Military raked by critics online after unveiling new army logo
The Canadian Army learned some valuable lessons Friday: art is in the eye of the beholder and it pays to be precise, even on social media.
The military faced a huge backlash online after unveil‐ ing a new logo for the army on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
The post led many to be‐ lieve that the service's official emblem was being changed.
The Department of Na‐ tional Defence proactively is‐ sued a statement expressing regret for the confusion and clarifying that the traditional emblem will remain the same.
"The Canadian Army has not changed its official logo," said DND's senior communi‐ cations adviser Alex Tétreault in a media statement.
"We remain proud of our official emblem - which re‐ mains two crossed swords, three maple leaves and a roy‐ al crown."
The new logo, launched with a slick video, shows the camera rolling through a mesh of camouflage netting, where brown and beige pix‐ els reform under a tan maple leaf into a jagged puzzle on one side with a drooping, oblong extension on the oth‐ er.
The response on social media was instantaneous and largely negative. Many people said they didn't know what to make of it and won‐ dered what it represented; others denounced the re‐ branding, thinking the tradi‐ tional emblem was being changed.
It also didn't take long for the memes to arrive. One de‐ picted a man under a maple leaf hugging the behind of an enthusiastic moose.
DND insisted the new lo‐ go is not for everyday use.
"The icon launched today is a supplementary design that will be used in the bot‐ tom left corner of certain communications products and in animations for videos," said Tétreault.
"This icon comes in addi‐ tion to our official logo - and is meant to coincide with the launch of a new camouflage pattern: the Canadian Dis‐ ruptive Pattern Multi-Terrain (CADPAT MT)."
The army is in the process of revamping its camouflage uniforms.
The defence department statement goes on to explain the intent and the reason for the colour pattern, but does‐ n't say what the shape is sup‐ posed to represent.
Some social media posts described the logo in artsy terms as "provocative." Oth‐ ers described it as a Lego moose, as well as "sloppy" and "ugly."
The rebranding was an inhouse exercise, the depart‐ ment said.
"The icon was developed without additional funds or involvement of external com‐ panies," said Tétreault. "It was developed by DND's in‐ ternal graphic design team, and this icon comes at zero expense to the taxpayer."