That's gonna leave a (trade) mark.

December 9, 2010 2:08 PM

Comedy Central introduces its new logo! In the words of Jay Sherman (whose show used to be on CC) it sucks. Its simplicity and stupidity will get it compared to other classic logo disasters (previously on MeFi: Gap, SyFy, UK Space Agency, aol, 2008 GOP Convention, 2012 London Olympics twice, Quark, other logos to laugh at and not found on MeFi: Tropicana). But seriously, is the logo's similarity to a Copyright Symbol (©) part of an anti-piracy campaign?

And its new branding material makes use of "cc:" A sign of abandoment of originality, or just acknowledging its copious rerun content? The long version of the video also uses a word the channel usually bleeps out of most of its cablecast content (@1:46). Checkitout. Checkitout. Checkitout. Checkitout. Checkitout. Checkitout. Checkitout. Checkitout.

posted by oneswellfoop (86 comments total)

Jay Sherman's catch phrase was "It Stinks" not "It Sucks".
posted by djduckie at 2:10 PM on December 9, 2010 [34 favorites]

It's a nice bit of graphic design, the balance looks great. It's just not a logo for a comedy television channel.
posted by Nelson at 2:11 PM on December 9, 2010 [9 favorites]

Are they copylefting their material?
posted by boo_radley at 2:12 PM on December 9, 2010 [16 favorites]

Jay Sherman's catch phrase was "It Stinks" not "It Sucks".

To be fair, he also sometimes said 'Ah-chee-mama!'
posted by shakespeherian at 2:13 PM on December 9, 2010 [6 favorites]

Is the copyright symbol copyrighted?
posted by JoanArkham at 2:13 PM on December 9, 2010

It's alright, I guess. Kind of boring. Doesn't really say "Comedy Central" to me, which I guess helps if they are going to start showing Wrestling or home improvement shows.
posted by Artw at 2:13 PM on December 9, 2010

What Nelson said. It's a damn fine logo. Just not a comedy logo. If anything, it's an anti-comedy logo.
posted by Thorzdad at 2:13 PM on December 9, 2010 [2 favorites]

I like it. Seriously.
posted by Ratio at 2:15 PM on December 9, 2010 [3 favorites]

The Criterion Collection??
posted by Bromius at 2:15 PM on December 9, 2010 [7 favorites]

They should have partnered with Logonom.
posted by punkfloyd at 2:16 PM on December 9, 2010 [6 favorites]

Their old logo is as awesome as the new one is awful. Their old logo is playful and fun. The new one looks like they are now a subsidiary of Mugatu Enterprises.

The graphic design people over there must have nothing to do.
posted by reenum at 2:17 PM on December 9, 2010

Yeah, I think it's fine. Although I'm going to miss that little planet floating in the corner of the television set just screaming "1995! 1995!1995!" at me.
posted by Think_Long at 2:17 PM on December 9, 2010 [5 favorites]

At least they didn't change the spelling to something like Cmdy Cntrl.
posted by tommasz at 2:17 PM on December 9, 2010 [13 favorites]

I do like the upside-down "Central," which is the sort of subversive thing a comedy logo should do. It's just that the main bit of the logo is boring.
posted by mightygodking at 2:18 PM on December 9, 2010 [4 favorites]

Thorzdad: What Nelson said.

Damnit, Nelson. Your response to unfortunate choices and pratfalls is supposed to be a simple Haw-haw. Otherwise linking to what Nelson said isn't funny.

Sorry, I was honestly surprised that there was something more than a derisive laugh at the end of Thorzdad's link
posted by filthy light thief at 2:19 PM on December 9, 2010

Even I can tell you why this is a disaster. Modern society has been so flooded with ®, ©, and ™ symbols that we've learned to ignore them. They just don't carry any meaning or purpose, and thus are forgettable. What are these people thinking?
posted by sbutler at 2:19 PM on December 9, 2010 [2 favorites]

bad (bp) ubısǝp
posted by Frank Grimes at 2:19 PM on December 9, 2010 [6 favorites]

