I remember interviewing at Grady Britton in 1995. Marianne Banke, like many CDs in the Portland ad community, offered me a mix of encouraging and critical words.
Now that I’m back in Portland, I’m looking closely at all the shops again. Thankfully, there are many new ones, in addition to some old stalwarts. Which brings me to Grady Britton’s website and a meditation on their logo.
Griffins are the mythical offspring of the lion and eagle; part predator, part guardian. The ultimate combination of do-anything, get-anything-done creatures you want on your side, because they bring it with nobility, fearlessness and guts. They come from a time of knights and damsels, but they are beasts built for advertising today. Advertising with honor.
That’s an icon we can get behind. That’s our mark, for the way we believe advertising should be. We want those griffins in our castle.
I like to see that kind of thinking in a logo. But Grady Britton has more than thinking, they also have merch! Or I should say they did have merch, before selling out of this finely crafted belt buckle.
I’ll tell you what, let’s show some support for a new round of belt buckles. Are you with me? If so, say you’d like to purchase a Grady Britton belt buckle in the comments here. I’m confident they’ll meet our demands. That’s what good marketers do.
