After 30 Years, MTV Changing its Logo!
posted February 6th, 2010 @ 23:53 — 32 comments
I can still remember when I first watched MTV — I was completely amazed, dazed, confused and elated by MTV. It was in 1984. I watched some random songs that included Michael Jackson’s early tracks on a VHS tape. I lived in New Delhi at that time and I watched this video at someone’s house. At that time VCR (dead technology now) was an expensive piece of technology only the very rich could afford. It was clear that music would never be the same again — it would be sold and consumed differently. I guess, I was right!
Apart from the scintillating moves of Michael Jackson, I was completely amazed by the MTV logo. Its simplicity was what made it powerful and simple. And memorable. Perhaps that is why it has not changed for nearly 30 years. MTV music channel first took shape in 1981. According to this blog:
In 1981 Warner AmEx announced they were going to start a music television channel. Frank Olinsky, along with his team at Manhattan Design, created the MTV logo that still stands today. Together, the Manhattan Design team created a flexible innovative design. Why is this design so flexible? Over the years the ‘M’ in the logo has given MTv the opportunity to dress up or alter the logo without loosing the overall identity.
The MTv logo is a well known logo of today. Many people understand that when they see “the chunky, baby block `M’ and the dripping ‘tv’,” they recognize the logo as Music television. It has lasted more than 25 years almost unchanged. Why is this design so good? By keeping the design simple Olinsky and his team left the ‘M’ open for alteration without altering the identity itself. This flexibility has given MTv the opportunity to put whatever they want in the ‘M’, whether a pattern to match a holiday or a color to represent a genre of music.
Well, that flexibility will be on display on Monday, February 8th when MTV is going to re-furbish and change its logo for the first time since 1981.
Apparently the new design/ facelift will reflect the new MTV, a channel that is now less about music and more about a different kind of a lifestyle. It is about reality shows and trends. It is about a young state of mind. I don’t much care about MTV anymore.
Frankly, the only music I listen to is recommended to me by friends. It is either on Spotify or via iTunes. The music videos I do watch are either on MySpace or on YouTube. For me, in this post Internet age, MTV is completely irrelevant.
The MTV logo, however, is still a symbol of how a simple image can outline a company’s vision. The new logo — just a mere twist is an adaption of MTV’s new focus. The new logo will be a revolving image with imagery living within the iconic design. According to their PR pitch:
It 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.
To the naked eye the difference is very subtle but there is a difference. They are using the logo to focus away from “music.” They have dropped the “music television” tagline.
MTV is having somewhat of a renaissance. Thanks to the hit reality show, Jersey Shore, the audiences have gone up for the Viacom owned network. The network is also adding scripted programming which is going to add to its overall appeal.
So what do you think of the new design? Let me know!
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It pretty much looks the same as before
I’ve always enjoyed the flexibility of the logo, so I am glad they have preserved that aspect. Hopefully this new look will make it even more flexible.
They just dropped the tag “music television” and made it more centered around the idea of “non music content.”
I’m surprised they didn’t make massive changes to it years ago, considering how much they changed the channel around. Guess they didn’t have it in the budget.
I almost wish that they not only changed the logo, but changed the damn name! I remember when Mtv first came out and they had great programing, music videos… all the time! That was when you actually got to see “music” television. Now it is just a bunch of reality show crap, which is clearly evident in the new image they are presenting here. I actually am blown away that they continue to be relevant.
That all aside, the mark still continues to be represented as a great brand. The Mtv logo has entered the upper echelon of brand marks with the likes of Rand’s UPS, Bass’ AT&T, CocaCola etc…
Ditto.
I wonder what we can call the new channel then? RTV — Reality TV. Oh wait, that is Bravo.
Yes, MTV is quite like Bravo for the tween, teen and Gen Y set. While sometimes I can’t stand what it’s become, I still find myself drawn to its horrible shows like Jersey Shore or the heartwarming, MADE.
Also, it still does play music videos — just at 7am, when I’m subjected to it on the treadmill. Even then, it only shows the same 10 music videos again and again because, I’m guessing, most of the videos are awful.
Maybe MTV shouldn’t be blamed for not showing music videos, but rather the record labels allowing lousy music to be created. “Call me Fred Flintstone, I can make your bed rock” are actual lyrics to a song. Really.
