“Marquette Gold” As a Brand

This would have been a good day to avoid going to church and having to hear all the jibes (admittedly good natured) about “Marquette Gold.” But there is one I have to pass along:

“Knock, knock.”

“Who’s there?”

“Marquette Gold.”

“Marquette Gold Who?”

“Exactly.”

The Administration thinks they can build “Gold” into a great “brand.” I would defy anybody to think of a great “brand” that started out as an object of universal derision. The ridicule takes on a life of its own, and the “brand” becomes a symbol of ineptness and incompetence.

Think Ford is ever going to come out with another Edsel?

The misbegotten “Golden Eagles” had eleven years to catch on. But it could never escape the stigma of being the insipid, cowardly name that replaced the beloved “Warriors.” When Marquette did a survey in late 2004 the reaction was something between contempt and hostility.

People still remember the Edsel, and urban legends from the 60s (like the notion that the song “Louie, Louie” has obscene lyrics). “Gold” will always symbolize a Marquette that was too craven to go back to “Warriors,” and too dense to ask students and alumni what they thought of “Gold” before they committed to it. It will forever symbolize both cowardice and ineptitude.