The current Comedy Central logo versus the proposed Comedy Central logo as of January 1, 2011

The unfair thing about printed network logos, like the versions above showing how the Comedy Central logo is expected to change on January 1, 2011, is that motion graphics can give you lots of visually interesting choices that a flat logo can’t.

But in my opinion (and really, isn’t that the only one that matters 😉 a logo needs to hold its own when it is flat, on paper because that will be one of its uses.

This new logo for Comedy Central falls flat alright, it’s bad. It’s one of those logos that make you look at it and say “somebody got paid for that?!” and then ask “I wonder how much somebody got paid to design that?!” In either case, it is not a complimentary question.

Upside down C’s, an inverted word? Really?

Maybe this a joke…a really great joke. That’s GOT to be the reason because this can’t be a real logo for a national cable channel.

Go ahead, tell me how wrong I am in my assessment of this design. Where’s the mirth? Where’s the vibrancy? What about this logo is visually arresting or interesting? Help me here.

Tags: advertising, branding, commentary, logo design, marketing, tv by peter k. o'connell, your friendly, neighborhood voice-over talent
12 Comments »

Evidently great minds think alike…and sometimes so do I!

It seems to be marketing and branding review time in VO land.

I think you’ve probably seen my post on redesigning my business cards. I didn’t believe it would garner that much interest but John Florian now has it up on Voiceover Xtra!

“So I got that goin’ for me…which is nice.”

But I was not the only person redoing their voice over business cards.

My pal Connie Terwilliger also posted about updating her business cards too, making a point to leave space on the backside so people could write notes if they like (ah, white space is going to be so “in” in 2011).

Then I caught a post by the lovely and talented Anthony Mendez who just did a blog about the nicely done refresh on his logo.

Anybody else out there cleaning up their branding act for the new year?

Tags: branding, commentary, logo design, marketing, voice talent, voiceover by peter k. o'connell, your friendly, neighborhood voice-over talent
2 Comments »

FRONT - top card old business card design, bottom new business card design

BACK - top card old business card design, bottom new business card design

1. Be consistent, you moron!
The old cards didn’t really match the overall look and feel of my branding…I know better than this so how could I be so dumb?

2. Less is more because the old more was unreadable!
It was a few years ago and I thought every detail of my business had to be on one card…all that stuff basically confused the heck outta people or made the card unreadable and useless. Not good.

3. White space is your friend!
Font vomit and logo diarrhea is not your friend yet the old card had both of them and none of the white space. Ya gotta give people’s eyes room to read and even relax a bit with a card, they’ll probably retain more info that way. Still not sure if the main logo and the secondary logo will throw people off or if it won’t matter much to anyone.

4. Oh, you do voice overs too?
Somewhere in the old card, you might be able to tell that the president of the company may have, at one time in his career, actually performed voice overs himself. In the new card, especially on the front, that should be clearer now. Titles are for suckers and it appears at one time I was a sucker for titles.

5. If you are creative, show it!
It took me some time, but on the back I created a design to show the company, everything the company offered and tied in the logo all without making people’s eyes bleed.

Extra points: In a year or so I’ll do another blog post on how I have come to hate my new card design too.

It also seems like all the cool people are redesigning their business cards this time of year 😉

Now these are my takeaways, but your opinions on the old versus new business card may be vastly different…and that’s OK, I want to know what they are in either case.

Please share.

Tags: branding, commentary, logo design, marketing, voice talent, voiceover, voiceover advice by peter k. o'connell, your friendly, neighborhood voice-over talent
2 Comments »

The historic Shea's Performing Arts Center in Buffalo, NY

I know you might not think too much about Buffalo, NY because, well many of you do not live here.

And I know you remember we have/had a football team and we get snow (much like about 1/2 of the United States).

But we also have some amazing weather (from May through October), restaurants, architecture and more.

So if you’ll allow me to take about six minutes from your life, I’d like you to watch a little bit about my city in this video (a production I had nothing to do with). The National Preservation Conference is coming here in 2011 so they made a promotional video to promote attendance. Maybe this video will help you get a better sense of what my town is like.

Kudos to the Buffalo Convention and Visitors Bureau for their work on this project.

Thanks.

Tags: branding, buffalo, commentary, marketing, video by peter k. o'connell, your friendly, neighborhood voice-over talent
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Usually changing planes at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago is not terribly exciting. Sometimes it is terrible but again not terribly exciting.

Not so today.

I came across two unexpected marketing executions, one expected but not seen (maybe this is a world exclusive?) and the other unexpected and very impressive.

This is MY first look at an actual post merger United Continental Airplane design. I really didn’t think these were going to be ready so soon but what do I know! 🙂 I will say that as of this writing, the United web site still has their old branding sans Continental’s blue and gold.

This is an incredibly cool and BIG sale brochure 😉 for Courtyard Marriott highlighting their newly designed lobbies. That is a FULL video wall along the one side and what I believe is an interactive video screen on the side. Anybody cruising through gates B and EF will see this and it is an impressive sight.

See, traveling doesn’t HAVE to be tedious.

Tags: advertising, branding, commercials, logo design, marketing by peter k. o'connell, your friendly, neighborhood voice-over talent
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Logo Montage of Z-100 New York

If you worked in radio in the 80’s, WHTZ/New York was the station that every CHR station (Contemporary Hit Radio) wanted to sound like.

It was where the cool kids hung out. Jingle companies fawned over them tossing them completely new customized and awesome jingles because they knew they’d make their money when every other station in the free world bought them for top dollar. See if these these don’t sound familiar to a market near year where only the frequency and slogan are slightly modified.

My point is once a trend setter, always a trendsetter…until you’re not. Z-100 still turns heads although the 80’s also-ran WPLJ-FM took the lead (and Scott Shannon) away to even things out a bit.

So when Z-100 changes its logo, unlike other radio stations, it matters a bit. You are more like to see those top two logos pop up in other cities around the country – radio as an industry is inventive, once. Then its copy city after that.

So what do you think of the new icon? Or do you have to hear the station to see if it fits?

The playing field is a bit more level today then it was when I was working as a jock but don’t be surprised if you start seeing similar logos to the top two in the graphic above in your market soon. Once a trend setter, always a trendsetter…until you’re not.

Tags: branding, broadcasting, commentary, logo design, marketing, radio by peter k. o'connell, your friendly, neighborhood voice-over talent
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