie Mae Weems, who won the 2013 MacArthur “Genius” award, did the tan “Enough!!! Dump Trump Vote 2020” poster.
Credit: Ed Ruscha (left) and Carrie Mae Weems (right)
You can see the full 15-poster collection here.
Jon McNaughton made some curious choices in his new painting
Pro-Trump artist Jon McNaughton released a new painting titled “Legacy of Hope” inspired by a photo of Black supporters praying with Trump in February.
McNaughton surrounded Trump with historical Americans and made some curious choices, like including Abraham Lincoln and Robert E. Lee. The inclusion of Ronald Regan comes as the Reagan Foundation asked the Trump campaign and RNC to stop using Reagan’s name and likeness for fundraising this past weekend, but I’m sure for McNaughton’s fans, Reagan’s inclusion in the painting is just fine.
McNaughton tweeted that the painting represented an American legacy that the left is trying to remove. “As Americans, we share a LEGACY that should never be forgotten!”
Actually, the Washington Football Team’s temporary brand is fine
The team formerly known as the Redskins announced last Thursday it would temporarily rebrand as Washington Football Team. There’s no new logo or mascot, and some saw it as a cop-out, but personally, I think it was the right thing to do. A rebrand is a big deal, and if you can’t get it done in a condensed timeline, why force it? We call pro teams by their city or state name half the time anyways, so it’s not a bad move.
The Washington Football Team wordmark keeps the team’s burgundy and gold color palette and uses custom type for “Washington.” The spiked W in team colors is distinctive enough to be used on its own as a short-term logo and I wouldn’t be surprised to see its continued use after the team settles on a permanent name.
The new uniforms unveiled by the team have the wordmark on the front of the jersey and use the player’s number on the helmet.
Virgil Abloh’s tips for saving the world
Designer and Off-White founder Virgil Abloh contributed a design to a limited-edition t-shirt collection called Fearless Initiative by London-based retailer Dover Street Market.
The front of Abloh’s shirt reads:
watch the news cycle
understand the news cycle
insert idea
see what works
edit idea
insert new idea
It’s based on an Instagram post from Abloh back in May, but it’s missing a No. 7 step that appeared in the original list: live in a new world.
The t-shirt initiative includes 31 designs from various creators, and 100% of the proceeds go to charities in support of healthcare workers.