That's not funny.
posted by mazola at 2:19 PM on December 9, 2010

Also, I don't think this is that bad. Minimalist? Maybe, but that seems to be what they are going for. This kind of modern minimalism that is less wacky and more worldly than there previous logo that they have had for nearly 20 years. They are trying to imply that their comedy is a little more sophisticated. That they have grown, a fact that is betrayed by the reality of them still paying for new South Park episodes a decade after its relevance wained.
posted by djduckie at 2:19 PM on December 9, 2010

Is it just me or is that Tosh guy really annoying and not funny?
posted by GavinR at 2:19 PM on December 9, 2010 [15 favorites]

Nice logo, but yeah it really isn't appropriate for Comedy Central.

shakespeherian: "To be fair, he also sometimes said 'Ah-chee-mama!'"

Also, his distinctive throat-clearing:

ACHEM!
posted by brundlefly at 2:20 PM on December 9, 2010 [4 favorites]

Very similar to the copyleft logo - but I do like it.
posted by zeoslap at 2:20 PM on December 9, 2010

It's definitely not just you, GavinR.
posted by brundlefly at 2:21 PM on December 9, 2010

Oh, a C. I guess it kinda reminds me of their old logo when they were still called The Comedy Channel...
posted by Jinkeez at 2:21 PM on December 9, 2010

Minimalist? Maybe, but that seems to be what they are going for. This kind of modern minimalism that is less wacky and more worldly than there previous logo that they have had for nearly 20 years. They are trying to imply that their comedy is a little more sophisticated.

Yeah, I figured it was supposed to be ironic.
posted by scratch at 2:23 PM on December 9, 2010

I like it, kind of makes me go crosseyed though.
posted by furiousxgeorge at 2:23 PM on December 9, 2010

Boo_radley, I thought it evoked Creative Commons as well, which would be cool if it were a reality. After all, the only reason there is a South Park is because of this video being passed along endlessly and for free on the web...also nicely timed to post it being Christmas season.

Still, this symbol looks way too familiar. There must be something in the past that is triggering a vague memory. Maybe someone will figure it out.
posted by Muddler at 2:24 PM on December 9, 2010 [1 favorite]

... and then there's the Copyleft mark, which has no legal meaning.

That long video proclaiming "hey, we have a new logo, or two!" feels akin to a Boomerang ident and the earthy tones of a home and garden magazine. Oh, and you can view them on an iPad, how ... modern!
posted by filthy light thief at 2:26 PM on December 9, 2010

The old logo rocked - it's always been a favorite of mine.

The new logo is seriously good, too. I just think the tone is wrong. The very "Gothamy" font feels a little overdone these days, too. If it were my logo I'd be happy with it, though.
posted by Benny Andajetz at 2:29 PM on December 9, 2010 [1 favorite]

Maybe it's a funny comedy joke?
posted by tzikeh at 2:46 PM on December 9, 2010

I like it. It seems ironic to me.
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 2:51 PM on December 9, 2010

The logo reminds me of the A.V. Club and the colors, fonts and design in the video remind me of The Bygone Bureau.

Oh yeah, and the copyright logo. That too.
posted by Korou at 2:53 PM on December 9, 2010

[Bob Salazar, senior vice president/creative director, brand creative for Comedy Central] says of the new double “C” logo with the upside down “Central” “it is the irreverent wink of Comedy Central.”

Irreverent wink of Comedy Central? Did anybody see that anywhere?

"HI! We're Comedy Central... *WINK* SIKE JUST PLAYIN' GUYS!"
posted by tittergrrl at 2:54 PM on December 9, 2010

I'm going to start calling Comedy Central "The big C."
posted by longsleeves at 2:59 PM on December 9, 2010 [1 favorite]

I actually like it. It's clean-looking, the upside-down word is rather wacky as befits a comedy logo, and the central part of the logo reminds me of the old concentric circles used to symbolize broadcasting. I think it's kind of cool.
posted by Serene Empress Dork at 3:01 PM on December 9, 2010

