Gwyn, I actually like the idea and assume it was intentional. The key question is, "who is the target market/audience/segment" for whitebread?

"The point is this: The New Yorker logotype, designed in 1925, is so ingrained in our collective psyche that any other use of the typeface seems somehow wrong."

Hmmm, this really depends on your demographic. I would have never even associated the use of the font on a product with the magazine. Then again, I would never consider buying the New Yorker or Sara Lee white bread so maybe they are onto something...

Yeah, I don't really fit the demographic as I'd only have recognized the connotation having it being pointed out.

It's a nice Art Deco typeface in small caps, accentuating classical style reminiscent of a bygone era.

@ Paul
Don’t know about the target market for white bread. Would be interesting to have Daily Fix readers comment on that.

Mind you, according to the packaging this is more than White Bread. It’s an “exciting innovation in White Bread!... combining all the taste and texture of white bread with the goodness of whole grain.”

Here’s my favorite line of copy:

“But don’t worry, your family will never know that this white bread is good for them…all they will taste is delicious, soft, smooth white bread.”

@ Jon
I’m not a Sara Lee white bread buyer either. Although I am a New Yorker reader. I bought the bread because of the font. (Yes, it’s weird. And I’m probably a demographic of one.)

Funny thing is: now my kids like it.

@ Mario
It is indeed a wonderful font.

And I just found on Answers.com that “The New Yorker's signature display typeface, used for its nameplate and headlines and the masthead above The Talk of the Town section, is Irvin, named after its creator, the designer-illustrator Rea Irvin.”

In my post, I linked to a typeface called The New Yorker font, rather than Irvin.

Graphic designers. Care to comment here?

Call me quick to judge, but do people who slap a slice of bologna on Wonder Bread really read the New Yorker? New Yorker readers strike me as the whole grain minded, flax seed laden, low carb focused, high fiber seeking, nutrition rich type of bread eaters, but maybe I'm way off base.

Gwyneth asks, "What’s your opinion? Is this typeface off limits? Is using it unfairly capitalizing on The New Yorker brand?"

Keep in mind that this is not merely a matter of our opinion. There is established case law on the question of infringement, not that I know what it says. I assume that the bulk of it says that you can do what you want as long as you aren't actually appropriating the work of another for your own ends without compensation. There was a commercial for Doritos (I think) many years ago in which the voiceover mimicked Tom Waits. Waits sued, and won.

Now, for a million reasons there will never be a case on this -- the font isn't an exact match, it's too small an appropriation, The New Yorker may not care, etc. But those facts leave untouched the question of whether this is infringement. It's pretty close, I'd reckon.

Interestingly, colors matter here. If it were white on black or pink on green, I'd be less inclined to see it as infringement -- this even though the actual Irvin font has appeared in hundreds of color combinations by now.

@ Sandra
Love your take on the personality of New Yorker readers!

Just a clarification: It’s not Wonder Bread, it’s Sara Lee. Here’s the link:

http://www.thejoyofeating.com/products.asp?catagory=BAKERY&subcatagory=Soft%20and%20Smooth

@Martin
Since the font is available, I’m assuming it’s not infringement at all.

http://www.fonts.com/findfonts/detail.htm?pid=417618

http://www.myfonts.com/fonts/wiescherdesign/new-yorker-type/

You’re right, the font isn’t an exact match. (Look closely at the “E.”) But to the undiscerning consumer, the fonts are very close, if not identical.

Brand managers need to be keenly aware of who else is using a typeface — and how that typeface evokes a brand. (No brand exists in a vacuum.) To me, this typeface says “New Yorker” regardless of where it’s used. So when I see a loaf of white bread with the New Yorker font, I experience cognitive dissonance. Sara Lee + The New Yorker: Hmmm, strange match.

Surprised that they went this route.

Don't ever recall seeing SaraLee bread in the supermarket in NYC area, and this is white bread "made with whole grain" as opposed to whole wheat bread. I clicked on GD's site reco and what's odd is that the actual whole wheat bread has a different font altogether.

The New Yorker ss not that well known to assume that people would automatically know the typeface.

But a designer would.

And given the # of very similar typefaces, it's a surprising choice.

Maybe they were going to subconscious association a la "Blink"?

Gwyneth: Those fonts don't prove much. They're also not quite perfect matches, although I'd be curious to see what Emily says. I think they were just made by someone and put out there. I suppose you're right that if The New Yorker is selling the font, it implies permission to use in any capacity whatsoever. I'm not even 100% sure the font would necessarily be theirs to sell (after 80+ years) -- what is more indisputably theirs is the aura that comes with being The New Yorker, and that's what Sara Lee would be infringing on here, not the narrow fontness of the font.

Martin,

To reiterate: I don’t believe Sara Lee is infringing. (Any attorneys who can weigh in here?) The fonts are clearly for sale and at reputable font houses, such as Font Haus.

http://www.fonthaus.com/

Typography is one way to establish brand — and The New Yorker has established its brand in no small part through the use of its signature typeface, hand-drawn in 1925.

Other organizations create signature typefaces, too, but according to a designer colleague of mine, it can be quite expensive to create and then own a unique typeface. So after a year or so, these same organizations license the typeface.

Here’s a group that offers custom typeface design:

http://www.typobrand.com/index.html

What interests me is this: Why would a brand choose the font we’re discussing when it’s so closely tied to The New Yorker?

I bet the package designer is a New Yorker reader... and the fact that the typeface screams New Yorker was completely lost on the client. Just my 2 pesos.

I happen to be a HUGE fan of the New Yorker. Huge. So like Gwyneth, I'd probably buy the bread too, just because it's aligned with my favorite magazine of all time. But I'm guessing that action is -- outside of me, Gwyneth, and a few other dozen souls -- a rarity.

Hmmmm.... I think I have to weigh in on the side of it wasn't intentional. Sara Lee probably has an in-house staff of folks who design their packaging and odds are they are a young staff (not bagging on in-house design staffs here, just noting a common situation). Someone may just have happened on the font, liked it, and there you go. It happens. :)
For perspective, I am a resident of the Midwest, not a New Yorker reader, am a designer and did recognize the font sameness.

Another thought.... whether accidental or not, deliberately branding bread as "New Yorker" bread (or attempting to do so) by font alone is probably not a particularly effective marketing choice. Now, if there were some sort of tie-in... premium bread, premium magazine, bread featured in the mag (OK, I'm reaching here), subscription discounts on the bread packaging (really reaching) then maybe the brand correlation makes sense and is effective.

@ Toad,
Yes, it’s bizarre that on the Sara Lee site, where you can see the entire line of Soft & Smooth breads, the packaging design is not consistent. Someone’s not paying very close attention.

@ Mandy
Thanks for your observations. Your remarks about brand correlation make sense, but, of course, we all know the New Yorker would never, ever allow it.

Of note: Although it doesn’t show in my photo of the bread (which I’ve cropped for a pleasing appearance), the package says, “New Look, Same Great Taste!” So this New Yorker typeface choice is part of a recent (and very cluttered) redesign.

BTW: My son, who has eaten most of the famed Sara Lee loaf, says, “why is everyone writing so much about bread?”

You should make a call to the product manager at Sara Lee and ask.

We're speculating here, but there is a marketing professional who made this decision.

A great follow-up to your post would be an interview with the folks who implemented the packaging.

It would be super interesting.

If *I* was the product or marketing manager for this item, I would find all this discussion interesting to talk about.

I'm leveraging LinkedIn for the first time... I'm working to get a contact to speak with at Sara Lee.

Wouldn't the cover font from, say, Us Weekly be a more appropriate tool for the marketing of white bread?