Ralphie’s Ralphing

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A very reliable source told our very reliable source that the University of Colorado is working hard on a rebrand of the school right now. It seems the ‘University’s image is not working for the University anymore.’ For those alums out there (especially those kicking their hard-earned cake up Boulder’s way), here’s where you’ll want to pay particular attention.

1. The CU logo and colors will change – the colors will be blue and something else.
2. The Buffalo will either change or go away.
3. This announcement will be around the end of the year.

If you can still see through your monitor after punching it, tell us your feelings on CU addressing their image problems with a rebrand of this magnitude. Please state whether you’re an alumnus or a casual observer.

Comments

  1. paul isakson March 23, 2008

    Wow. If this is true, it is a

    Wow. If this is true, it is a very sad day. I’m not an alumnus of CU, but I did grow up in Colorado and have always been a fan of the black and gold. There’s no experience in the world like growing up there, going to a football game and witnessing Ralphie run around Folsom just before the team takes the field. Especially when it’s vs. Nebraska.

    What’s most saddening though is that they think plastic surgery can fix the problems that lie inside. CU does have an image problem. But it’s not because of the school colors or logo.

    It’s from the debacle that was the football program being cast in to the national spotlight for the wrong reasons a few years back and then the school making headlines subsequently for other things you don’t really take pride in.

    Changing the logo and colors won’t do a thing. Their reputation will only change by doing things, not saying things or painting things a new color.

    A school’s reputation has nothing to do with their logo or mascot and everything to do with what they offer academically and the environment in which that offering is based.

    I hope this is one that turns out to not be true. Any money they spend on this is wasted and should be spent in areas that will really help achieve what needs to be done.

  2. Kat March 24, 2008

    I am a CU alum and think it’s

    I am a CU alum and think it’s pretty ridiculous that they would consider “rebranding” with new colors, mascot & logo. As far as I know they aren’t hurting for students and are still well respected for a number of academic programs.
    I don’t know what objective they’d try to be achieving with such a move.
    Of course the school has some image problems at this point. Consistently being ranked a top party school, having nationally known sex offenses, and tenured professors commenting that America deserved 9/11, it’s no wonder the Black & Gold is a little tarnished. But you can hardly blame Ralphie for that.
    Compared to other schools I think CU has a great logo, color, etc. They could do with updating the actual Ralphie suit, but I’d still take that over a Cornhusker, Rainbow, or a Duck.
    It seems to me it would be a much greater image problem to completely change the look & feel. The school would be such easy fodder for jokes from every sports commentator and rival school. And I can just imagine alumni feeling a little less loyal and shelling out fewer donations.
    And in a related tangent, I think it’s poor branding for universities to put out TV ads and the like. I’m not totally nieve to the fact that schools have an interest in making money, but I always cringe when I see a CU ad during a football game. It feels so reminiscent of ITT Tech or Westwood College.
    Unlike corporations, I think a university has a vested interest in not being accessible to everyone.

  3. Gregg March 24, 2008

    I am a graduate of CU. So

    I am a graduate of CU. So agree with the two posts above. The problem is systemic, not superficial. If this rumor is true, a cosmetic re-branding is like, as my Dad (God rest his soul) used to say, putting lipstick on a pig.

    That said, my cynical side detects a possible publicity stunt brewing here. Stay tuned.

  4. ? March 24, 2008

    Exactly. Publicity stunt.

    Exactly. Publicity stunt. It’s gotta be an f’ing joke. Especially the changing the mascot part. I could maaaaaybe see them getting rid of the sinister black color to diminish the image of CU players as villains (even though that itself would be pretty ridiculous). But if a total re-branding does take place, this alum’s school pride will be totally flushed down the toilet. Wait until Trey Parker and Matt Stone get ahold of this.

  5. Alan Bucknam March 24, 2008

    I think we should head on

    I think we should head on over to Robert Taylor’s studio, form a posse, and then head up the Hill and kick the ass of whatever nabob at CU is proposing this.

  6. Matt March 24, 2008

    A little early for April

    A little early for April Fools, isn’t it?

  7. Andy Bosselman March 24, 2008

    I’m with Matt, I can’t

    I’m with Matt, I can’t imagine this rumor being true.

