This is an actual logo designed in 1973 for the Catholic Church’s Archdiocesan Youth Commission.
In fact, it won an award from the Art Directors Club of Los Angeles and is shown in the 1974 ADLA Awards Annual.
It can also be found in the Design Archives of AIGA, “the professional association for design.” We know it looks like a sick joke, but you can see it here for yourself.
We know the 70s were simpler times, gentler times, more innocent times. But for God’s sake, man, did no one in the Archdiocesan Youth Commission see anything wrong with this design? No one?
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This is sooo bad, funny, but bad.
I can’t see it
. Is that white circle supposed to be a testicle or something? Is it a slight against that American who won the Grand French Bicycle thing, since it’s only one circle?
What am I missing?
Hahahahahaha! If I wasn’t laughing, I’d be crying!!!
Well,I guess it’s kind of like a Rorshach ink blot…you see what you want to see….but if I was a Catholic altar boy,and I saw this logo,I’d run like hell
Testicle in a Y shaped cup? Seriously, I’m missing the humor in this image, and I HATE THAT! Someone please clue me in.
Maybe the white circle is a penis as viewed from the front?
Fwahahah! Maybe the approval committee were all newbie priests … or women?
no, the boy is viewed from behind and is giving the priest a blo*job
You must be Americans; the first thing you see is a penis. Anyway, what the author probably intended you to see is a boy giving head to a priest.
Omagad, I see little child su***ng ***k
HAH! Ok, I see it now
. Thanks for clueing me in.
LOL.
Prophetic?
Second look at Sinead O’Connor!
This is why the Catholic church has problems now. In the 70s, they were using a logo only pedophiles would find attractive. Look at their workforce now.
Oh, that is sad and terribly funny. I do want to say I still belonged to the church until 1970 and I even worked as a maid and cook at an abbey and saw nothing inappropriate or sordid, nor heard rumors. Heck, the abuses I saw were just plain human nature – people with power using it unkindly.
Could you guys who like this site, and this story, kindly do us a small favor? Well, the chief Editor here actually was the one who discovered this long lost logo a few days ago. And the story has been popular. So popular that others are of course grabbing the image and blogging on it. But it was a bit disheartening today to see on Andrew Sullivan’s blog, that he just posted it I think yesterday and already has around 700 Diggs. He didn’t do anything wrong, he credited the site he found it on, who had likely found it on ours and did not follow proper etiquette and credit us. We’re emailing Andrew now to ask if he can change his credit link. But, in the meantime, can you do your IHTM buddies a favor? Can you click the Digg Button at the top of the article to Digg ours so we aren’t completely run over by the massive traffic on Andrew’s piece on The Atlantic’s website?
Strike that 700 Diggs from 27 minutes ago. Make that 1500 Diggs now. (: