Splat No More

August 4, 2009 11:23 AM

Childrens' cable television mainstay and media brand Nickelodeon is rebranding as "The Nick" with a new splat-less logo.

"The decision to streamline the network identities came after [Nickelodeon execs] started putting all of the channels' logos on the same business card--and decided that it looked like a mess."

Just kidding about "The Nick", but the rest is true.

posted by Servo5678 (55 comments total)

.

For my childhood.
posted by bookwo3107 at 11:26 AM on August 4 [1 favorite]

Nickelodeon already has a "The Shack"-like network, the n.
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 11:26 AM on August 4

rebranding as "The Nick" with a new splat-less logo.

Because they'd have felt guilty doing it while Les Lye was still with us.

.
posted by Afroblanco at 11:26 AM on August 4 [4 favorites]

"Because they'd have felt guilty doing it while Les Lye was still with us."

D'IIIIIII heard that!
posted by Servo5678 at 11:27 AM on August 4 [14 favorites]

Kinda sad, because the splat/slime imagery of Nick has to be directly related to You Can't Do That on Television. (Les Lye obit thread)
posted by ALongDecember at 11:27 AM on August 4

*
posted by louche mustachio at 11:28 AM on August 4 [2 favorites]

Anyone remember this pre-splat version? I remember that sign-off clip being shown at, if I remember right, 8 pm - after which the channel became Arts & Entertainment, back in the days when they actually showed things related to their name.
posted by evilangela at 11:30 AM on August 4 [2 favorites]

Gatorade is now "G" and now we got the Nick. Pretty soon there is gong to be a product called "."
posted by zzazazz at 11:32 AM on August 4

Bad joke about "The Nick". I will now refer to you only as "The Serv".

But the "splat" wasn't the biggest deal about the logo; it could be (and was) fit inside a wide variety of shapes. The old Balloon font had good brand identity but no uniqueness and that's what bugged the designery types there. At least they're keeping the orange as the color of the logo with a new, less "I know what that's called" font, but elements of it (like the attached dot over the I) look rather odd, not just for a nickelodeon logo, but for any logo.
posted by wendell at 11:32 AM on August 4

It was never really the same ever since they shuttered the original studios (and shut down the Slime Geyser!).

But seriously, what is it with companies shucking their distinctive, well-known brands for bland new designs? The new logo screams "meh." Nothing interesting about it.
posted by Rhaomi at 11:34 AM on August 4

To repeat, "THE NICK" was "The Serv's" little joke. But they are rebranding "The N" as "Teen Nick" and "Noggin" as "Nick Jr." to make sure there's a little Nick in every one of their channels.
posted by wendell at 11:34 AM on August 4

That is the stupid.
posted by dirtdirt at 11:35 AM on August 4

PRESS RELEASE: Effective immediately, Metafilter user DecemberBoy will be rebranding as "The Boy". Executives hope that dropping the extra syllables will enable the brand to perform better with the coveted 18-34 demographic, since the original brand name takes too long to say and then they won't be young anymore.
posted by DecemberBoy at 11:36 AM on August 4

Shouldn't the logo be green like slime?
posted by Cranberry at 11:36 AM on August 4

Every time you see one of these rebrandings, remember that the final version is almost always the version that the designers absolutely hated. Management makes the real decisions, not the creatives.
posted by Optimus Chyme at 11:37 AM on August 4 [6 favorites]

oh man i cant wait to hear andrew wk's song about this
posted by robocop is bleeding at 11:41 AM on August 4 [2 favorites]

This post is a RTFA litmus test. Hell, it's a RTFP litmus test.
posted by eyeballkid at 11:41 AM on August 4 [2 favorites]

For a second I had forgotten about Nickelodeon and wondered if it was still popular. Nickelodeon seems to be forgotten about when adults talk about kid's TV (compared to Disney Channel and Cartoon Network), but don't underestimate the power of Spongebob Squarepants:

We knew last week’s 10th anniversary SpongeBob marathon would cause ripples in this week’s cable ratings and it did, as the absorbent one took 9 of the top 20 spots for the week, and perhaps even more impressively 49 of the top 100 spots. Squarepants > all.

