What fictional evil has great corporate branding?
November 20, 2007 1:09 AM Subscribe
What fictional evil has great corporate branding? I'm knitting myself sweaters and want to use the merchandising logo of fictional and cinematic dystopian/corrupt/evil corporations or organizations.
A few examples I've thought up with a great deal of satisfaction:
Black Mesa from Half Life
Aperture Science from Portal
Umbrella Corp. from Resident Evil
uNorth from Michael Clayton
Three Bees from The Constant Gardner
I'm really interested in a fully-realized brand identity, not just any old evil corporation/organization. Ideally they'd have a nice little logo design and have short names, since it'll look better knit. It takes forever to knit up sweaters, but patterning out different logos keeps me really excited about them. Thanks!
A few examples I've thought up with a great deal of satisfaction:
Black Mesa from Half Life
Aperture Science from Portal
Umbrella Corp. from Resident Evil
uNorth from Michael Clayton
Three Bees from The Constant Gardner
I'm really interested in a fully-realized brand identity, not just any old evil corporation/organization. Ideally they'd have a nice little logo design and have short names, since it'll look better knit. It takes forever to knit up sweaters, but patterning out different logos keeps me really excited about them. Thanks!
Complex Corporation from Kevin Smith films, with a particular emphasis on its evil nature in Dogma.
posted by Riki tiki at 1:34 AM on November 20, 2007
posted by Riki tiki at 1:34 AM on November 20, 2007
Zorg Corporation from The Fifth Element. Sorry, I can't do links from my current location.
posted by michswiss at 2:03 AM on November 20, 2007
posted by michswiss at 2:03 AM on November 20, 2007
Sure you can. Just type <a href="URL HERE">LINK TEXT HERE</a>.
posted by grouse at 2:10 AM on November 20, 2007 [7 favorites]
posted by grouse at 2:10 AM on November 20, 2007 [7 favorites]
Zomcon from the zombie flick Fido.
The Ankh-Morpork Assassin's Guild from Discworld (they have a coat of arms).
Conglom-O from Rocko's Modern Life -- has a great logo: A martini glass holding a miniature Earth with a toothpick through it.
Cyberdyne Systems -- the corporation that built SkyNet in Terminator.
Momcorp from Futurama.
zOrg from The Fifth Element.
Virtucon -- Dr. Evil's company from Austin Powers.
posted by hjo3 at 2:17 AM on November 20, 2007
The Ankh-Morpork Assassin's Guild from Discworld (they have a coat of arms).
Conglom-O from Rocko's Modern Life -- has a great logo: A martini glass holding a miniature Earth with a toothpick through it.
Cyberdyne Systems -- the corporation that built SkyNet in Terminator.
Momcorp from Futurama.
zOrg from The Fifth Element.
Virtucon -- Dr. Evil's company from Austin Powers.
posted by hjo3 at 2:17 AM on November 20, 2007
NERV from Evangelion. I was thinking of sticking the logo on the end of a scarf, but I realized that by the time I finished, it would be summer again.
posted by betweenthebars at 2:24 AM on November 20, 2007 [1 favorite]
posted by betweenthebars at 2:24 AM on November 20, 2007 [1 favorite]
CyberDyne from The Terminator movies. We actually used this as our team name in a college business-marketing simulation course and got away with it.
posted by allkindsoftime at 2:32 AM on November 20, 2007
posted by allkindsoftime at 2:32 AM on November 20, 2007
Can not remember the name right now, but the company Joe works for in Joe Versus the Volcano.
posted by vagabond at 2:36 AM on November 20, 2007
posted by vagabond at 2:36 AM on November 20, 2007
...missed it in hjo3's answer, sorry.