Can you really blame MTV for not playing pop music on a regular basis anymore?
I can’t.
Don’t like it, design-wise. It looks like the bottom is justed erased, the proportions of the logo are stupid. Like a JPG that hasn’t fully loaded.
Other than that, MTV lost its relevance years ago.
i never taste new music through mtv. i’m embarrassed to say that the hills, laguna, the city, and jersey shore are the only times i watch mtv. even then, it’s on my computer. they do have dedicated music channels on MTV 2, MTV hits, and MTV JAMS.
Jersey Shore for me
There isn’t really music on M2, is there? I know that was the stated goal when they started it, but last I looked, it was all the same crap as MTV now.
Some childhood memories are so vivid to me that I remember details like the weather, day of the week and even what I was wearing. The launch of MTV in August of 1981 is one of the few. In fact, as a 9-year old boy, I remember hearing about the new station before it even launched and I made sure I was in front the (then large) 19″ TV set to watch it go live. The one thing I can’t quite remember is how many times I watched “Video Killed the Radio Star” by The Buggles that first week. Countless times is probably the best description.
The weekend concerts were another fave feature. We stayed up late (for kids of our age, anyway) and watched artists perform as if we were there. Classic stuff.
MTV is a solid brand with the “Music Television” tagline — in this day, they simply don’t need it and shouldn’t be burdened with it as a media focus when there are so many platforms where they can share content with and engage their audience. Subtle but good move, IMO. Probably something that could have been a few years ago and I suspect it’s the start of a trend as media becomes consumable in so many places and so many ways.
Maybe the Buggles need do a remake and call it “Internet Made the Video Star”
+1 to that Kevin. I agree. Internet Remade the Video Star.
I am a logo communication buff. What successful logo uses a design form over another design form? Also what does the logo say about MTV …. its unique business niche? Logos must communicate what the company does and in a design motif unique to that business. The MTV logo does not say who they are and therefore is a handicap. Oh, no design form over another design form.
I don’t know what it says today but for a long time it said everything about their business. Clearly they are not in “music television” business. They are betting that the new logo and historical recognition should be enjoy for people to think of them a “music-related” television. Thoughts?
MTV’s relevance died 10 years ago..
the logo is still very strong, the idea behind it is gone.
I agree — when they replaced music and music-related documentaries and news with rest of the crap, well for me it was end of story. time to say good bye.
Oh yeah. You barely find music on MTV anymore and it’s really hard to connect to the ever-changing crop of hosts and VJs (do they even call them that anymore?) Reality shows and other mind-numbing shows have completely taken over the channel. I’d like to add that the influence of MTV is still very strong, as it continues to push the envelope and other channels clearly follow their lead. However, music has certainly taken a back seat and I miss the old MTV.
I’m not the biggest fan of MTV because what they push has nothing to do with music half the time, but perhaps this is move in humanizing their image. Now the image they want others to connect to is a whole different discussion. Have you seen Jersey Shore? Pathetic. But nonetheless, the logo is very clean and good. Their logo always had legs for brand awareness.
The whole premise of the logo is still a lie, a misrepresentation.
MTV has been a joke since the mid-90s, and their ongoing misrepresentation is sad at best. They should really just get a completely different logo and work on re-branding all together. M should be completely removed from the logo.
It’s too bad that MTV’s ‘offspring’ (MTV2, Hits, Jams, Classic) are often forgotten about. These can only be viewed by satellite and digital cable subscribers, but they are chock full of videos that do in fact get updated every now and then.
Disclosure: I am Manager, Social Media & Community for MTV.com at MTV Networks.
Very interesting discussion here, always valuable to get feedback on changes we’re making here at the mothership! Just wanted to quickly address some of your points.
@Portnull, the proportion of the new logo is none other than The Golden Ratio!
Many online discussions surrounding MTV ultimately end up in a collective pining for The Good Old Days of the network. But I would say that the network, or at least its core goals, have not changed at all since it launched–the idea is and has always been to connect with young people and youth culture, and I think MTV has consistently done that very well. The “problem” is that the best ways to engage young people will change over time, and that each generation eventually gets to a point where they start moving away from MTV’s target demographic. MTV has a transient audience and the network will not change along with any particular generation as their tastes evolve. We get older and MTV continues to create content for younger people, and we shake our fists, wonder what the heck happened to OUR version of Music Television, and then yell at the neighborhood kids to get off our lawn. This new logo represents an evolution within the network towards a flexible format that remains deeply connected to the music vertical, but also to pop culture, movies, celebrity, lifestyle, and whatever interests, entertains and inspires each new generation of young adults.