Nickelodeon has the highest daily viewership of any cable network. It's been like that for 15 years.
posted by ALongDecember at 11:46 AM on August 4 [1 favorite]

This is a great day for the corporatization of childhood!
posted by Camofrog at 11:47 AM on August 4

So what? Who watches Nickelodeon? Oh, I do. I watch "Degrassi: The Next Generation" reruns sometimes on The N. But only because I'm working on the Grand Unification Degrassi Theory. It works like this:

Wheels died in prison, but he was brought back to life by the same Canadian Superhero Program that gave us Wolverine. However, some of the parts (provided by CCM) were faulty and Wheels has become something of an evil trickster. Highlights:

• The episode where Darcy got roophed, the rapist was Kelly Gruber. Wheels suggested this to him while Gruber was under the influence of Vicodin for his back.
• The long-haired hoser dude that isn't Johnny DiMarco is actually Wheels in a wig and contacts. Many "accidents" at the school are Wheels' doing
• The guy with HIV who banged Paige got it from having unprotected sex with Wheels, who claimed that he was clean
• Wheels is the father of Liberty's child, and JT suspected this and therefore "fell" on the knife that killed him
• Wheels gave Snake cancer by slipping tritium into a 16oz soft drink that Snake purchased at his local Mr. Sub. Wheels distracted him by impersonating Natasha Henstridge and Snake was looking for something "she" could autograph.
• Wheels impersonated a doctor to convince Spinner to give up his "cancerous" testicle. He then sold it for $110 CDN to former PM Brian Mulroney.

posted by Mayor Curley at 11:47 AM on August 4 [4 favorites]

This is a great day for the corporatization of childhood!

Yes! Because before today Nickolodeon wasn't already a corporate television network!!
posted by eyeballkid at 11:49 AM on August 4 [6 favorites]

I watch "Degrassi: The Next Generation" reruns sometimes on The N. But only because I'm working on the Grand Unification Degrassi Theory.

All those issues won't be resolved until Degrassi: Deep Space Nine.
posted by ALongDecember at 11:57 AM on August 4

All those issues won't be resolved until Degrassi: Deep Space Nine.

I hope they're resolved by Captain Hawk pulling out his nickel-plated .357 and shooting everyone.
posted by Mayor Curley at 12:04 PM on August 4

Filed under: who the fuck cares.
posted by odinsdream at 12:07 PM on August 4

Bah.


also:

.
posted by jquinby at 12:09 PM on August 4

Nyk
posted by blue_beetle at 12:12 PM on August 4

Nickelodeon died when they stopped airing Pinwheel, Donna Reed, and My Three Sons. There, I said it.
posted by chihiro at 12:18 PM on August 4 [5 favorites]

The best part is that they fuglyfied the logo because a bunch of executives thought it made their business cards look bad. They seem to forget what business they are in and should be given business cards that are shaped like splats.
posted by Foci for Analysis at 12:25 PM on August 4 [6 favorites]

Putting inobviously fake things above the [more inside] with the explanation after is stupid and you should feel bad.
posted by TypographicalError at 12:28 PM on August 4 [3 favorites]

It really is amazing how a seemingly little change can really hurt. I watched lots of Nickelodeon as a tyke all the way through my teens. I miss me some "You can't do the on Television", "Doug", Double Dare", and "Pete and Pete".

.
posted by PROD_TPSL at 12:33 PM on August 4 [1 favorite]

Wheels died in prison

Lies. He was always alive, but his original body was destroyed after his brain was transplanted to a cybernetic shell.
posted by Smart Dalek at 12:38 PM on August 4

At least it's not becoming Nyckelodyon.
posted by Dormant Gorilla at 12:43 PM on August 4 [3 favorites]

But seriously, what is it with companies shucking their distinctive, well-known brands for bland new designs? The new logo screams "meh." Nothing interesting about it.

I have a theory that it's considered best for corporate logos to be as bland as possible so that they can be re-branded, destroyed, and replaced quickly and easily as needs arise. Perhaps corporate managers figure that if too much is invested in a single logo that becomes too distinctive and identifiable, then it becomes too difficult to retool when the economic and cultural environment changes, or when you want to export that corporate identity elsewhere, into other countries or other niches.
posted by deanc at 12:45 PM on August 4 [1 favorite]

But seriously, what is it with companies shucking their distinctive, well-known brands for bland new designs?

Marketing-driven executives with no understanding or investment in the brand, out to make a name for themselves? Just a guess.
posted by Thorzdad at 12:45 PM on August 4

I'll start caring about The Nick when they bring back The Zim.

Or more specifically, The GIR. I love that crazy, little green robot-dog and his need for tacos.
posted by quin at 12:50 PM on August 4 [5 favorites]

deanc, it's a good theory (academically speaking), but permanence of logo/identity hasn't hurt Coca-Cola much in 123 years.
posted by grubi at 12:52 PM on August 4

Gatorade is now "G" and now we got the Nick. Pretty soon there is gong to be a product called "."

Makes me think of the various remakes of "Invasion of the Body Snatchers." There's been a "Body Snatchers" and an "Invasion." Next up: "Of The."
posted by brundlefly at 12:52 PM on August 4

This is one of the horsemen of the apocalypse, I reckon.
posted by festivemanb at 1:06 PM on August 4

Nickelodeon has the highest daily viewership of any cable network. It's been like that for 15 years.

