back to article Tokyo rebrands 2020 Olympics

Tokyo has whipped the covers off a couple of new logos for the 2020 Olympics, after it was forced to bin the previous brand frontage over plagiarism claims. The new Tokyo 2020 Olympic logos According to the organisers, Asao Tokolo's "harmonized chequered emblem" featuring "the traditional Japanese colour of indigo blue …

  1. Horridbloke

    No giant robots?

    I wanted giant robots. As there are no giant robots I will not be watching.

    1. Anonymous Custard
      Boffin

      Re: No giant robots?

      Or failing that giant radioactive lizards, moths and similar mutants...?

      1. John G Imrie

        Re: No giant robots?

        How about some cute girls with pony tails.

        And as an after thought, which bits of modern Japan will they be celebrating during the opening ceremony.

        1. Darryl

          Re: No giant robots?

          Pony tails, rainbow coloured hair, and really really huge.... eyes?

          1. Chika
            Thumb Up

            Re: No giant robots?

            Pony tails, rainbow coloured hair, and really really huge.... eyes?

            I can guarantee that there will be the usual moe/Gainax bounce somewhere. We haven't seen the official mascot yet, have we?

    2. Mark 85

      Re: No giant robots?

      I also want the badly dubbed and translated Engrish....

    3. Esskay

      Re: No giant robots?

      Visit Odaiba - there's a giant robot on display permanently :)

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    The whalesong is deafening where I work...

    From a recent internal article:

    "We were challenged to move beyond the predictable linear TV model with which we have all become familiar and look at this with a fresh perspective.

    We wanted to create a design system agnostic to platform, a system that can allow us not only to promote multiple channels and programmes within a network, but also a system that allows us to promote products and on demand – traditionally bolted on to the linear offering.

    We also wanted a more seamless experience where congested break junctions could flow between promotional and identity elements and where rational communication could sit alongside channel personality.

    Finally, we needed to differentiate the individual personalities within the network.

    At the heart of the new system is the relationship between Sky and its channels, represented by the channel logo. These logos become the glue to bind the network and from this very simple mechanic, the team has explored some diverse channel identities.

    For Sky 1, we release 'Oneness' as the ‘1’ breaks out of its logo to bring colour and personality to the network canvas.

    On Sky Arts, the logo is a catalyst for creativity – transforming the ordinary to the extraordinary.

    On Sky Atlantic, we immerse ourselves in fragments of stories that remain ambiguous and from which we develop epic vistas – the stories that lie within.

    All of this is contained within a fresh and clean Sky network with each channel logo integrated with different identities.

    We’re really excited about the huge future potential for the business in creating a simple identity that encompasses channel, content and product to deliver a single Sky brand ecosystem for the first time ever, across all territories, building a world-beating on–screen brand experience for Sky.

    Anon, obviously.

    1. Lester Haines (Written by Reg staff) Gold badge

      Re: The whalesong is deafening where I work...

      Superb. Care to email that to me?

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: The whalesong is deafening where I work...

        Unfortunately it's on an intranet site :-(

        1. Jos V

          Re: The whalesong is deafening where I work...

          It's also public now:

          https://corporate.sky.com/media-centre/news-page/2016/sky_launches_a_major_new_rebrand_for_its_entertainment_channels

    2. Sir Barry

      Re: The whalesong is deafening where I work...

      Oh dear

      All I want to know is am I on the right channel?

      All this animation and OTT nonesense is a complete waste of time and money. Money that could be better spent on making decent programmes.

      Plain text -

      SKY ONE

      That is all most people (I assume) need.

      1. VinceH

        Re: The whalesong is deafening where I work...

        "Plain text -

        SKY ONE

        That is all most people (I assume) need."

        ^This.

        And as for the logos for each Olympics, might I suggest something that is both adaptable and will uniquely identify each games, while also easily identifying that they are indeed the Olympics? I suggest, the basic five interlocking rings, with the host city above, and the year below.

        Now send me five million quid for that effort and we'll call it quits. I take cheques.

    3. Uncle Slacky Silver badge

      Re: The whalesong is deafening where I work...

      You work at Perfect Curve?

      1. Roq D. Kasba

        Re: The whalesong is deafening where I work...

        >>You work at Perfect Curve?<<

        They are all Perfect Curve.

    4. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: The whalesong is deafening where I work...

      In other words, clobber the viewer with ads, followed by more ads for the other programs on the network, then let the ads bleed into the programs themselves with some overlay bullshit. The visual equivalent of the DJ talking over the music when you were trying to tape to top 40 charts as a kid.

      In other news, I accidentally downloaded Game of Thrones with Russian subs for the Dothraki scene yesterday. I really felt that gave a language agnostic personality to my brand experience.

      1. Anonymous Custard
        Flame

        Re: The whalesong is deafening where I work...

        Personally I'd just love the channels to have discrete, unobtrusive and above all static brand logos in the corner (if they must have them at all).

        Several of the channels these days seem to think that having animated logos that look like they're doing aerobics plus all sorts of other "information" in scrolling or bouncing tiny fonts that aren't readable unless you're sat 3 inches from a HD TV are a good thing.

