The logos have been popping up all over Philadelphia, and now the Sixers officially have unveiled their "Phila Unite" playoff campaign.
The inspiration dates back over 250 years. The postseason logo depicts a segmented snake around the Liberty Bell. In 1754, Ben Franklin drew the snake in the political cartoon "Join, or Die" in the Pennsylvania Gazette.
Franklin's objective was to unite the colonies. In this campaign, the snake represents the perseverance of Sixers fans from the Philadelphia area, out of state, and internationally as well.
"Every turn we went, Ben Franklin's snake made all the sense in the world for us," Sixers president of business operations Chris Heck said.
The Sixers actually began putting together this campaign long before this 50-plus win season began. The organization came up with the idea three years ago and developed the design internally with the anticipation of the first playoff appearance since the 2011-12 season.
"There's no better way to say it than all of us really did believe in the process, and we believed in this and had no doubt that this is where we would be," Sixers chief marketing officer Katie O'Reilly said. "To be able to have that belief, it really brought us together as an organization."
During home postseason games, the players will wear the City Edition uniforms, which feature the segmented snake underneath a flap on the shorts. The "Phila Unite" logo will be at center court for these games as well.
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The playoff logo will continue to appear throughout Philadelphia. It has been illustrated on murals around the city, on a 50-foot-by-50-foot banner on the Wells Fargo Center and on a 30-foot-by-20-foot flag on Humphrys Flag Company. Additionally, the Sixers' staff distributed over 10,000 logo decals.
(All photos courtesy of the Philadelphia 76ers)
Sixers fans can visit PhilaUnite.com to upload their photos to a custom overlay and engage with the hashtag #PhilaUnite.
The Sixers will give away a T-shirt at the first playoff game and a "Phila Unite" rally flag at the second contest. Additional merchandise with the logo is available in the team store and SixersShop.com.
"What this campaign is is authentic to the city," O'Reilly said. "It's authentic to the history, it's so much of who we are, and I think it's really representative of how we do things."