How about US Robotics from I, Robot?
posted by allkindsoftime at 2:39 AM on November 20, 2007
How about US Robotics from I, Robot?
posted by allkindsoftime at 2:39 AM on November 20, 2007
Manpower Incorporated, the slave cloners in the Honor Harrington universe.
posted by Bruce H. at 2:49 AM on November 20, 2007
posted by Bruce H. at 2:49 AM on November 20, 2007
US Robotics from I, Robot
They're not evil in the book.
posted by spasm at 2:52 AM on November 20, 2007
They're not evil in the book.
posted by spasm at 2:52 AM on November 20, 2007
Acme from Looney Tunes?
posted by misozaki at 3:04 AM on November 20, 2007 [1 favorite]
posted by misozaki at 3:04 AM on November 20, 2007 [1 favorite]
The Goliath Corporation from Jasper Fforde's Thursday Next series of books.
posted by Nugget at 3:55 AM on November 20, 2007
posted by Nugget at 3:55 AM on November 20, 2007
Spectre - James Bond movies
Kaos - Get Smart
Alternative Tentacles - not evil or fictional, but a cool logo, probably with guilt about copyright implications.
Sorry I can't do links, lazy.
posted by Tixylix at 3:58 AM on November 20, 2007
Kaos - Get Smart
Alternative Tentacles - not evil or fictional, but a cool logo, probably with guilt about copyright implications.
Sorry I can't do links, lazy.
posted by Tixylix at 3:58 AM on November 20, 2007
Globex Corporation - From the simpsons episode with Hank Scorpio.
posted by milarepa at 4:05 AM on November 20, 2007
posted by milarepa at 4:05 AM on November 20, 2007
The bicycle thingee featured in The Prisoner?
posted by Gungho at 4:21 AM on November 20, 2007 [1 favorite]
posted by Gungho at 4:21 AM on November 20, 2007 [1 favorite]
Initech. Truly the most evil place possible.
posted by Thorzdad at 4:21 AM on November 20, 2007 [4 favorites]
posted by Thorzdad at 4:21 AM on November 20, 2007 [4 favorites]
The Decepticons (Transformers)
Bad Wolf (Dr Who)
Cobra (GI Joe)
Slytheryn (Harry Potter)
The Empire (Star Wars)
posted by nalyd at 4:25 AM on November 20, 2007
Bad Wolf (Dr Who)
Cobra (GI Joe)
Slytheryn (Harry Potter)
The Empire (Star Wars)
posted by nalyd at 4:25 AM on November 20, 2007
Fictional Intelligence Agencies - might be worth a look at some of these.
posted by adamvasco at 4:27 AM on November 20, 2007
posted by adamvasco at 4:27 AM on November 20, 2007
Dunder-Mifflin from The Office
posted by DoctorFedora at 4:53 AM on November 20, 2007 [1 favorite]
posted by DoctorFedora at 4:53 AM on November 20, 2007 [1 favorite]
Last Exit To Nowhere has t-shirts that are precisely this, e.g. Thorn Industries (Damien), Tyrell (Bladerunner), Omni Consumer Products (Robocop), Weyland-Yutani (Alien).
posted by caek at 5:54 AM on November 20, 2007 [3 favorites]
posted by caek at 5:54 AM on November 20, 2007 [3 favorites]
Surprised nobody has mentioned Andrew Ryan's Rapture yet. Rapture is where Bioshock takes place. Ryan Industries is the name of the company-its VERY well branded.
I am Andrew Ryan and I am here to ask you a question:
Is a man not entitled to the sweat of his own brow?
No, says the man in Washington. It belongs to the poor.
No, says the man in the Vatican. It belongs to God.
No, says the man in Moscow. It belongs to everyone.
I rejected those answers. Instead, I chose something
different. I chose the impossible. I chose…
Rapture.
—Andrew Ryan: ruler of the city of Rapture in the game
posted by neilkod at 6:00 AM on November 20, 2007 [1 favorite]
I am Andrew Ryan and I am here to ask you a question:
Is a man not entitled to the sweat of his own brow?
No, says the man in Washington. It belongs to the poor.
No, says the man in the Vatican. It belongs to God.
No, says the man in Moscow. It belongs to everyone.
I rejected those answers. Instead, I chose something
different. I chose the impossible. I chose…
Rapture.
—Andrew Ryan: ruler of the city of Rapture in the game
posted by neilkod at 6:00 AM on November 20, 2007 [1 favorite]
The WESAYSO corp from Dinosaurs!
Oh, and Enron of course.
posted by TomMelee at 6:00 AM on November 20, 2007
Oh, and Enron of course.
posted by TomMelee at 6:00 AM on November 20, 2007
A better image for the Weyland-Yutani, which is also my person fave.