Maybe in the interests of cosmic balance "Comedy © ןɐɹʇuǝɔ" should make use of Syfy's abandoned 'i's and call itself "Comedi © ןɐɹʇuǝɔ".
posted by tapeguy at 3:03 PM on December 9, 2010 [2 favorites]

More like a loSTOP, amirite?
posted by schoolgirl report at 3:05 PM on December 9, 2010

Hmmm...maybe Metafilter isn't the place to be criticising other people's logos from?
;-)
posted by i_cola at 3:05 PM on December 9, 2010

What's wrong with out logo?
posted by yeti at 3:11 PM on December 9, 2010

I like it, too.
posted by Devils Rancher at 3:11 PM on December 9, 2010

Of all the recently hated logos, I hate this one a lot less.

Actually, I think, hating on logos, like the Colbert Report, is something I'm just not appreciative any of anymore. But I will not deny the pleasure of enjoying/hating to anyone else. So go ahead.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 3:13 PM on December 9, 2010

I think it looks sharp, honestly. And that, in general, internet backlashes are tedious and predictable.
posted by EatTheWeak at 3:19 PM on December 9, 2010

/insert Comic Sans joke here.
posted by Mister Fabulous at 3:30 PM on December 9, 2010 [2 favorites]

Hatred for SyFy is more about the name change and the direction change than the logo - I'm not sure anyone really gives a toss about that (though if I had to comment I'd say it was boringly generic)
posted by Artw at 3:33 PM on December 9, 2010

Nice logo, but yeah it really isn't appropriate for Comedy Central.

On the contrary. An irony-free, cheerless, bland, corporate "comedy" channel deserves an irony-free, cheerless, bland, corporate logo.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 3:34 PM on December 9, 2010 [2 favorites]

Remember the SGI logo redesign? The old cube logo looked really shiny-90s-CG but it's still evokes "computer hardware" better than the two cliché-lowercase new ones.
posted by Pruitt-Igoe at 3:48 PM on December 9, 2010

comedy
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 3:49 PM on December 9, 2010 [6 favorites]

I like it. There is a stark contrast between what it looks like and what it is supposed to represent. That's comedy. (Although I like what Blazecock Pileon said - that's funny.) The upside down central braces the name with the C - my eye actually went straight for it, seeking the balance, before I realized it was upside down.

I am sure some folks would have based the design on a highly stylized clown-face-gets-hit-with-pie. Sha-zam! Get it? Got hit in the face! With a pie!!
posted by Xoebe at 3:52 PM on December 9, 2010 [1 favorite]

It's elegant, balanced. It says "We want to be taken seriously."

Um.
posted by louche mustachio at 4:01 PM on December 9, 2010 [2 favorites]

Is it just me or is that Tosh guy really annoying and not funny?

Some people think he's annoying and not funny, and some people sit in silent horrified shock that this man has a TV show and is being paid cash money dollars to essentially drain the world of humor.

Maybe the network thought we needed an antidote to Stephen Colbert, reasoning that laughter is like rattlesnake venom or something, and we're going to die if they don't suck it out of us.
posted by louche mustachio at 4:10 PM on December 9, 2010 [2 favorites]

They're no Globo-Chem.
posted by Nabubrush at 4:21 PM on December 9, 2010 [3 favorites]

I think it looks like poop.
posted by Catblack at 4:22 PM on December 9, 2010

i hate tosh.0. thats all i have to add to this thread.
posted by Mach5 at 4:23 PM on December 9, 2010 [1 favorite]

I would like a radio broadcast called Tosh Point O'Five wherein someone called Tosh summarizes the wacky goings on of that television show about the internet.
posted by everichon at 4:29 PM on December 9, 2010 [1 favorite]

Very similar to the copyleft logo

They should sue.
posted by Devils Rancher at 4:49 PM on December 9, 2010 [2 favorites]

The '90s got a lot of things really, really wrong. The return of bellbottoms. Windows. Newt Gingrich. NKOTB.

One thing it did not get wrong was graphic design. So, while your logo might start to look dated, it will be a long, hard slog to top something you've had going for you since back when there used to be a Goth Night at the club they won't even let you into anymore. The Gap is the most blatant example - Yes, the old logo screamed "Clinton Era" - the new one screams "George Bush Jr. designed this at his ranch in Crawford, after reading a "For Dummies" book."