That’s what I think I see happening, and goes some way towards answering the question of how MTV “stays relevant.” What do you guys think?
@tom, i think you are right that demographics change, but the problem about that is that mtv’s shows that cater to the new demographic are, many times, trashy and show people getting wasted. they depict the stereotypes of today, and if they inspire, then they could inspire in the wrong way to the demographic. it is possible to create shows that are appealing to this demographic but at the same time not be airheaded and unintelligent. at least try to create some shows like that.
So they cropped the logo… whoa.
At least by dropping “Music Television” from it they finally admitted what everyone has known for over a decade. eMpTyV
This whole post is amusing to me, though I’m not really sure why.
Frank Olinsky, Pat Gorman, and Patty Rogoff –Manhattan Design– made the logo for me in 1981 (Frank’s my childhood friend, and being a year older and a music fanatic, he introduced me to every band I liked in school). It took hundreds of designs to end up with the iconic logo, and the work Frank did rightly stands up as one of the great graphics of the 20th Century. Funny enough, management hated it, before they loved it.
When I saw this “new” logo on ads last week in LA, it occurred to me that they’d finally found a solution to the non-music-ness of MTV. This way they keep the icon (MTV plays music in most of the rest of the world) but without the confusion.
I finally realized why this all amuses me so.
When management first killed the logo in April of 1981 the head of marketing challenged my choice with a question.
“Will it last as long as the CBS eye?” All our managers were ex-CBS folks, and it was media’s “conventional wisdom” that the ‘Eye’ was the world’s greatest logo ever.
“Of course not. It’s a rock’n'roll logo. How could it last?!”
So, here it is 29 years later. It’s lasted (this one is really a change, is it?) and more famous around the world than the Eye (still an amazing piece of work). But, then again, The Rolling Stones have lasted past their due date too.
Fred
What a great story to tell. Wonderful to hear how a lasting brand/logo came about. I think companies sometimes try and manage brands, without realizing brands are the people. If you see Frank, give him my regards and thank him for thinking so elegantly and simply. We need more such simple works for (corporate) art around us, versus bland stuff which passes for logos today.
Thanks for your kind words, Om.
If MTV were still playing music videos today, nobody would watch it. Admit it. You probably wouldn’t watch MTV for an hour straight if they played nothing but music videos. The idea of watching music videos all day is novel and dated. If I want to do that, I’d go to Youtube.
So, congratulations to MTV for getting with the times and actually programming TV shows people will actually watch. Bonus points for pissing off ultra-nostalgic 30-somethings because “oh my goodness, MTV doesn’t play music anymore!” Just admit it, MTV has never really been anything more than mindless entertainment for super-annoying teenagers. That’s how it was in the 80′s and it looks like things haven’t changed!
Disappointed as I am personally about the logo, I have to agree with disappointed about the programming. Hear hear.
I like to give our audience a little more credit, but good comment!
I think the bigger point here is: does anyone want MTV like they used to. I think as someone said earlier, Internet did kill the video star. Go for reality tv programming is good move, but doesn’t mean anything. People watch Jersey Shore and will watch it on BRavo or NBC or Hulu — MTV is not what makes it the show to watch.
The logo change is to be expected as MTV has progressed, or digressed, from their original debut in the 80′s or what not. But when the new logo airs on MTV, a catchy electric beat plays while the logo is visible. The catchy tone is semi-similar to the AXL F byte from Beverly Hills Cop. But, this beat is apparently unattainable on the internet but it would absolutely rock as a text message ringtone… MTV deserves a little more credit considering they attempt to incorporate and introduce upcoming new artists as well as “pop hits” in the admittedly ‘low brow’ television shows, (i.e Jersey Shore, the Hills, Fantasy Factory etc). Nonetheless, MTV remains the pinnacle of cultural exposure to American youths. And let’s face it, the kids who don’t watch it growing up usually tend to be the… odd ones.