And the viewership has been so high and the ad dollars so deep that they could run Noggin with virtually no commercials. Until the recession, when they announced that Noggin will become Nick Jr and start running commericals as Nick Jr currently is.
posted by dw at 1:14 PM on August 4

What will happen to Nickelodeon GaS, by the way? Insomnia won't be the same if I can't catch an episode of G.U.T.S. or Legends of the Hidden Temple at 3 AM.
posted by Spatch at 1:25 PM on August 4

Since we're being old people and ranting about rebranding, lately I've noticed that Mountain Dew is now MTN DEW. Is the alphabet now a limited commodity?
posted by AzraelBrown at 2:46 PM on August 4

Looks like a bad free Windows TrueType font.
posted by designbot at 2:47 PM on August 4 [1 favorite]

I never got over the loss of the silver ball. Big Orange was cool though, because it never just a splat - they used it in any shape they wanted. It was the anti-logo. This new thing, though? Tubes of puke.
posted by scrowdid at 2:55 PM on August 4

Whenever I think of the splat, I associate it with Double Dare, with You Can't Do That On Television second.

This new logo just took all the personality out of the brand.
posted by cmgonzalez at 3:00 PM on August 4 [2 favorites]

Agree with scrowdid here. I want a "Nick Nostalgia" with the silver ball logo, YCDTOT, Pinwheel every morning, and all those weird British and Canadian series (Children of the Stones~!) they used to pad the schedule with.
posted by jtron at 3:07 PM on August 4 [2 favorites]

What I want to know - and I've asked this question here before - is why in the world YCDTOT isn't on DVD. If Nick owned the show, I'd understand that there might be some reasons why they'd want to time a DVD release strategically. But it's owned by CJOH; why would they not want to cash in on that?
posted by roll truck roll at 4:12 PM on August 4

This new logo just took all the personality out of the brand.

...and injected it with Nintendo.
posted by Sys Rq at 4:32 PM on August 4

For a second I had forgotten about Nickelodeon and wondered if it was still popular.

It is alive and well, although it has a few too many Hannah Montana-esque shows. SpongeBob is awesome, but the Fairly Oddparents is better.

I loved YCDTOT, but I hated Pinwheel with the white-hot passion of a thousands suns. The themesong was like nails on a chalkboard to me. My little sister loved it, though.

This new logo, it is meh.
posted by jeoc at 7:20 PM on August 4 [1 favorite]

The real horror started when Nickelodeon unleashed Dora the Explorer upon the world.

That shit just ain't right.
posted by grapefruitmoon at 7:20 PM on August 4

Made me think of this article about network decay that kurumi originally linked on the SyFy thread...

Gotta second the splat shaped business cards idea, though. Elegant solution to an otherwise non-problem. But nobody gets paid for elegant solutions. How many billable hours are in a brilliant epiphany?
posted by Skwirl at 10:19 PM on August 4

Nickelodeon died when they stopped airing Pinwheel, Donna Reed, and My Three Sons. There, I said it.

And The Monkees.
posted by Lucinda at 11:38 PM on August 4

The Hut
The Shack
The Nick

The Fail :(
posted by Mwongozi at 3:27 AM on August 5

Remember that the final version is almost always the version that the designers absolutely hated.

Those are bad, foolish designers, then.

Good designers never let anything they hate get any further than their own screens. Every single option presented to a decision maker must be at least acceptable work, because yes, management will always choose the worst of available options.

That's like rule #2 of design management.
posted by rokusan at 9:35 AM on August 5

Original Nickelodeon branding guide

It's clear that a lot of imagination and heart went into the original logo, with clear but simple rules to ensure that the value and character of the brand was not degraded. I'd like to know how the Logo Council let them get away with these brand shenanigans! (a.k.a. brand-nanigans)

I almost wish that the network sees a marked drop in ratings (like the 20% revenue dip Tropicana saw after it junked its iconic skewered orange for some generic crap) just so they'll learn not to mess with The Splat.
posted by Rhaomi at 10:42 AM on August 6

Remember that the final version is almost always the version that the designers absolutely hated.

Those are bad, foolish designers, then.

Good designers never let anything they hate get any further than their own screens. Every single option presented to a decision maker must be at least acceptable work, because yes, management will always choose the worst of available options.

That's like rule #2 of design management.
posted by rokusan

This is true, but in my experience, as soon as a designer comes up with a better solution, she or he immediately hates all previous iterations, regardless of their feelings about it beforehand.
posted by Optimus Chyme at 11:59 AM on August 6