The Comedy Central logo isn't that bad, but in the words of Opus - "Lord knows it ain't good."
posted by Slap*Happy at 4:49 PM on December 9, 2010 [1 favorite]

If you guys think this is bad, you obviously haven't seen its Canadian counterpart, which has been uglying up my TV for about fifteen years now.
posted by Sys Rq at 5:06 PM on December 9, 2010

I like it, and there is no damn way its going to usurp the new Gap logo for biggest logo nightmare of the year. (Gap may win for the decade)

I do think its a bit stark for comedy but it does ring "slightly offbeat"

I wonder if they intend to keep it flat or are going to allow for some texture (GLOSSY BUTTONS) in its treatment.
posted by bitdamaged at 5:26 PM on December 9, 2010

I like it. I actually laughed when I saw it for the first time. Weird because I am a jaded designer.
posted by wemayfreeze at 5:37 PM on December 9, 2010

Re video introduction:

ARRRAUGH STOP SAYING "CHECK IT OUT" DAMN YOU DAMN YOU TO SEVENTEEN DIFFERENT-FLAVORED HELLS
posted by JHarris at 5:49 PM on December 9, 2010 [1 favorite]

depending on their monthly rate I could see using Comedy Central as my ISP tho
posted by Senor Cardgage at 5:52 PM on December 9, 2010 [1 favorite]

I really like that Tropicana packaging. It looks very British, in a Waitrose/Co-op kind of way.
posted by Flashman at 5:55 PM on December 9, 2010

I am sure some folks would have based the design on a highly stylized clown-face-gets-hit-with-pie. Sha-zam! Get it? Got hit in the face! With a pie!!


Arrrrrre you 14?
posted by Senor Cardgage at 5:57 PM on December 9, 2010

You know why I hate it? They probably paid some firm a 1/4 mil for it.
posted by Brocktoon at 6:40 PM on December 9, 2010 [2 favorites]

Looks very much like the Comcast logo to me.
posted by Robin Kestrel at 7:20 PM on December 9, 2010

They should have changed it to ٩(͡๏̯͡๏)۶
posted by novenator at 7:26 PM on December 9, 2010 [3 favorites]

They should hold down tosh.0 and brand him repeatedly with the new logo. Then we could all snicker as he makes fun of his own girly screams of pain and the steam of seared flesh when he replays the video on his show.
posted by Burhanistan at 7:45 PM on December 9, 2010

Looks like some type of railroad logo to me. Not sure why.
posted by kinnakeet at 7:53 PM on December 9, 2010

I never really liked their last logo. I liked the old 1990s logo, but the redesigned version bothered me. The new logo doesn't fill me with awe, but I like it.

And if a logo's going to be constantly floating in the lower right corner of my screen, I'd much rather have something simple anyway.
posted by Metroid Baby at 7:56 PM on December 9, 2010 [1 favorite]

It's a helluva a lot better than their old messy thing.
posted by floam at 8:11 PM on December 9, 2010

Some people think he's annoying and not funny, and some people sit in silent horrified shock that this man has a TV show and is being paid cash money dollars to essentially drain the world of humor.

And yet, he's the highest rated host on the network. Yes, higher then Stewart or Colbert.
posted by delmoi at 8:49 PM on December 9, 2010

Eh, I've seen shaggier.
posted by surenoproblem at 9:07 PM on December 9, 2010

If only I knew how the person who posted this felt about the new Comedy Central logo.

Oh.

How in the world is this a good post for Metafilter?
posted by setanor at 11:55 PM on December 9, 2010

Makes me miss the branding for HA!
posted by HeroZero at 2:18 AM on December 10, 2010

Nelson: It's a nice bit of graphic design, the balance looks great. It's just not a logo for a comedy television channel.

