The PGA of America (not to be confused with the PGA Tour) unveiled a new logo yesterday, ahead of the upcoming Ryder Cup. As you can see above, the new design is basically a simplified version of the old logo.
They also launched a new slogan, which has been giving me fits. See if you can tell why:
If you’re a professional copy editor or an amateur policer of prose, then you know that “this” should have been capitalized, making the slogan “We Love This Game.” (I’ll explain why in a minute.) But hey, that’s just a sign — maybe the slogan is styled properly on the official logo graphic, right? Nope:
The uncapped “this” also shows up in the title and the end graphic of this 30-second promotional video:
Not only that, but the launch announcement for the new logo and slogan features multiple iterations of “We Love this Game” — all styled with the uncapped “this.”
Why is this so irksome? Because “Love” and Game” are capitalized, which means the slogan is rendered in what’s known as title case — the style used for book titles, song titles, many headlines (including those on this website), and so on. While various style guides can differ slightly, it’s generally agreed that after the first word, which is always capped, all subsequent words in title case are capitalized except conjunctions (and, or, but), articles up to three letters long (the, a, an), and prepositions up to three letters long (in, off, on). Anything over three letters is capped, including a definite article like “this.”
But hey, don’t take my word for it. Just dump the words “we love this game” into a title case generator (there are several of them on the internet). It comes out as “We Love This Game.”
Title case errors usually involve “is” (which should always be capped because it’s a verb but is often mistakenly left uncapped because it’s only two letters) and “it” (which should always be capped because it’s a pronoun, again despite being just two letters). So you’ll see titles or headlines like “The Thrill is Gone” or “Let it Be,” both of which are wrong (and incredibly distressing to those of us attuned to such things, like fingernails on a blackboard). But I don’t think I’ve ever seen something in title case with “this” left uncapped. It’s such a strange error — I’m surprised it made it all the way through the approval process.
And who is responsible for this calamity? The slogan and its accompanying marketing campaign were developed by Omaha Productions, the company founded by Peyton Manning. I looked through their website to see if there were any other title case errors, but almost all of the display type is rendered in all-caps (which is certainly one way to avoid title case errors).
Well, at least it removes the doubling up of the word professional.
Beat me to it. That was strange.
I don’t like the bare-bones new rendering, either. Why does the ratchet always turn toward simpler is better, I.e., there’s too much fin
too much fine detail in Pat Patriot; it must be simpler, can’t see it from a distance, and so on. I read that a lot here.
The ratchet turns towards simpler now because simpler is cheaper. Our society is so hyper obsessed with efficiency that complex = bad. Unfortunately.
Fortunately, simpler logos are easier to DIY.
The version with “Professional” under it isn’t the main logo, but an icon that is used to indicate that a person is “a PGA professional.” It is found on desk placards, shirts, bags, etc., belonging to members of the PGA. But, for example, the version on a splash screen for the PGA Championship would not include it.
Proper version, without “Professional,” now swapped in.
Yep, copy editors are going the way of telegraph operators. Newspapers used to be considered the epitome of grammar, style, spelling, punctuation, etc. But ever since most of them dumped their copy-editing staffs, they churn out the kind of writing that would get you a C– in grade school.
I Love this Site!!!!!!
I Love This Site: A UniWatch Adventure
Uni Watch is two words ;)
I Need A Copy Editor, Too
Grammar notwithstanding, that new logo is a major, MAJOR downgrade.
I don’t like it at all, but I wonder if it’s a way to emphasize “this.” “We love *this* game.” It certainly makes “this” stand out, which may have been the point. If so, there clearly were better ways to achieve that goal. It’s disappointing because you’d expect a sport built on tradition to honor traditions, even in formatting.
I Hate This Logo and the Capitalization Error
The logo is boring, but so is golf, so I guess it works…
The Converse shoe mat is cool, but I’m curious about the “sizing.”
The chart seems to just be for childrens’ shoes, yes? Going from toddler to little kids to big kids (I think that’s how that works). link
Do I have that correct?
Yes, more or less.
Actually the one confusing bit for me is that the shoe mat doesn’t specify mens or womens sizes. Converse has gendered sizing but the sizes are off by two sizes. I can wear M10 or W12, they’re identical shoes.
Once you find your size, the chart doesn’t tell you whether its M or W sizing.
But do kids shoes have gendered sizing?
At the smaller sizes – I don’t know.
On the right side of the chart – getting towards 7 – yes.
A pair I’ve had my eyes on is only available in M3/W5, both of which are clearly on the chart.
link
I’ve never understood women’s vs. men’s shoe sizing. I’m supposing it’s a marketing thing but is there something deeper I’m missing? A foot that measures the same whether male or female shouldn’t matter, right?
Funny, I was just getting my notes ready to teach an online Adobe InDesign class. There is a “Title Case” option for text, but no “Headline Case.” IT just capitalizes the first letter of every word. The crazy thing, the name “InDesign” loses the capital D in title case.
Paul, I’m curious your thoughts on the Oxford comma. We were taught to use it when I was in school. I’m a huge proponent of it, although I seem to be in the extreme minority. The classic “eggs, toast and orange juice” versus “eggs, toast, and orange juice” is the best example I can think of for why it is so necessary.
Very much in favor of it. Always use it here on Uni Watch (and in all of my writing).
This is my go-to example of why the Oxford comma is necessary
link
I’ve always thought that Oxford Commas would be a fun team name.
I guess the PGA just watched some old NBA “I love this game” ads from the 90’s to come up with that.
Thanks for sharing the link to Title Case Converter. Fun tool, love it!
I’m going to guess they’re going to excuse this for some “storytelling” nonsense, where “Love” and “Game” are capitalized for emphasis on those particular words.
Very unusual choice to use lower case for that one word.
I feel like this should have been the focus of the tag line, differentiated this in some way to emphasized it (as a person might speak the phrase). “THIS” should be all caps, bolded or italics, maybe a different font or color?
As a corporate copywriter and editor, I come across these title case differences often. One that I see a lot is “with” in lowercase. I follow the style rule (AP) that says prepositions over three letters are capped. Also “to” in the infinitive form is also capitalized. It’s not when used as a preposition.
Of course it depends on whose style you’re using. AP writes “Gone With the Wind.” Under the Chicago Manual of Style rules it’s “Gone with the Wind.” Yes, it can be very aggravating.
Glad to see someone else appreciates proper title case!