“The Jägermeister logo has been interpreted erroneously as a symbolic representation of the phrase, ‘Oh dear God.’ Perhaps a familiar refrain to those who have partaken too freely. The surrounding circle is the ‘O(h)’, the stag is the ‘dear’ and the cross represents ‘God’.”
Quoted from the book Champions of Design 2, written by jkr.
The Hubertus legend
Here’s the actual trademark story (via Jägermeister):
“Only a legendary stag’s head would suffice, one with a beaming cross between its antlers. The stag that appeared to a wild hunter and converted him to Christianity. The same hunter who would later become the patron saint of all hunters: Saint Hubertus.
“This stag remains today, as it always has been, the Jägermeister trademark. A symbol of the preservation of our quality and tradition.”
Interestingly, Wilhelm Mast founded Mast-Jägermeister in 1878 in Wolfenbüttel. The original building – which still exists to this day – is dedicated to producing vinegar for the local canning industry and for the nearby mining works in the Harz mountains. More on that here.
And if you liked this post, you might also like to read about the origins of the Red Bull logo, from the Logo Design Love archives.
Comments
Thank you for a little history lesson.
Hmm. Always thought it was Saint Eustace.
‘The iconography of his legend is entangled with the legend of Saint Eustace’ -wiki
not many logos that I know of have background stories like this. I’ll bet there are a few more out there…
“As with many early saints, there is no evidence for Eustace’s existence, even as a martyr. Elements of his story have been re-attributed to other saints, notably the Belgian Saint Hubert.”
-wiki (in the article about St. Eustace)
‘Oh dear God’ Apt for my experiences with this drink. Fantastic brand and story.
Hahahaha! I love the history of the logo. And, yes, I have exclaimed after a night of partaking in the Jager shot, “Oh dear god.”
The Jägermeister logo is taken from the vision of Saint Hubertus. Jägermeister means “master hunter.”
On Good Friday morning, when the faithful were crowding the churches, Hubert went hunting. As he was pursuing a magnificent stag, the animal turned and he beheld a crucifix standing between its antlers.
That’s why we write about Jagermeister in the SaintsforSinners Saint Hubert story and always use some orange!
It’s one of the few surviving logos that uses the “long s.” Beautiful!
I noticed that for the first time today.
The saint who traditionally saw a stag bearing a cross between his antlers is also known (in many languages) as St Eustacius (or St Eustace).
Heart-warming as the story of St Eustace’s conversion is. and edifying as its appeal for benevolence towards the lesser animals of our enfleshed kingdom may be, the scholarly research of the Bollandists assures us that it–just like the tale of St, Nichols climbing down the chimney with a sackful of gifts on Christmas eve– is myth, sine ullo fundamento in re. [The Bollandists are a Jesuit organization in Rome that is committed to determining the factual basis, if any, of the tales of Saints and their multiple miracles.]
This has a relevance to my last name Hiebert. St Hubert is the first Hubert and the name changed spelling to Huebert,Hiebert. Jagermiester is a German word and Hiebert or St Hubert derives from German.
I love the story behind the logo. Wherever you are, God is with you.
I have a 410 pistol that has this logo on the butt plate. Anyone out there know anything about this gun?
The legend is real. I once found the stag when hunting with my two dogs. Or should I say the stag found me. I had set up a hammock to take an afternoon nap after miles of off trail backpacking deep in the wilderness and had just fallen asleep when a magnificent stag wondered up an embankment from the creek below me and walked casually into my camp. He was so otherworldly that my two Belgian dogs paid no attention to him, which was extremely unusual to the point that I thought myself dreaming. I raised my head up from the hammock and looked over at my dogs who were lined out, to see if they were asleep but they were awake, and then I looked back at the stag who was now only twenty feet from me and looking right at me. His rack was amazing. There was no glowing cross hovering over his head, but then I am already a follower of the Way.
What a wonderful experience to have had!