  8. Jim March 24, 2008

    Heard the same tale from

    Heard the same tale from someone at CU. This is the first big move by Bruce Benson. Name will be UC instead of CU as well. Four generations of my family graduated from CU. Very sad, indeed.

  9. Artistic Mercenary™ March 24, 2008

    Yeah, I can’t imagine this

    Yeah, I can’t imagine this will actually come to fruition. And, technically, it already is UC because it’s the University of Colorado, but people all refer to it as CU anyway. I never understood why it was called CU other than it seems to roll off the tongue better than UC and avoids confusion with California schools.

    Personally I think black and gold is a terrible color combo (and CU’s official colors are silver and gold).

    But I agree with the other respondents, the image problem is systemic and this won’t fix it. Plus, the logo, the name, the colors…for better or worse those things are intrinsically connected to the University. To use the language of our industry that’s the University’s brand. You want a new marketing strategy? Fine, that makes sense, but don’t rebrand.

    Then again the people up Boulder way have always seen themselves as better than they are, so maybe CU will end up with a pretentious Ivy League wannabe mascot like a pine-tree. Do you hear me Stanford?

  10. Ad Girl March 24, 2008

    I graduated from CU in 2001.

    I graduated from CU in 2001. And, to be honest, I couldn’t care less if they change their ‘image’. There’s nothing sacred about the graphical representation of a institute of higher learning. It’s just a brand like anything else.

  11. Liz March 24, 2008

    I’m a 3rd generation CU alum,

    I’m a 3rd generation CU alum, and this is disturbing for a couple of reasons.

    First, that someone thinks changing the colors, the logo and the mascot will change an image problem that is the result of misguided leadership (and a football team run wild) is just sad.

    Second, things like the Black & Gold, and Ralphie running out on the field, and the buffalo are things with a tremendous amount of emotional investment, meaning, and connection with every single past student. Those are the things that you cannot buy, you cannot market, you cannot create. Those are things that take years to build.

  12. Liz March 24, 2008

    And didn’t they try changing

    And didn’t they try changing the colors in the 70s? To powder blue and something?

  13. eric March 24, 2008

    This sounds like lies to me.

    This sounds like lies to me. No way the school will change their colors. Chuck Fairbanks tried it from 1980-1982 and it was a joke. There is too much equity in the brand to change it, and I am not sure how it would help the image of the school.

  14. ? March 24, 2008

    Apparently, Ad Girl’s a huge

    Apparently, Ad Girl’s a huge football fan.

  15. Sjt March 24, 2008

    VERY DISTURBING…and

    VERY DISTURBING…and classifying your school as a brand is entirely absurd, for those of us that have pride for that matter…some things are sacred.

  16. Ad Girl March 24, 2008

    I probably went to 5 or 6

    I probably went to 5 or 6 games in my 3 years in Boulder so, no not a huge fan but it was a decent source of entertainment and an excuse to drink beer and have some fun with friends. However. I honestly can’t see the meatiest of meat heads being this sentimental about the colors and logo of a college football team. Because for me, the ‘emotional investment, meaning, and connection’ came from the relationships I made, classes I took, things I learned about myself & the world etc. No offense but… Ralphie means dick to me.

  17. SHEiMA March 25, 2008

    I’m a CU grad. And I think

    I’m a CU grad. And I think changing the colors and logo is a futile attempt to make the school look better.

    This is just like saying that BP is a ‘green’ company interested in the environment and not just some huge oil company trying to make a quick buck simply because they changed their logo from two letters to a green flower.

    Is there a PR firm holding the reigns to CU now? This is getting out of control.

    If this is the reality of the situation, I will no longer donate to the alumni association and would urge all other alumni to do the same.

  18. Randall March 25, 2008

    All brands change in time.

    All brands change in time. Some more than others. So why not CU? I would update the buffalo if anything.. Much like the Broncos did.. I seem to recall all kinds of unhappiness when that happened.. but they did have a dated logo.

    CU type block.. kinda expected and dated. The tilted version on the buffalo is better.. more progressive and overall the buffalo is modern-ish.. perhaps, they want to move to different look. Perhaps, they should do just a buffalo head instead of the entire figure?

