Everlasting Branding

How to create a brand that is top of mind and the most iconic representation of its market even 25 years after it was used for the last time?

If I ask you to think of a motorsport helmet, most definitely the one that comes to your mind is the iconic yellow with the blue and green stripes, right?

Today, september 23rd, we celebrate 40 years from the creation of the helmet design that Ayrton Senna used to win the F1 World Championship three times. The original design remained almost untouched for the 41 wins and 65 pole positions that Senna had while wearing helmet on the tracks.

Fueled by his desire to stand out from the crowd of plain white helmets, Ayrton Senna experimented with a number of helmet designs before settling on the bright yellow one with the green and blue stripes that became his signature. The winning combination came from Sid Mosca, founder of Sid Special Paint, in 1979.

Representing youth, movement and aggression with Brazil's national colors, Senna kept his helmet design nearly the same for 15 years, until his untimely death. Starting out with Arai helmets, Senna eventually used Bell, Rheos and Shoei lids, with minor changes to the shade of the yellow background.

Are you and your brand trying to stand out out from the crowd of plain white helmets?