BTW, awesome question cowbellemoo!
posted by JaySunSee at 6:01 AM on November 20, 2007
BTW, awesome question cowbellemoo!
posted by JaySunSee at 6:01 AM on November 20, 2007
The Tyrell Corporation from Blade Runner. After all, they're all for the idea of synthetic slaves (and the termination of such).
posted by filmgeek at 6:02 AM on November 20, 2007
posted by filmgeek at 6:02 AM on November 20, 2007
Libria from Equilibrium (the film) - that "T" symbol. You can also use Tetragrammaton Council if you get ambitious, as well as Prozium (the drug they produced that everybody took to stay in check). I'm pretty sure the lead cleric invented the gunkata too, so you could use that image of two guns, one pointing up and one down, with "gunkata".
posted by cashman at 6:04 AM on November 20, 2007
posted by cashman at 6:04 AM on November 20, 2007
The Guild Of Calamitous Intent from the Venture Bros.
posted by waraw at 6:11 AM on November 20, 2007
posted by waraw at 6:11 AM on November 20, 2007
U-North from Michael Clayton (the movie)
posted by notswedish at 6:11 AM on November 20, 2007 [1 favorite]
posted by notswedish at 6:11 AM on November 20, 2007 [1 favorite]
Please post pictures when you get them done - they sound awesome!
posted by i_am_a_Jedi at 6:16 AM on November 20, 2007
posted by i_am_a_Jedi at 6:16 AM on November 20, 2007
Response by poster: caek & fire&wings: Perfect! I'm totally making a Sulako hoodie.
lou: I just finished the series (and movie) and never noticed that at all! Wonderful!
neilkod: I'm a big bioshock fan. I even printed out the city motif (on the loading screen) to convert into a knit pattern, but rejected it for being too complex. I can't believe I didn't think of Ryan Industries or Fontana Futuristics!
posted by cowbellemoo at 6:19 AM on November 20, 2007
lou: I just finished the series (and movie) and never noticed that at all! Wonderful!
neilkod: I'm a big bioshock fan. I even printed out the city motif (on the loading screen) to convert into a knit pattern, but rejected it for being too complex. I can't believe I didn't think of Ryan Industries or Fontana Futuristics!
posted by cowbellemoo at 6:19 AM on November 20, 2007
Destro, from GI Joe works for "Extensive Enterprises"
posted by Wild_Eep at 6:22 AM on November 20, 2007
posted by Wild_Eep at 6:22 AM on November 20, 2007
BigAnt from William Gibson's two latest books is morally ambiguous. I don't know if that counts. I think certain people could see what they do as evil.
posted by zennoshinjou at 6:39 AM on November 20, 2007
posted by zennoshinjou at 6:39 AM on November 20, 2007
Silver Shamrock Novelties from Halloween III: Season of the Witch.
posted by misteraitch at 6:49 AM on November 20, 2007
posted by misteraitch at 6:49 AM on November 20, 2007
Yoyodyne Propulsion Systems from Buckaroo Banzai.
posted by anansi at 6:53 AM on November 20, 2007 [2 favorites]
posted by anansi at 6:53 AM on November 20, 2007 [2 favorites]
One of my law profs had a t-shirt with the firm name and logo of the law firm from the television series Angel, I don't remember what it was called though.
posted by Salamandrous at 6:58 AM on November 20, 2007
posted by Salamandrous at 6:58 AM on November 20, 2007
Clamp Enterprises, from Gremlins 2.
posted by Faint of Butt at 6:58 AM on November 20, 2007
posted by Faint of Butt at 6:58 AM on November 20, 2007
TCRI, a front corporation for unsavory aliens, from the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic. (See issue #4, pages 13 and 14–15. ) But it's perhaps not an especially inspiring logo; wear it only to make a somewhat obscure reference, I guess.
posted by yz at 7:00 AM on November 20, 2007
posted by yz at 7:00 AM on November 20, 2007
Great question, great suggestions. I thought of Tyrell Corporation too: "more human than human."
Odd thing is, there may be a real one.
P.S. I think Yoyodyne has to be credited to Pynchon.
posted by Clyde Mnestra at 7:08 AM on November 20, 2007
Odd thing is, there may be a real one.
P.S. I think Yoyodyne has to be credited to Pynchon.
posted by Clyde Mnestra at 7:08 AM on November 20, 2007
Yoyodyne Corporation (presumably the propulsion company's mothership) appears in The Crying of Lot 49 along with the "trystero" symbol, a horn logo visible in the link.
While I can't recall a logo being described for "The White Visitation" -- sinister British paranormal researchers from Gravity's Rainbow -- some kind of school crest might be fitting.
posted by Paddle to Sea at 7:13 AM on November 20, 2007
While I can't recall a logo being described for "The White Visitation" -- sinister British paranormal researchers from Gravity's Rainbow -- some kind of school crest might be fitting.
posted by Paddle to Sea at 7:13 AM on November 20, 2007
Prescott Pharmaceuticals
The Penny-farthing from the Prisoner
posted by adamrice at 7:21 AM on November 20, 2007
The Penny-farthing from the Prisoner
posted by adamrice at 7:21 AM on November 20, 2007
Check out Conglomerated Baddies: The 22 Most Evil Corporations in Movie History, a four-part series with clips from Nerve's Screengrab blog. Not mentioned above:
Engulf & Devour from Silent Movie
Soylent Corporation
Energy Corporation from Rollerball
Connex from Syriana
posted by mediareport at 7:25 AM on November 20, 2007 [1 favorite]
Engulf & Devour from Silent Movie
Soylent Corporation
Energy Corporation from Rollerball
Connex from Syriana
posted by mediareport at 7:25 AM on November 20, 2007 [1 favorite]
i don't know if they have logos, but...
several kurt vonnegut books feature something called the ramjac corporation;
frank herbert's dune had a "choam company."
the company (name forgotten) in total recall which would provide you canned memories of your vacation to mars.
posted by bruce at 7:27 AM on November 20, 2007
several kurt vonnegut books feature something called the ramjac corporation;
frank herbert's dune had a "choam company."
the company (name forgotten) in total recall which would provide you canned memories of your vacation to mars.
posted by bruce at 7:27 AM on November 20, 2007
Can't find a decent image of the logo itself, but Hudsucker Industries.
posted by middleclasstool at 8:44 AM on November 20, 2007
posted by middleclasstool at 8:44 AM on November 20, 2007
Redshift Limited from Delany's Nova.
Barrayaran Imperial Security from Bujold's Barrayaran series (they're not really evil, just awfully sinister.)
M&M Enterprises from Catch-22
posted by jet_silver at 8:46 AM on November 20, 2007
Barrayaran Imperial Security from Bujold's Barrayaran series (they're not really evil, just awfully sinister.)
M&M Enterprises from Catch-22
posted by jet_silver at 8:46 AM on November 20, 2007
Gracen & Gracen, "The Family Company" from TV's short-lived Profit.
posted by infinitewindow at 10:26 AM on November 20, 2007
posted by infinitewindow at 10:26 AM on November 20, 2007
Deep 13 from "Mystery Science Theater 3000."
posted by TheSecretDecoderRing at 11:26 AM on November 20, 2007 [1 favorite]
posted by TheSecretDecoderRing at 11:26 AM on November 20, 2007 [1 favorite]
Let's not forget about the United Earth Directorate that runs the Earth and its neighbors in the Starcraft rts franchise.
You can spot the UED's totalitarian branding, in this sequence from Starcraft--a UED propaganda piece that conceals the truer nature of the UED as we've seen it. Blizzard has done a nice job with the atmospherics of the UED, as you can also see in the prisoner/soldier trailer of the much-anticipated Starcraft II.
posted by washburn at 11:28 AM on November 20, 2007
You can spot the UED's totalitarian branding, in this sequence from Starcraft--a UED propaganda piece that conceals the truer nature of the UED as we've seen it. Blizzard has done a nice job with the atmospherics of the UED, as you can also see in the prisoner/soldier trailer of the much-anticipated Starcraft II.
posted by washburn at 11:28 AM on November 20, 2007
Versalife, from Deus Ex. The VersaLife lobby sculpture is about as corrupt as it gets. There are several other corrupt organizations in the game as well.