        When I'm trying to watch a TV show, the last thing I want is some animated antics in the corner of the screen continually distracting you on the edge of your peripheral vision.

        1. Darryl

          Re: The whalesong is deafening where I work...

          The US stations think it's really great to cover the bottom third of the screen (during a programme) with ads for tomorrow night's Survivor or whatever. Usually, they cover up something that's relevant to the story of whatever you're actually watching.

          1. Chika

            Re: The whalesong is deafening where I work...

            The US stations think it's really great to cover the bottom third of the screen (during a programme) with ads for tomorrow night's Survivor or whatever.

            Many UK stations are going down the same route, believe me. They conveniently forget that all digital services have EPGs available - they are often more interested in promoting what is coming up than letting the viewing public watch the current show in peace.

            This is on the back of the recent griping about browser based ad blockers. Advertisers, whether they are commercial advertisers or they are advertising upcoming shows, are less interested in presenting a programme than they are with presenting a product. If only we could come up with a reliable ad blocker for TV...

            1. Pedigree-Pete
              Unhappy

              Re: The whalesong is deafening where I work...

              ..or you're desperately trying to remember the name of the actor(ress) you just saw and they shrink the credits so you can't read them while they chuck stuff at your screen you didn't request. Tsk! PP

          2. Michael Wojcik Silver badge

            Re: The whalesong is deafening where I work...

            The US stations think it's really great to cover the bottom third of the screen (during a programme) with ads for tomorrow night's Survivor or whatever.

            One of my favorite things about Game of Thrones is that HBO doesn't do this. I'd be happy to pay for other channels if they'd show interesting programming without stupid "fly" logos and advertising banners on top of it.

        2. Martin an gof Silver badge

          Re: The whalesong is deafening where I work...

          Personally I'd just love the channels to have discrete, unobtrusive and above all static brand logos in the corner (if they must have them at all).

          While I completely and utterly agree with your comment (though personally I'd rather they were banned altogether, or at least banished except for the first 30 seconds of a programme), I offer you the thought, "screen burn". LCD screens may not suffer to the same extent that plasmas did (do*) but they do still suffer, and an animated logo stands slightly less chance of completely wrecking your screen as does a static one, though anything vaguely static (the animations are generally very short and confined to the same corner of the screen) will eventually cause differential ageing. I believe the jury is still out on screen burn and OLED TVs, but my money is on them being closer to plasma than LCD.

          Oh, and if BBC1 and BBC2 and ITV can manage to broadcast without DOGs, why do BBC4 and CBBC and ITV2, 3, 4 need them? As someone else pointed out, crumbs, if I've forgotten which channel I'm on and can't wait for an ad break to find out, my remote has an "info" button that instantly puts that information on screen in such a way that I can instantly get rid of it too. It also has a button that (almost) instantly switches the blasted box off.

          M.

          (*)We have a large plasma screen at work that was used for three months to play a video game. Nearly four years later and having played "normal" video or slideshows for very nearly all of the intervening time, it is still possible to see blurred score digits and character logos in certain parts of the screen.

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: The whalesong is deafening where I work...

            Re you Plasma screen. Try sending it a white page PowerPoint pres all weekend. It may help a little or a lot.

            1. Martin an gof Silver badge

              Re: The whalesong is deafening where I work...

              Try sending it a white page

              Funnily enough, that's almost what I'm doing to a different screen which doesn't have quite such bad burn-in problems - problems which were caused by showing bright images on a black background; it's possible to see where the edges were as a difference in colour rendition / brightness.

              It has now been showing pictures on a white background for about three months, and it's not really a lot better. This set of images has a while to go then it'll be something else, at which point we'll see for sure what it's like.

              On a similar-sounding subject, no it isn't possible to "kick" dead/stuck DLP pixels back into action by sending cleverly-crafted images or sequences. I've tried.

              :-)

              M.

  3. ratfox
    Trollface

    Whichever they choose will certainly be better than the Lisa Simpson one.

    1. andy 28

      At least the Lisa Simpson one was memorable, even if for different reasons than the designers might have thought :)

      1. Lester Haines (Written by Reg staff) Gold badge

        Lisa Simpson

        Yeah, it really sucked.

        1. wolfetone Silver badge

          Re: Lisa Simpson

          "Lisa Simpson

          Yeah, it really sucked."

          Not sure it's wise to make such jokes about a character who is, really, an 8 year old girl.

          1. BoldMan

            Re: Lisa Simpson

            AND A CARTOON!!!!

          2. Lester Haines (Written by Reg staff) Gold badge

            Re: Re: Lisa Simpson

            Merely making an observation. The designer really should have spotted the outrage before unleashing his filth on an unsuspecting world.

            1. x 7

              Re: Lisa Simpson

              I was hoping for a Chinese Lisa Simpson

              1. Paul Crawford Silver badge

                Re: Lisa Simpson

                That is a terribly Wong though

              2. m0rt

                Re: Lisa Simpson

                "I was hoping for a Chinese Lisa Simpson"

                If you look at the logo - you can see it is Lisa Simpson as seen from above....

