Hold on a sec...whose ad is that?

My boss showed me an interesting ad today that was a good half page in the Wall Street Journal. She held it up a few feet away and asked me whose ad I thought it was. Below is a poor scan of the horrific ad. Apparently, it's not for TD Ameritrade.

If you squint while holding the paper a few inches from your face, you'll notice the tiny Nationwide logo. Keep in mind this is a half page ad. And I was instructed to figure out who placed it. But the general reader is more likely to pick up on the green, box shapes; assume it's for TD or another company; and keep it movin. NOT GOOD. Readers should recognize your brand immediately, not someone else's brand in your ad.

Don't even get me started on the fact that my first comment, after seeing the Nationwide logo, was "wait...that's Nationwide's logo?"

I'm obsessed with logos. I think they're one of the best things next to the alphabet. I can tell the difference between the Pepsi, Obama and Korean Air logos. They're not something I'm keen to breeze by or forget. So when a company logo like Nationwide goes beneath my radar, something's amiss.

Nationwide needs to focus on its brand awareness. I should associate the blue box with Nationwide. And they need to avoid heavily recognizable designs that are already used. That's not to say they can't have nice, green backgrounds--but they need to ensure the logo is promptly displayed to avoid false recognition.