SPQR - the oldest know brand in the world?

Having just returned from a wonderful break in Rome and some not so wonderful rugby, I was left reflecting on whether the Romans created the first global brand.

Wherever one walked and whichever corner one turned the immortal initials SPQR jumped out at you from statues, monuments and even drain covers.

Almost all of us know that SPQR is the brand of Rome, of the Roman Republic and of the Roman Empire. It comes from the phrase, Senatus Populusque Romanus ("The Senate and the People of Rome"), referring to the government of the ancient republic, and was used as their official signature. It appears on coins, at the end of documents, on inscriptions in stone or metal, in dedications of monuments and public works, and as many school children will tell you, was emblazoned on the standards of the Roman legion.

The exact date of its first use is not known, but its meaning places the origin of it clearly with the Roman Republic which dates back to 508BC, over two and a half thousand years ago!

Awareness of the brand is immense; it transcends millenium, centuries, generations, national and international boundaries, race, sex and religion. It must surely be one of the most well known and easily identifiable brands and whilst not all will know the meaning of the initials, most will be able to identify its origin.

Could this be the oldest gloabl brand? - It is hard to think of anything else that stands the same test of time. Could it be one of the most widely known brands in the world? - It may not have the same awareness now as Coke or McDonalds, but one wonders whether either of them will be as well known in two and a half thousand years as SPQR is now.

And the truly remarkable thing? If SPQR is not one of the most widely recognised brands it certainly spawned one. On the same monuments that bore the initials, those that were dedicated to famous Roman miliatary victories also bore images of mythical animals and gods with wings - wings that became the inspiration for the Nike whoosh.