In the 1880s and 1890s, companies such as Procter and Gamble, Borden, Campbell’s and H.J. Heinz were among the first to use this type of visual language in the form of distinctive packaging and branding to “create new habits of consumption” by training the consumer to reach for products bearing familiar logos (Lupton and Miller 1989). In this respect, corporate logos, along with corporate colours and names, “serve the same purpose as religious symbolism, chivalric heraldry or national flags and symbols” in that they encapsulate an entire brand message or set of corporate values into one single visual unit (Olins 1996). Simple symbols, like the swastika, the hammer and sickle, or the American Red Cross logo, can not only trigger instant reactions in the minds of those who perceive them, but also have proven to be powerful tools in motivating people or influencing their beliefs (Selame 1988).

• language
• respect
• symbols
• beliefs