posted by ikkyu2 at 11:30 AM on November 20, 2007
posted by ikkyu2 at 11:30 AM on November 20, 2007
SmileCorp from I Married a Strange Person! See this movie if you like weird shit.
posted by a_green_man at 12:28 PM on November 20, 2007
posted by a_green_man at 12:28 PM on November 20, 2007
Not explicitly evil or a corporation, but wonderful fictional brand from a dystopian comic book: Weeping Gorilla Comix in Alan Moore's Promethea.
posted by enfa at 2:59 PM on November 20, 2007
posted by enfa at 2:59 PM on November 20, 2007
I have heard of some of these, but most are a mystery. Of those I recognize, the only with a recognizeable (potentially knitable) logo (as the OP requested) would be NERV from Neon Genesis Evangelion.
(Also the Penny Farthing from the Prisoner, but that doesn't seem to symbolize a corporation.)
posted by Rash at 3:24 PM on November 20, 2007
(Also the Penny Farthing from the Prisoner, but that doesn't seem to symbolize a corporation.)
posted by Rash at 3:24 PM on November 20, 2007
You'd get to pick your own polygon, but otherwise Zephyr Holdings fits the bill.
posted by nakedcodemonkey at 4:10 PM on November 20, 2007
posted by nakedcodemonkey at 4:10 PM on November 20, 2007
*smacks head*
New-Path from A Scanner Darkly. Duh.
posted by mediareport at 6:53 PM on November 20, 2007 [1 favorite]
New-Path from A Scanner Darkly. Duh.
posted by mediareport at 6:53 PM on November 20, 2007 [1 favorite]
Devlin-McGregor from "The Fugitive"
posted by Frank Grimes at 7:46 PM on November 20, 2007
posted by Frank Grimes at 7:46 PM on November 20, 2007
Not a company but a brand: Quietus, from Children of Men. There were also a lot of creepy ads in the periphery of the movie, so maybe something in there.
posted by secretary bird at 6:34 AM on November 21, 2007
posted by secretary bird at 6:34 AM on November 21, 2007
Best answer: Thanks again, gold stars all around!
Favorites are:
Guild of Calamitous Intent
Weyland-Yutani
Blue Sun
Connex
Norsefire
Tyrell Corp.
the Equilibrium stuff (schlocky, but good graphic design)
both Bioshock companies (maybe even the vending machines...great icon work on everything)
And thanks zennoshinjou for reminding me of Gibson's Maas Biotek and all the other great zaibatsus he's thought up.
posted by cowbellemoo at 7:28 AM on November 21, 2007
Favorites are:
Guild of Calamitous Intent
Weyland-Yutani
Blue Sun
Connex
Norsefire
Tyrell Corp.
the Equilibrium stuff (schlocky, but good graphic design)
both Bioshock companies (maybe even the vending machines...great icon work on everything)
And thanks zennoshinjou for reminding me of Gibson's Maas Biotek and all the other great zaibatsus he's thought up.
posted by cowbellemoo at 7:28 AM on November 21, 2007
I'll just snark and point out that zennoshinjou actually meant that the company is called Blue Ant (whose leader is Bigend, Hubertus).
posted by i_am_a_Jedi at 8:59 AM on November 21, 2007
posted by i_am_a_Jedi at 8:59 AM on November 21, 2007
Response by poster: It's not Gibson's best. This coming from a guy who sat through New Rose Hotel. Twice. :P
posted by cowbellemoo at 7:14 PM on November 21, 2007
posted by cowbellemoo at 7:14 PM on November 21, 2007
I'm a little late on this, but upon review: scoo has the right idea, but the link doesn't go anywhere, so I thought I'd add some.
Here are some great logos for Ingsoc (wiki link) from 1984: Ingsoc 1, Ingsoc 2.
posted by numinous at 10:16 PM on November 28, 2007
Here are some great logos for Ingsoc (wiki link) from 1984: Ingsoc 1, Ingsoc 2.
posted by numinous at 10:16 PM on November 28, 2007
This thread is closed to new comments.
Anything that sucks or is evil or stupid is being manufactured by globo chem.
There's also a list of fictional companies at wikipedia.
And of course the OCP.
posted by SageLeVoid at 1:25 AM on November 20, 2007 [1 favorite]