13 places that have become brands

Not everyone knows that real landmarks are hidden behind the logos of famous companies and corporations. Restoring justice, advertising specialists audited the design of hundreds of brands and identified 13 places that made a “model career”

One of the most beautiful castles in Europe, the German Neuschwanstein, is today included in the list of the most photographed attractions in the world: the queue of tourists here sometimes stretches for a kilometer. Neuschwanstein gained additional popularity by the fact that it was he who became the prototype of the Sleeping Beauty Castle in Disneyland Paris. And at the same time he ended up on the most recognizable emblem among all the children on the planet - the logo of the Walt Disney Corporation. Shrouded in many legends, Neuschwanstein, in fact, became a source of inspiration for the main Hollywood storyteller Walt Disney.

The mountain peak on the logo of the Swiss chocolate bar “Toblerone” cannot be confused with anything: the Matterhorn, similar to a quadrangular pyramid, is considered one of the most recognizable peaks in the Alps. All self-respecting climbers rave about this mountain (its height is 4478 meters), hanging over the village of Zermatt. There are more than 30 routes to climb this peak, but they are only accessible to experienced professionals.

It’s funny that the picturesque mountain not only appeared on the packaging of the bar, but also “crawled” inside it: there is an idea that the unusual jagged shape of the chocolate is a multiple mini-replica of the shape of the Matterhorn itself. By the way, if you look closely, you can find a bear cub in the center of the logo. It symbolizes the Swiss capital and homeland of Toblerone - the city of Bern, which, according to one etymological version, translates as "city of bears".

The main emblem of the Soviet Olympic Games was invented by Vladimir Arsentyev, a student at the Stroganov School. Noodle-like parallel lines (symbolizing running tracks) extend into a pyramid, which is crowned with a five-pointed star. In the minimalist design, the silhouette of the Spasskaya Tower is easily discernible, although theoretically any other Kremlin tower could become the “hero” of the emblem.

There is even a theory that the prototype of the “path-shaped” building on the logo of the 1980 Olympics was Moscow State University. However, this version does not stand up to criticism - after all, the emblem was created for the most important sports competitions on the planet, and not for the Universiade. In addition, the Kremlin, unlike Moscow State University, has always been well recognized in the world.

Vodka "Stolichnaya" is the most popular brand among those. The world knows about it firsthand: for example, Vodka Stolichnaya has been sold in the States since the 70s. On the label of Russian vodka No. 1 there is an important symbol of the capital - the building of the Moscow Hotel (still the first, the very one whose project, according to legend, was approved by Stalin himself). By the time the product was “launched,” the Kremlin’s neighbor had already celebrated its 5th anniversary.

Occupying an entire block, Moskva opened in 1935, becoming one of the first hotels in the Soviet capital. The design of the label has remained virtually unchanged since then: the font has varied, the details of the design have been obscured, but the facade of the building is still clearly visible. But Stalin’s “Moscow” has not existed for several years now - on the site of the destroyed hotel stands its remodeled double.

The French mineral water Evian is named after the town of Evian-les-Bains, in the vicinity of which there are several springs. It is here, on the shores of Lake Geneva with the most picturesque views of the Alps, that the world-famous water is bottled. It’s no wonder that the Evian logo features mountains. Moreover, the most photogenic are three snow-capped peaks, which are clearly visible from the Chamonix Valley located near Evian. In the center of the composition is Mont Blanc (4807 meters), and one of its neighbors is the Aiguille du Midi peak, famous not so much for its pointed shape as for the highest cable car in the world.

The key design elements of the Borjomi label were invented back in the 30s. Surely everyone is familiar with the oval, which contains images of the peaks of the Caucasus Mountains, a fountain and a wing of the Romanov royal palace. The latter was built in the 18th century and is located in the village of Likani in the Borjomi Gorge, famous for its boarding houses and mineral springs. In Soviet times, Joseph Stalin rested in the palace, but now the pompous building is the summer residence of the President of Georgia. Very close to Likani is the Borjomi resort, where the famous medicinal mineral water is obtained. And three hours away from the village the Black Sea splashes.

The Utah Jazz basketball club, for which one of the best Russian forwards Andrei Kirilenko (nicknamed AK-47 for his accuracy and rate of fire) played for ten years, is based in Salt Lake City. The capital of Utah is located in a valley surrounded by the impressive Wasatch and Oquirrh mountain ranges, the same ones that branch off from the famous Rocky Mountains. It becomes clear why the Utah logo is pricked with snow-capped peaks - these are the same mountains, the views of which from Salt Lake City are simply crazy. By the way, a significant part of the 2002 Winter Olympics competitions were held on local ridges.