Ah, but is it a logo for the most trusted news source among educated, affluent young adults?
posted by Western Infidels at 5:50 AM on December 10, 2010

I've said it before and I'll say it again: New corporate logos always suck.
posted by Liquidwolf at 6:09 AM on December 10, 2010

It looks like a hipster designed it.
posted by stormpooper at 6:11 AM on December 10, 2010

I'll miss the old logo.
When I was just entering college, my sister had gotten her first job working as an accountant at Comedy Central. They had just formed, the misbegotten offspring of the Comedy Channel and HA!, and were trying to get as much exposure as possible. This meant ass-loads of swag being given away for free.

My sister knew that Comedy Central was big with the circles I ran in since were were all MST3K fans and most of the swag came in my direction. I had Comedy Central watches, cameras, backpacks and many other things, all of which I used religiously for many, many years. (The backpack was friggin' awesome - it held together like nothing else. I used it until it was in tatters.) The crowning jewel of the swag, however, was a massive 5'x5' banner with the Comedy Central logo and the words, "Where in the world is Comedy Central?" below. That banner graced the space above my couch in every dorm room and apartment I lived in for many years. It was the symbol that said, "Welcome to Chad's place! His sister works for Comedy Central!" Hell, I've even got a generic Comedy Central videotape with the recording of the Letterman show I appeared on because they broadcast it inside the offices with the announcement that it was "'s little brother's national television debut!"

So I lived with that logo throughout my entire extended adolescence. I know things change and I feel a little sad about the old logo going away. However I'm getting married later next year and many of the friends and activities that filled my life back then are now gone. I'll take the changing of the logo as a symbol of the changing of my life.
posted by charred husk at 6:15 AM on December 10, 2010 [4 favorites]

The logo reminds me of those Washateria signs, where there are three panels and one is always upside down. I'm going to go out on a limb and hypothesize that was the direct source of inspiration for this logo.

Tosh.0 might be annoying, but I have resolved to strangle Doug Benson if I ever encounter him on the street based only on the ads for the Benson Interruption.
posted by adamrice at 6:42 AM on December 10, 2010

I'm much more indifferent to this one than I was the SyFy change, but looking at the design I can already predict one thing; it's going to rotate so that at some point both sides are right-side-up, at least so of the times they use it as a corner brand.

It's clearly made for it.
posted by quin at 9:19 AM on December 10, 2010

Don't you people get it? Companies change their beloved logos the same reason many young women with long, beautiful hair cut it into one of those "cute" boy cuts; it's not because it looks better (and it usually doesn't), it's because people stopped paying attention.

(ladies, please stop cutting off your long beautiful hair.)
posted by Uther Bentrazor at 9:32 AM on December 10, 2010

(ladies, please stop cutting off your long beautiful hair.)
posted by Uther Bentrazor

Eponydepilatorysterical!

And a tad sexist.
posted by Sys Rq at 10:04 AM on December 10, 2010 [1 favorite]

adamrice, What do you mean by Washateria signs with three panels? Can you link to an example? I'm curious.
posted by Pruitt-Igoe at 12:55 PM on December 10, 2010

I just realized what the new Comedy Central C's remind me of... the C's in Conan's new logo. Oh, snap!
posted by oneswellfoop at 4:49 PM on December 10, 2010

The Gotham C is pretty dang prolific these days, onefellswoop. ("CONAN" got it from "COCO" via "CHANGE"/"YES WE CAN"; see also "CRITERION COLLECTION" and "DISCOVERY CHANNEL.")

But only the C's in the new Comedy Central logo really look Gotham--maybe the R and the E's--but the M, N, and A look a lot more like Futura. Maybe it's a hybrid? If that's the case, kudos to the designers for figuring out that the good bits of Gotham correspond exactly with the bad bits of Futura, and vice-versa; put together they're a damn fine typeface. Then again, maybe it's just Neutraface No. 2. (That M still looks closer to Futura, though....)

All that said, I was already sick to death of that goddamn Gotham C halfway through the Obama campaign. That shit is played out, people.
posted by Sys Rq at 11:10 PM on December 10, 2010

Nipple Central. Ha ha!
posted by swift at 1:39 PM on December 11, 2010