What is the powerful idea behind…?
1. An atom – science; matter; kinetic and potential energy; Rutherford; electrons
2. The Mona Lisa – beauty
3. Bride and Groom – enduring love
4. Bald Eagle – honor and bravery
5. Telephone – greater communication between people
6. A rose – love and passion
7. Santa – Christmas (a time of celebration (religious or not), and spending time with family/friends); A known “figure/person”; giving person; knows if you’re naughty or nice; real or fake?
8. Money sign – Expansion; growth; power; greed
9. Light bulb – Invention; leads us to electricity --> expansion --> big cities
10. “Girl” symbol – Used to categorize based on sex (biologically)
11. Scale – justice; fairness; equal or not?
12. Masks (theatre) – comedy/tragedy?; the golden age; change in mood/character; drama; hiding; entertainment
13. King’s crown – ruler; king; high social standing
14. Smiley face – Happy
15. American flag – Unity (of all states); freedom (of the country)
16. Black cat – Bad luck ( if it passes right in front of you)
17. Baseball mitt and ball – America’s favorite sport/past time
18. Yin and Yang – complimentary opposites; good and evil; east and west
19. Red light – stop; universal color code (stop light)
20. Sheriff’s badge – Authority; power
21. Statue of Liberty – freedom (of the American people and immigrants coming to live in America); power; wealth; liberty
22. Horseshoe – symbol for good luck (or bad)
23. Apollo (Greek God) – beauty; sacredness; cleanliness
24. Peace sign – Peace; unity (of people without hate); love
25. “Men” sign – Used to categorize based on sex (biologically)
26. Piggy bank – Money; saving money (ex: for something wanted)
27. Heart – love (to love something/someone; to be loved); lust
28. Silver Trophy – Valued (e.g. MVP); recognized for something good
Mercedes-Benz wants their symbol to be known by “everyone”, like how these “known” symbols are known by “everyone”. Right when we see a smiley face, a heart, or a peace sign, they expect us to know exactly what they mean. That we will see it and instantly know the “powerful idea” behind each symbol. Reasonable inferences I can draw to Mercedes-Benz from the “powerful ideas” the copy claims are associated with their symbol include: that they obviously want their symbol to be known to those who instantly recognize these other “associated symbols” and their “powerful ideas”, they want to be associated with beauty, having a great value put into their products (one of the best), with love (they want people to think that they put love into making their products or want owners/viewers to love their products); they want to be categorized (into a group with possibly a lot of money); seen as good not bad; and be associated with beauty.
