[CR] Sauvage-LeJune and Humorous Badges

(Example: Framebuilders:Masi)

Content-Class: urn:content-classes:message
Date: Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:04:39 -0600
thread-topic: Sauvage-LeJune and Humorous Badges
Thread-Index: AcpqA4uTwcyi5A9XTuuG1jl5DU+9qg==
From: "Strickler, George M" <gstrickler@tulane.edu>
To: <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
Subject: [CR] Sauvage-LeJune and Humorous Badges


I agree that the head badge on the Sauvage bike, given current sensibilities, would not appear on a commercial product. At the same time the idea that the badge should/could affect the sale of a 40-year old bike is kind of bonkers. What I find striking about the logo is its cartoonish/humorous nature -wide-eyed black kid with the tri-color loin cloth. Bikes as well as other products are usually named for some person or animal or place or contest to make a unstated claim about the bike's characteristics: Gazelle, Tour de France, "Reg Harris Model" and on and on. I can think of no other example of a bike named and logoed (?) to make someone smile or laugh. Was this something about the age? Other examples?

George Strickler

New Orleans