And get off my lawn, ya damn kids!

Unless I’m wrong here, many people are aware of the SS logo, if nothing else thanks to WWII-based games. It’s no swastika in terms of universal aversion, but it remains almost instantly recognizable as the double lightning bolts of the SS. And yes, it’s a bad thing for advertising when you have a bad association for, at a guess, twenty percent of your audience.

Did they have any impact on history ?

It can also be interpreted as a DNA/serpent/Caduceus

This was no mistake. I think it was more of a risk

Thanks for posting it !

I, however, am 63 (born 1944) and I did NOT freely associate that symbol with the SS. It reminded me of that damn Zoom Zoom kid and the stretch of twisty little Autobahn, all alike, where the cocky little bastard keeps his turnip stand.

I don’t think it’s a generation thing. It’s an education thing.

Maybe not for the Japanese; they were on the same side in WWII.

It’s all about association. It’s all about what pops into mind. It’s no different than all the laughable “Goatse-like stuff we see here and all laugh at.

If designed by Japanese, this was merely a blunder. If approved by Europeans, bad job.

For reference, see http://www.kissonline.com/

Tun Sie Es Einfach.

This is the visual version of calling someone a racist because they used the term “black hole”.

Oops, wrong shoe company slogan. Sorry.

I suppose that that’s quite similar to a Westerner deciding to name/theme their trendy bar after Mao or Stalin or someone.

I wish I could claim the explanation proposed in #25.

As others have stated; the SS logo plus, black and white image, emaciated person with a hunched over posture all are subtle cues to link the product with Nazis.

Feh, it won’t fly in the global culture and you won’t see it advertised outside of some Asian countries.

@ #21. win!

We’re talking about 60 years ago or so. That’s not that long ago.

And humans haven’t progressed a whole heck of a lot since.

Wht CN mk chng thgh, s (‘m srry f nyn shld b ffndd by wht fllws) t fnlly TLL SRL THT THY R TRTNG HLF THR PPLTN TH WY JWS HV BN TRTD BY TH NZS. t s ccptd by th ntrntnl cmmnty tht ths cntry s splt, tht hlf th ppltn hs n rght t vt, n prt n th dmcrtc prcss, r bng dprvd f bsc ncssts f lf (fd nd nrgy), hv bn rstrctd n mvmnt nd hv t ndr ncrsns nt th Gz strp by srl mltry wh kll ppl by th dzns. Rmmbr th prsng n Tbt? vr 100 ppl wr klld thr, th trg sprd ll vr th wrld. Whn srl klld 120 ppl n Gz (n rtltn fr N srl klld by rckt frd frm Gz), t ws vstd by Grmn chncllr jst 2 wks ltr. Th mttr ws swpt sd, sh ws th frst Grmn chncllr t hv th hnr.

5 mlln ppl klld n th pst r n xcs fr kllng ppl tdy, r bng sprd th jst pnshmnt fr dng s. Yt, n th cs f srl vryn s trnng thr fcs.

Th sm gs fr Sth frc’s wy f dlng wth Zmbbw, th ntrntnl cmmnty ctng n Sdn nd ls stppng th prmnnt wr mngrng n Sml nd thr plcs.

Sorry, I do have strong feelings for the victims of the holocaust and it saddens me all the more to see Israel and other countries get away with similar crimes, even though they have not reached the same scale. This matter is not about the perpetrators of the crimes (the nazis, the SS or whoever) but about crime itself!

Or Che Guevara. I guess ignorance is bliss, and those that don’t understand the atrocities take on the aura without really understanding the reality.

Or you can choose not to.

If we’re still afraid of the arrangement of two letters after 70-some years, I think it’s time we learned how to move on. If we let the letters “SS” still hold some kind of evil power, it’s our own fault.

Just move on.

#28: There’s an alternate Kiss logo which is used in Germany to avoid legal issues. Compare this with this.