The logo of the Babaevsky confectionery concern depicts a huge two-story mansion. This is the former house of the Abrikosov candy dynasty, which is located in Moscow at 7 Malaya Krasnoselskaya Street. The Art Nouveau house was built by the architect Schnaubert in 1905. The Abrikosovs, who moved into the mansion (there is a story that the entrepreneurs deliberately took a “sweet” surname for themselves) moved their large family factory there.

Several hundred people worked for the confectioners; the company produced about four thousand tons of caramel and chocolate per year. When the revolution died down, the factory received a new name - in honor of the secretary of the district committee, Pyotr Babaev. Over the past decades, the company has changed owners several times, but geographically the concern has remained in the same place - in the Abrikosov mansion.

The rich, reddish-brown ale is drunk in pubs all over the world, from the States to Finland. The birthplace of the Newcastle Brown Ale brand (despite the fact that the brewery recently moved to the town of Tadcaster) will always remain Newcastle. It was there, on the northeast coast of Great Britain, that Newcastle Brown Ale gained an army of its first fans in the 20s. And on the label of the bottle was (and remained there forever) the then main attraction of the city - the bridge over the River Tyne, for the opening of which King George V himself came in 1928.

The image of the bridge was enclosed in a five-pointed blue star: it symbolized the five breweries that operated in Newcastle. One of them - called John Barras - later turned into a chain of famous pubs. Tyne Bridge still adorns the label of English ale, although one day it had a competitor: as a trial version, the designers placed another Newcastle bridge on the logo - the brand new The Gateshead Millennium Bridge, which, due to its funny shape, is nicknamed “Blinking Eye” "

The history of the logo of the oldest film company in the United States (and the only one remaining in Hollywood) is shrouded in a cloud of mystery. The top of the mountain, surrounded by a halo of stars, has been modified several times.

According to legend, the first author of the Paramount logo was William Hodkinson, one of the “founding fathers” of Hollywood cinema. He sketched a mountain on a piece of paper during a meeting with Paramount owner Adolph Zukor—possibly one of the mountains in Hodgkinson's childhood home, Utah. The most famous, “live” logo of the company usually appears before the start of films and has a completely different, pointed shape. Some believe that the “model” for the screensaver was the Andes peak called Artesonraju in Peru (see photo), others see the Alpine peak Monviso in it.

The Pilsen brewery is the birthplace of the legendary Pilsner brand. It was here that a special technology for producing light dry lager with a characteristic bitterness and hop aroma was invented. This technology is now used throughout the world. The original beer made using this technology is called Pilsner Urquell and is today the most popular beer brand in the Czech Republic.

The guys from Pilsner didn’t look far for inspiration for their logo: at the entrance to the brewery there is a powerful arched gate, the image of which is now on every bottle of Pilsner Urquell.

At the factory you can see all the components of Prazdroj (that’s what this beer is called in Czech): barley, Bohemian hops, Pilsner water and brewer’s yeast. A pleasant end to the excursion is a tasting of Pilsner Urquell straight from an oak barrel. You can drink as much as you like!

Mount Ararat, whose height is about five thousand meters, rises above the fields of the Ararat Valley, where the grapes from which the famous Armenian cognac is produced grow.

According to the Bible, Noah’s Ark, which had escaped the Flood, landed at the top of the Ararat Mountains, and Noah, emerging from the Ark, built the first altar after the Flood and made a sacrifice, thanking God for salvation. It was there that Noah planted a grapevine, and having received new wine from the harvest instead of the usual grape juice, he became drunk for the first time from the fermented grape juice, thereby laying the foundation for winemaking.

The legendary Ararat is visible from anywhere in Yerevan and is the national symbol of Armenia and the trademark of ArArAt cognac, decorating the bottle label.

The squat tower, which looks unremarkable in appearance, is in fact one of the main symbols of Liverpool. Or rather, that part of Liverpool that supports Everton football club. In the 1930s, the Toffees (the team's nickname) decided that their logo was missing something. And they added an image of the ancient Prince Rupert Tower, built in the 18th century, to branded ties and scarves.

The tower had a harsh past: it served as both a sobering station and even a prison. Later, peasants and workers simply stored their tools in it. And if it weren’t for the Everton club, thanks to which sudden fame fell on the tower, only God knows what would have happened to this ancient monument now. Now everyone loves the tower, and recently the “taffy” symbol underwent a global reconstruction.