On Monday, the PWHL unveiled the names and logos of the organization’s six teams ahead of the league’s second season, which begins in November.
One team, the Ottawa Charge, has attracted national attention for its logo’s similarity to the Calgary Flames logo.
According to the team’s website, the Charge logo was designed as a spinning object, charged with electricity. The letter “O” is bisected to create the illusion of a “C”, a reference to Ottawa and the team’s name. The spikes on the back of the letter are meant to emphasize forward momentum.
The design is generating backlash for its similarity to the Calgary Flames’ flaming C. The NHL team has not publicly acknowledged the Charge logo, though fans of the team have taken to social media with their thoughts.
One fan compared it to Andrew Mangiapane’s 2021 drawing of the Flames logo that was later printed on t shirts.
AnneMarie Dorland, associate professor of marketing at Mount Royal University, says the Charge logo likely drew from familiarities in hockey branding while not intentionally copying the Flames’ signature flaming “C”.
“They do have similar elements, and part of that might be capitalizing on what we know a hockey logo looks like,” said Dorland. “We don’t want to make a logo for a team that looks like it’s supposed to be for a spa.”
Creating a brand that everyone is going to see for the first time is tricky, she said. With designers likely drawing familiarities and inspiration from other hockey teams, humans are social animals and seek patterns and recognition, so the comparisons to similar brands is a natural response.
The brand was likely developed without consideration of what it may be similar to as opposed to a copycat version of an existing brand, said Dorland.
As for risk of copyright or trademark issues, Dorland doesn’t believe there is enough infringement “that one could conceivably be confused as to which team you are buying tickets for.”
From a logo perspective, the Calgary Flames brand is clearly defined and while the Charge logo may remind people of the Flames, it is still different.
Dorland does not believe there is enough similarities for the Flames to say that the Charge has caused damage or detrimental effects to the original Flames brand.
One risk to the Ottawa Charge brand is public perception, though Dorland says while much of the attention is negative, the team has already built name recognition.
“As it goes over the long term it’s really going to be the strength of the team that’s going to cement what that brand means in the world, not just how similar it is to another logo,” she said on how the team can separate from the controversy.
The Charge may make changes over time, a practice not unheard of in branding according to Dorland. These changes, however, would likely occur slowly over time and not instantly as a direct response to backlash.
“Given the amount of work that goes into something like this, it’s pretty unlikely that they’re just going to scrap it and move onto something new.”
The five other teams in the PWHL include Boston Fleet, Minnesota Frost, Victoire de Montreal, New York Sirens and Toronto Sceptres.