13th August, 2017
By Funmilola Olukomaiya
Hip Hop Star, Snoop Dogg just recently launched his new smoking accessories line- POUNDS and although it’s great that the rapper is adding another notch to his belt we cannot help but notice the striking resemblance between the Pounds logo and the logo of Nigerian footwear brand, KEEXS.
Keexs is the first innovative and social footwear brand in Africa and was successfully launched through a global crowd funding campaign in 2015.
KEEXS has proven to be consistent as it continues to grow as one of the top “athleisure” brands in Africa.
The two logos appear as a clenched fist with more similarities than differences; we can see Snoops logo which has rolled up joints taking the shape of a clenched fist is eerily similar to the Keexs logo which is a slanted clenched fist.
The logo also comes in two colours which are black and red.
This then begs us to ask the question? Did the Keexs logo inspire Snoops new line or is this just a creative coincidence. It also raises the issue of trademark and who is entitled to the logo in this situation.
Would this be an issue for Snoop Dogg or would it be an issue for the already established company, Keexs?
The brand has stayed relevant through its consistency with new collections as well as collaborations with the recently concluded Big Brother Nigeria stars as well and other Nigerian celebrities.
In light of all the facts present, it is safe to say that Keexs did it first and we await the results of this interesting logo debacle.