Rockcrusher: I don't know about using that black Sharpie. Have you seen the size of the logo on that pen? It is so ubiquitius we call it a "sharpie" instead of black felt permenant marker. Just kidding
I was actually looking at my bike a few months back and noticed there were logos for over 20 different companies on it! I don't worry about it too much (except for the tacky "weyless" logos on the headset spacers- I won't install those spacers until I find a way to remove the logo), but I don't go out of my way to advertise. For instance, I always find it funny to see people buying a team-type jersy. For example, a big specialized jersy, with all the logos of the specialized team, or a USPS team jersey. I ride with a few guys who have big "fox" jersey's with enormous logos, but don't even have fox parts on their bike. I do go out of my way to get logo-free clothes, on or off the bike (although a small, subtle logo on the chest doesn't bother me too much). I also totally agree about putting stickers on your car. I purposly got an huge roof-top box big enough to hold my bike just so it would be totally out of sight. It would completely defeat the purpose to have a Santa Cruz sticker on the car. Any thief who knew anything about bikes would know that if there is a helmet on the back seat, there may well be a few thousand dollars worth of bike in the box.
Logo clothes are also crazy- paying to advertise. I do wear logo clothes that are cheap or free though (the shirt that came with my bike, my $5 Corona t-shirt from Mexico I have etc.) I remember logo clothes were extremely popular when i was in high school. ENORMOUS logo's advertising "Vision Street Wear", or "Gotcha" or "BUM Equipment" or "Hardrock Cafe". That crap was expensive, too! I don't know how that junk became popular, but it was pure genius on the parts of the companies. Holy Profit Margins, Batman- we will charge the customer extra for the privlidge of doing our advertising! One of my favorites (in a pet-peeve sort of way), although the logo wasn't as huge as the others, was "No Fear Dangerous Sports Gear"- the only "gear" they made were hats and t-shirts that said that same thing!
Yeah...the logos all over bikes are a little anoying. I guess they are helpful in a way too though. In the shop, you would have to be VERY familier with all the latest parts to figure out what you are buying on a new bike if there were no logos. Also, some parts, like a frame or fork, often just look a little weird, or cheap, if they are stripped of their logos. I guess it just has to do with what we expect to see. I think my Blur might look a little strange if the big fat downtube had nothing on it. Right now, "SANTA CRUZ" is etched into the anodizing, and it looks pretty good (good thing, since it is unremoveable). I suppose it would be even cooler though if could have flames or some sort of pinstripe motif etched in instead though- it would definitely not look as good plain though. It would only look...I don't know...cheap and generic I guess.