News Tamil Nadu

Mistakes In Vijay’s TVK Flag Design & Anthem Video: African Elephants, Wrong Flower, And Spelling Errors Spotted, Vijay Badly Needs A New Comms Specialist

August 22, 2024
The Commune

Actor Vijay’s much-anticipated launch of the Tamizhaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) flag and anthem on 22 August 2024 was mocked online for various design flaws. Netizens spotted several mistakes, including similarities to other states’ flags and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) emblem.

The TVK flag design also inaccurately depicts Asian elephants and the Vaagai flower. Such revelations on social media prompted concerns about the party’s brand management and communication strategy.

Design Flaws in TVK Flag

On 22 August 2024, actor Vijay launched TVK’s flag and anthem in Chennai amid huge expectations and anticipation. While the anthem and flag looked appealing, several shortcomings became visible upon observing them closely.

Let’s take a look at the flag first.

The flag has three stripes: the top and bottom ones are red, while the middle stripe is yellow. While it does not wear the Dravidianist colour black, the red and yellow stripes remind one of the Spanish national flag.

Some netizens also pointed out that the flag’s colours matched those of the Karnataka state flag, and the logo—two elephants trumpeting—was similar to that of the Kerala state government!

Some even stated that the two elephants reminded one of the Fevicol logo!

Coming to the finer aspects of the logo on the flag, the two elephants in the video and the flag do not essentially look like Asian elephants. Looking at the video closely, one would be quite sure that the elephants in the frame are, in fact, African elephants!

Additionally, the Bahujan Samaj Party, whose party symbol features the elephant, has condemned using the elephant symbol on TVK’s flag. They claimed it violates election regulations due to its similarity to the BSP’s blue elephant emblem. The BSP’s Tamil Nadu branch has issued a warning demanding the immediate removal of the elephant imagery from Vijay’s flag. They have threatened to file a complaint with the Election Commission and pursue legal action if their demands are unmet.

Vaagai Or Thoongumoonji?

The logo also features a pink flower, which is said to be the Vaagai flower (Siris tree/Albizia lebbeck).

However, the team seems to have mistaken the Monkeypod tree (Raintree/Samanea saman) flower for the original Vaagai flower. Soldiers wore garlands of Vaagai flowers after a victory during ancient times. Colloquially, the monkeypod tree is called ‘Thoongumoonji Maram’ which in Tamil translates to “Drowsy Face Tree”, as the tree’s leaves droop when the sunshine is less. Its bright pink flower resembles the white Vaagai flower.

In the video, some spelling mistakes were also found. Here is one example.

The party anthem features music by Thaman and lyrics penned by Vivek.

Overall, the TVK anthem reminds the listener of the “Aalaporaan Tamizhan” song from Mersal (2017) in visuals as the anthem video has shades of yellow and red splattered throughout the song.

But its tune is similar to the song Chillax from Velayudham.

Why Vijay Needs A New Comms Specialist

Vijay launched the TVK flag and logo amid much anticipation from the public, the fans, and political parties alike. In the era of deep internet penetration, everyone will scrutinise every aspect of any new launch, be it a film, political party, or any brand.

When he announced his party through a press release, many pointed out the grammatical error in the Tamil name of the party. It should’ve been Tamilaga Vettrik Kazhagam instead of Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam. He later rectified the mistake with the party’s general secretary approaching the ECI for name correction.

A few concentrated glances at the TVK video and the flag design gave us so many points to nitpick. With the exposure and availability of resources, Vijay’s team could have done a better job with the logo and flag design, let alone the anthem.

If Vijay wants to make an impact in Tamil Nadu’s political arena, his core team needs to be strong, and he needs a better brand manager and a Communications Specialist. We hope Vijay pays heed to the criticisms and the team makes the necessary changes swiftly.

Subscribe to our Telegram, WhatsApp, and Instagram channels and get the best stories of the day delivered to you personally.