    I’ve always been bugged by the tangent of the CU type touching the buffalo outline… it should come outside or inside of the outline…

    The question is.. who’s doing this re-branding? And how much are they paying for it? A Landor-ish 100K job? Somebody local?

    Randall

  19. Oliver Holmes March 25, 2008

    As a CU alum (undergrad &

    As a CU alum (undergrad & law), I will
    NEVER (I really mean it) give CU another dime if they even try and do any of these changes. Welcome to the Benson era (which will be as productive and competent as the bush regime has been).

    I speak with people from all over the country on a regular basis, and almost all are aware of Ralphie and they all think how wonderful it it to have such a distinctive mascot.

    As for the colors, CU is to black and gold, as Nebraska is to red and white. CU is Ralphie and Black and Gold.

    What’s contemplated next, changing the fight song (how about naming rights for the song?), or corporate cash infusion for the ability to visit students in dorms to sell “offer” them credit card solicitations, etc.

    If there is ANY truth to this, there will be a much bigger fight by the Buff Club, and others that will make bruce the buffoons confirmation seem like a ladies tea party.

  20. Ralphie March 25, 2008

    yup. it’s time for me to go

    yup. it’s time for me to go to that big prairie in the sky, people. it was fun while it lasted.

    see you at Ted’s Montana Grill.

    randall… nobody is saying an update wouldn’t be cool. they’re saying don’t completely change the identity of the school.

    the broncos didn’t completely change their colors, mascot and logo. all they did was darken the blue, update the horse and have nike give them some much needed new uniforms. it’s not like they’re pink and teal now and are going by the Colorado Flamingos.

  21. Mitch March 25, 2008

    I’m a CU Alumni and I can’t

    I’m a CU Alumni and I can’t believe this is happening, if it is in fact true. These colors have been with us for years and if the school thinks they can change the image of CU, well… they are going to do more harm than good.

    DOWN WITH CHANGE!

  22. Mike King March 25, 2008

    This has to be a joke /

    This has to be a joke / ridiculous rumor.

  23. M. Douglas Wray March 25, 2008

    This is NOT SO. More details

    This is NOT SO. More details to come from CU shortly.

  24. Michael L. Warden March 25, 2008

    This rumor is entirely false.

    This rumor is entirely false. The writer has UC Denver’s current naming/branding campaign confused with CU-Boulder. UC Denver (created with the merger of the University of Colorado at Denver and the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in to a single campus) is considering proposals and designs for a new logo for the newly renamed campus.

    You can read about it in the UCD Chancellor’s message to his campuses at:

    http://www.ucdhsc.edu/chancellor/naming.htm

    Michael Warden
    Associate Vice Chancellor for Strategic Communications
    University of Colorado at Boulder
    “Ralphie Lives – Go Buffs!”

  25. M. Douglas Wray March 25, 2008

    This rumor is entirely false.

    This rumor is entirely false. The writer has UC Denver’s current naming/branding campaign confused with CU-Boulder. UC Denver (created with the merger of the University of Colorado at Denver and the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in to a single campus) is considering proposals and designs for a new logo for the newly renamed campus.

    You can read about it in the UCD Chancellor’s message to his campuses at:

    http://www.ucdhsc.edu/chancellor/naming.htm

  26. Isaac Hinds March 25, 2008

    Apparently this board has

    Apparently this board has more influence and readership then many might think. This story showed up in a gossip column of the Denver Post.

    Ralphie on the ropes?

    An editorial in Denver’s ad-biz website, thedenveregotist.com, says a “very reliable source” claims that the University of Colorado is planning to rebrand. Insiders say the CU logo and colors will change, the Buffalo will change or go away, and this will all happen at the end of 2008.

    The responses, as you can imagine, are not enthusiastic. “Pretty ridiculous putting lipstick on a pig . . . publicity stunt . . . a little early for April Fools, isn’t it?”

    — http://www.denverpost.com/husted/ci_8684937

  27. The Denver Egotist March 25, 2008

    We did something dumb and

    We did something dumb and trusted a reliable source with some extremely unreliable information. In fact, this reliable source was so unreliable that he didn’t realize CU had two separate campuses – and that the rebranding is taking place in Denver. Well, at least we know where CU alums stand on the topic of Boulder’s brand. Consider this our retraction of the post. Long Live Ralphie!

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