    2. GrumpyOldBloke

      A jumble of fuel rods in a spherical vessel. Not quite cobalt blue but getting there. The paralympic one is even missing a section of the roof. Elegantly Japan!

      1. Captain DaFt

        Star Wars and Homer

        "The paralympic one is even missing a section of the roof. Elegantly Japan!"

        My first reaction on seeing the paralympic one was, "That's no moon!"

        (my reaction to the Olympic one? "Mmm, donuts!")

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Maybe it's just me...

    But I frankly thought the incomplete logo for the paralympics sends the wrong message.

    1. Kernel

      Re: Maybe it's just me...

      Yes, I agree - my immediate thought on looking at the two was that obviously paraplegics (and others who qualify for this version of the games) are entitled to a less complete life than the rest of us.

    2. John Brown (no body) Silver badge

      Re: Maybe it's just me...

      I have to admit to not especially thinking about things like that on any sort of regular or in-depth basis. Having said that, I thought exactly the same thing too. The "disabled" logo looks "incomplete". Not exactly PC symbology of the 21st century.

  5. jaywin

    Bat Symbol

    Is it me, or is the paralympics one a couple of rectangles short of Batman's logo? Will he also be complaining about plagiarism?

  6. Nick Ryan Silver badge

    Yes, but....

    Have the Japanese lawmakers created new, and entirely unnecessary laws, specifically to protect these trademarks of the money making organisation that is running the games locally? Or are they shamefully relying on the same laws that are already in place to protect every other business and individual but without such scope for higher financial penalties or due process skipping?

  7. BarryUK

    Hmm, the new one isn't bad, though it does look a bit like a migraine attack.

  8. jzl

    Migraine

    I get optical migraine occasionally and the new logo looks freakishly like that. To the point that I actually find it difficult to look at.

  9. Fink-Nottle

    Mind worm

    Although I was very, very young at the time, I clearly remember the BBC's theme tune for the 1964 Tokyo games.

    For me, the tune is closely associated with Olympics - and to this day, all it takes is for me to see the olympic rings to start the jingle playing in my head.

    1. KBeee
      Happy

      Re: Mind worm

      "Goooooood Mooorning Tokyo...." That one?

      1. John Brown (no body) Silver badge
        Coat

        Re: Mind worm

        ""Goooooood Mooorning Tokyo...."

        wasn't that Adrian Cronauer?

        1. Mark 85

          Re: Mind worm

          ""Goooooood Mooorning Tokyo...."

          wasn't that Adrian Cronauer?

          I thought it was General Doolittle.

  10. Roq D. Kasba

    Old Logo

    I can see the French theatre bloke's problem, people are very likely to confuse the world's biggest sporting event with his organisation, and it'll be annoying for him when jumbo jets full of people turn up at his place expecting to watch dressage, and having to redirect them to another continent.

    1. Martin an gof Silver badge

      Re: Old Logo

      The thing is that while I can see the "T" and the "L" being relevant to the theatre, I'm not sure what the "L" part means in the context of the Olympics in Tokyo. It certainly doesn't say "Olympics" to me. That's what the interlocking circles are for, as someone up there ^ somewhere has already pointed out.

      M.

      1. taxythingy

        Re: Old Logo

        Durr. Stop reading it as an 'L'.

        The bottom curve is to get the ball rolling in the right direction, thereby starting the latest Honda commercial.

    2. Nicocys
      FAIL

      Re: Old Logo

      Well, when you consider that people are already confusing countries ;)

      And considering how much they probably paid for it, they might as well get something new...

  11. Pedigree-Pete

    Paralympic Logo...

    ....anyone else see the Millennium Falcon? PP

  12. This post has been deleted by its author

  13. allthecoolshortnamesweretaken

    The Olympic Games

    Or as I like to call it, The Quadrennial International Sports Medicine Exhibition.

  14. IR

    The non-symmetry of the new logo is a bit disconcerting. I think it is because it is so close to symmetry, but not quite.

  15. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Checkerboard pattern?

    Drape some sheepskin over it and the grand wizards of freemasonry will be pleased.

    Im guessing the opening ceremony will be masonically themed based on this expect trouser leg rolling, hopping and nipple rubbing...thats what what they do right?

    Im not sure how bribing people and infiltrating local councils can be be artistically expressed...so the director has a tough challenge ahead.

  16. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Opening Ceremony

    When any none Asian team taller than the average Asian is paraded on they should play "Alphaville - Big in Japan".

    Paralympics totally has to have a futuristic electric wheelchair race with over excited (and unsubtitled) Japanese commentators, loads of flashing lights, spliced in tentacle porn, a section where they have to swing over a shark pit (while throwing custard pies at each other) and some Paul Oakenfold playing...ready set go anyone?

    Fucking nailed it right?

    Also am I the only person hoping the Japanese Olympics might be a bit like Takeshis Castle? With nobody winning this time?

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