After a few (more) months of internal review, MTV has finally unveiled its redesigned logo. The Frank Olinsky designed logo that has graced our screens for near 30 years has been refreshed, most noticably losing the tagline “Music Television”. Tina Exarhos, EVP Marketing and Multiplatform Creative Projects explains, “We were really thinking about it in terms of having the brand and our talent living in the same space together.” The new look was revealed on-air yesterday.
According to the official press release, the new logo “represents a new visually defined MTV, stimulating its past, present and future and embracing it’s diversity. Everything from Jersey Shore, to the VMAs to collaborations with the MoMA. The logo is part of MTV’s re-invention to connect with today’s millennial generation and bring them in as part of the channel.”
Quick bit of creative to share with your morning coffee. The new :30 ident comes to us from Sky and Director Jon Yeo featuring Annie Wersching from 24. They’ve provided me with some PreVis Comparison shots for those of you interested.
Just a quick followup from the (dramatic) review for a new brand consultancy to handle Greater London Authority’s (GLA) £500,000 rebrand of the city of London, which includes a new image and logo for the capital. The coveted rebrand has been awarded to Saffron. If you haven’t heard of them before, you might recognize Saffron’s chairman- Wally Olins (previously co-founded Wolff Olins), the consultancy behind the jagged 2012 Olympics Logo and AOL’s recent rebrand.
The trend of working internationally with branding firms is an increasingly popular and persuasive offering. Saffron describes itself as “an independent consulting firm working for companies, countries and other enterprises on issues related to branding and identity.”
“Each Saffron project team is tailor made, and assembled from our offices in London, Madrid, Mumbai and New York. People from multiple locations work together as a creative/strategic task force—a bit like producing a movie.
We’re adept in our singular globalization-attuned work style because we know the world. We think it makes us different. We know it makes us better at what we do. “
The BBC has released an epic animated commercial (:40) to celebrate the upcoming coverage of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver.
The film was set around a legendary quest, “whereby an Inuit hero has to retrieve a spiritual stone that has been taken by a giant Bear from a mystical totem. In the process of his mission our hero draws on his skills in a series of challenging & physically brutal Olympic style sports to recover the precious ice locked stone, thus restoring light and peace to his dark and troubled world”.
BBC Winter Olympics 2010 film, commissioned by BBC / Red Bee Media, agency: RKCR/Y&R, prod co: Studio AKA
Incidentally, the intricate background shots were based on designs by Jon Klassen, who worked on the movie Coraline.
Qatar: A pretty exclusive look at a bit more creative (including some original concept copy) from Al Jazeera and their latest rebrand. You can catch up with the earlier part of the campaign here.
Al Jazeera Main Ident
Original Creative Concept: “Water is an essential element for Al Jazeera. The ident starts with a globe filled with news information dropping into the ocean. Unlike the impression of the ocean we have, the world below is bright and warm from where countless particles emerge and spread. Every particle represents something that’s going on in the world. These particles follow the current, finally absorbed at ocean surface by the logo of Al Jazeera to signify the central idea: ONE WORLD, ALL ASPECTS.”
Al Jazeera General Promo
Original Creative Concept: “The sea surface represents an objective platform for opinions, and water drops are different opinions in the world. Water particles move freely in the ocean, coming and going in all directions, bobbing up and down on the sea surface; some water particles collide with the sea surface and some blend in, just like the interflow of various opinions. The endless convergence of opinions finally forms the Al Jazeera logo and slogan: Opinion & Other Opinion.”
Just In: Launched nearly 5 years ago, ESPNU, the popular 24 hour college sports television network, has rebranded.
The Charlotte, NC based channel was launched initially as a response to upstart CSTV (now CBS College Sports Network) and is now in approximately 46 million US homes. The 2010 ESPNU rebrand was developed by National Television, and extends the tagline “Never Graduate”. ESPN launched its fourth HD service on August 28, 2008, with the start of the college football season with ESPNU HD.
Discovery Communications and Hasbro Inc. have (officially) unveiled the name and logo of their new 50/50 joint venture childrens network. The new Channel will be known as “The Hub” and will reach 60 million homes on what is currently known as Discovery Kids Network. The launch of The Hub is slated for late fall 2010.
CEO Margaret Loesch explains, “A hub is a place where great things come together — and that is precisely what The Hub network will be when it launches. The Hub will be a fun and transformative destination that brings kids and their families together by presenting clever stories and engaging characters.”
Hasbro, the nation’s No. 2 toymaker, closed on its deal to buy a 50 percent stake in the new joint venture in May for $300 million. “Hasbro is a company built on play, and Discovery was founded on curiosity,” said Hasbro CEO Brian Goldner. “The Hub will have the resources of both partners as it goes about re-imaging the future of children’s entertainment.”
2009 brought us a creative torrent of beautifully executed and masterfully architected channel branding campaigns. From our coverage of NBC’s “More Colorful Campaign” and UKTV’s overhaul of its 10 channel portfolio to talked about campaigns from SyFy, Discovery, and MTV, as an industry we responded to a challenging global economy crisis with creative grit and bullish business determination.
And as one of the few (if only) blogs dedicated purely to international TV & screen based branding, we look forward to continuing to bring you news in 2010 from the branding frontline, including (of course) the business perspectives behind them. We ask that you continue your invaluable feedback and contribution to the dialogue. Lastly, (after much encouragement) we are now finally on Facebook. If you like this blog, please support us by joining Art & Business of Motion on Facebook. You can of course still follow us on Twitter.
So as we say a last goodbye to 2009, here’s a conveniently indexed list of 40 memorable channel branding campaigns we covered for you from 2009. To all the folks that help make this happen, a huge thank you! – Denny
The good folks over at D&AD dropped me a kind note and are keen on ensuring the best in channel branding and motion graphics are represented in this year’s D&AD Awards. They’ve got a solid panel of judges that are overseeing the TV & Cinema Communications Category, which is where our work in TV brand identity, TV title sequences, and TV promotions are represented.
Most importantly, the deadline for entries is fast approaching, 27 Jan 2010. There’s still time to enter with a chance at getting in the annual (and even winning a yellow pencil). You can find more info at http://awards.dandad.org/2010/landing/TV&CinemaCommunications
Two weeks ago, I posted a first look at AOL’s massive new branding campaign (Part 1: AOL Reveals New Brand/Logotype). The package has since had a few weeks to spread its creative wings and other brand components are being formally launched. For those of you interested in the new brand “reveal films”, here’s a peek at a few other design elements which comprise mobile, web video, outdoor LED, and digital.
The brand films were commissioned by Wolff Olins with creative direction by Universal Everything / Matt Pyke, Sound Design by Simon Pyke.
