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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Rebranding the euro: ad agencies pitch their ideas for a relaunch | Rebranding the euro: ad agencies pitch their ideas for a relaunch |
| (about 1 month later) | |
| The linchpin of Europe | The linchpin of Europe |
| The euro coin is not made of a single metal, but of several. Nor was the currency born to a single country, as with the dollar or the yen. It was born as an idea so that countries united only by geography might share a bond that would make them stronger. And that bond, that linchpin, is the euro. There may be another road, but this is the one we have taken. And in theory it seems a good idea, but like all good ideas that haven't been around for very long, it needs to be protected. The euro is the cornerstone – or rather the metal linchpin – of a united Europe. | The euro coin is not made of a single metal, but of several. Nor was the currency born to a single country, as with the dollar or the yen. It was born as an idea so that countries united only by geography might share a bond that would make them stronger. And that bond, that linchpin, is the euro. There may be another road, but this is the one we have taken. And in theory it seems a good idea, but like all good ideas that haven't been around for very long, it needs to be protected. The euro is the cornerstone – or rather the metal linchpin – of a united Europe. |
| Diluvia, Madrid | Diluvia, Madrid |
| Together we earn more | Together we earn more |
| In a crisis, your own finances become more important than keeping together a community. In Europe, countries have started making accusations towards each other and there is a fear that the eurozone might break up. Rich countries blame southern Europe for being financially imprudent, while poorer countries feel exploited by the richer ones. Everybody is tired of empty integration slogans. | In a crisis, your own finances become more important than keeping together a community. In Europe, countries have started making accusations towards each other and there is a fear that the eurozone might break up. Rich countries blame southern Europe for being financially imprudent, while poorer countries feel exploited by the richer ones. Everybody is tired of empty integration slogans. |
| We want Europeans to start treating the euro like their personal business. The slogan "Together we earn more" shows what the common currency is for, why it's worth keeping and it also presents the euro as a common strength and opportunity. | We want Europeans to start treating the euro like their personal business. The slogan "Together we earn more" shows what the common currency is for, why it's worth keeping and it also presents the euro as a common strength and opportunity. |
| Bartłomiej Serafiński, Maja Ganszyniec, Henio Klawe, Marcin Klaus, Marcin Krygier and Jacek Wiśniewski of Touch Ideas, Warsaw | Bartłomiej Serafiński, Maja Ganszyniec, Henio Klawe, Marcin Klaus, Marcin Krygier and Jacek Wiśniewski of Touch Ideas, Warsaw |
| Follow the bill | Follow the bill |
| The campaign is about using the euro differently, as a means to form a new group. Individuals would take part in this group by scanning the serial number of a euro note with their smartphone, signing it with a picture and a description of its current position. They can then follow the path of the note alongside others in Europe, and thereby become part of a new digital community initiated by the euro. | The campaign is about using the euro differently, as a means to form a new group. Individuals would take part in this group by scanning the serial number of a euro note with their smartphone, signing it with a picture and a description of its current position. They can then follow the path of the note alongside others in Europe, and thereby become part of a new digital community initiated by the euro. |
| Serviceplan, Munich | Serviceplan, Munich |
| Identity prints | Identity prints |
| The idea is to form a fingerprint with euros, as a sign of European identity. The slogan works slightly better in Italian than in English, because fingerprints in Italian are called "identity prints". | The idea is to form a fingerprint with euros, as a sign of European identity. The slogan works slightly better in Italian than in English, because fingerprints in Italian are called "identity prints". |
| Stefania Siani, executive creative director, DLV BBDO, Milan | Stefania Siani, executive creative director, DLV BBDO, Milan |
| The euro is overruled | The euro is overruled |
| At a time when 45% of French people think the euro is a handicap in the face of the crisis, and 40% of Germans want to return to the mark, rebranding the euro can't just be about a new slogan. We actually have to change the way it looks and give it a new symbolic look. Our euro has two lines at present – illustrating its stability, as the European Central Bank likes to say. But can't it be seen as a pale imitation of the yen and dollar? If we took one of those lines away, we get the Greek letter epsilon and go back to our ancient roots. That would give birth to a new symbol, mathematical and universal, which every schoolchild has drawn and will draw, a sign that in algebra means together. From € to ε. It wouldn't remove all the doubts, but rather take a line out of the euro than draw a line underneath it. | At a time when 45% of French people think the euro is a handicap in the face of the crisis, and 40% of Germans want to return to the mark, rebranding the euro can't just be about a new slogan. We actually have to change the way it looks and give it a new symbolic look. Our euro has two lines at present – illustrating its stability, as the European Central Bank likes to say. But can't it be seen as a pale imitation of the yen and dollar? If we took one of those lines away, we get the Greek letter epsilon and go back to our ancient roots. That would give birth to a new symbol, mathematical and universal, which every schoolchild has drawn and will draw, a sign that in algebra means together. From € to ε. It wouldn't remove all the doubts, but rather take a line out of the euro than draw a line underneath it. |
| Christophe Lafarge, head, Agence H, Paris | Christophe Lafarge, head, Agence H, Paris |
| Your money counts | Your money counts |
| Maybe the answer lies in refocusing European public sentiment back on to the very founding idea of the euro itself. If the original intent of a unified currency was to improve daily transactions between citizens and businesses and to safeguard against the kind of currency instabilities witnessed in the 1920s, it might be just the moment to remind Europeans everywhere of this original and laudable ambition. | Maybe the answer lies in refocusing European public sentiment back on to the very founding idea of the euro itself. If the original intent of a unified currency was to improve daily transactions between citizens and businesses and to safeguard against the kind of currency instabilities witnessed in the 1920s, it might be just the moment to remind Europeans everywhere of this original and laudable ambition. |
| The euro was launched under the slogan "Our money". Perhaps the feeling is that Europe's bankers and bureaucrats have taken this a bit too literally of late. Perhaps the thought could be reinvented as "Your money", the currency itself recast as the engine of daily transaction and not just the quantifier of deficit. | The euro was launched under the slogan "Our money". Perhaps the feeling is that Europe's bankers and bureaucrats have taken this a bit too literally of late. Perhaps the thought could be reinvented as "Your money", the currency itself recast as the engine of daily transaction and not just the quantifier of deficit. |
| By presenting the currency as the tool of centralised public investment and the lifeblood of private enterprise, "Your euro" can have its Keynesian cake and its Malthusian coffee too. | By presenting the currency as the tool of centralised public investment and the lifeblood of private enterprise, "Your euro" can have its Keynesian cake and its Malthusian coffee too. |
| All this, however, is always going to appear rather toothless without accompanying measures or initiatives designed to drive confidence and get consumers spending and having money to spend. Without these I might be recommending Brussels keeps its hands in its pockets. | All this, however, is always going to appear rather toothless without accompanying measures or initiatives designed to drive confidence and get consumers spending and having money to spend. Without these I might be recommending Brussels keeps its hands in its pockets. |
| David Howard, head of planning, Fold7, London | David Howard, head of planning, Fold7, London |
| How would you rebrand the euro? Tell us in a comment below or show us your designs by adding an image to our Flickr group. If you're not on Flickr, send your design to your.pictures@guardian.co.uk | How would you rebrand the euro? Tell us in a comment below or show us your designs by adding an image to our Flickr group. If you're not on Flickr, send your design to your.pictures@guardian.co.uk |
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