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As far as importance, relevance, influence or dissemination goes, the recently renamed WGN America does not rank highly — but as far as bringing the pain, it furiously competes for the top spot. Over the weekend, without much festivities or press releasing, the Chicago-based channel formerly known as Superstation WGN relaunched as WGN America. I haven’t watched WGN since Michael Jordan retired, as they used to broadcast a bunch of the Bulls games, and until this morning I thought their logo was still this simple little thing, which was quite respectable, as opposed to the warped “S” they had until last week. Lee Abrams, chief innovation officer of WGN America’s parent company Tribune Broadcasting Company, stated the following craziness: “[the new brand would] look and sound… like nothing else out there.” Lucky for us, indeed nothing much out there looks like this — except, as pointed out in the article, the Movie Channel’s oldoldold logo, or the thousands of Patrick Nagel’s illustrations. The logo was designed in-house as we learn from this scary sentence in the MediaWeek link above: “In an earlier memo, Abrams said that he had sent WGN’s creative director ‘a few Pink Floyd albums’ after she had turned in some uninspired art/voiceovers.” And there you have it… television branding for the twentyfirst century. Makes you wish they had just lowercased everything and made it roundy.
Thanks to coudal.com for mentioning the change in their Fresh Signals yesterday.
Jump to Most Recent Comment
Mathias’s comment is:
this is just sad. the hyperlinked 1995 version kicks both asses.
On May.28.2008 at 06:48 AM
marko savic’s comment is:
My favourite part is the kerning, especially WG. And the random patch of dark purple separating "TV YOU CAN" "'T IGNORE"
And she blinks!
On May.28.2008 at 07:19 AM
Remy Overkempe’s comment is:
That's a joke right? Lee Abrams, you're joking right? Please, let it be...
OMG, what an ugly logo. It doesn't even say anything.
On May.28.2008 at 07:36 AM
Alex’s comment is:
Welp, there goes a bit of my childhood distroyed. And what's with the purple background; a sort-of gradient on the right and some sort of dark purple chunk on the left?
On May.28.2008 at 07:48 AM
dg3’s comment is:
Let's see, April 1st was almost two months ago, so it can't be that.
Gawd. What is UP with basic cable and their awful new logos (Animal Planet for one)?
On May.28.2008 at 08:03 AM
Todd Turner’s comment is:
This is so sad that I had to do a little research on Chief Innovation Officer, Lee Abrams. Apparently, he's a big radio guy which explains why this logo looks so terrible. Replace "WGN America" with "Solid Rock" and "TV You Can't Ignore" with any call letters and frequency and you've got endless amounts of Clear Channel station logos.
On May.28.2008 at 08:13 AM
Joe’s comment is:
There is one other thing out there that looks like that: http://bigchase.wordpress.com/2007/01/15/obey-andre-the-giant/
On May.28.2008 at 08:34 AM
Jon Dascola’s comment is:
Hah. Just make it roundy. So good.
On May.28.2008 at 08:58 AM
GUESS’s comment is:
hah, i saw this this weekend (they were playing Rocky) and wondered when it would (deservedly) hit the fan here at BN.
so atrocious!
On May.28.2008 at 09:07 AM
iffy’s comment is:
dg3 - That was my first thought too.
I just want to look at them and say, "Really? Seriously?"
Bart’s comment is:
To be fair, the different shades of purple in the background are a part of the web page this logo sits on. Still ugly as sin, though.
On May.28.2008 at 09:54 AM
karen’s comment is:
the purple "chunk" is what i assume to be part of their website design? or is that really all a part of the logo itself?
this has hurt my heart a little bit... i can't even laugh at it. it just makes me sad.
On May.28.2008 at 10:00 AM
jRod’s comment is:
Wow. It seriously looks like they pulled it straight outta 1991. I would really like to see what the Creative Director originally gave Abrams. You know... the "uninspired art." Always good to see that in the press release. I bet those were ALL better than the final version.
Prediction: They will be rebranding within the year or as soon as they figure out that Abrams is a joke, whichever comes first.
On May.28.2008 at 10:07 AM
LadyN’s comment is:
Are they into Japanimation now...??? *confused*
On May.28.2008 at 10:14 AM
Bart O'Dell’s comment is:
Seriously? OMG!?!
On May.28.2008 at 10:29 AM
Alfonso’s comment is:
What's a "chief innovation officer"?
On May.28.2008 at 10:51 AM
Jeff’s comment is:
Lee Abrams is killing TV so that print can thrive again.
On May.28.2008 at 10:52 AM
Unit B’s comment is:
She looks like a really mean Solid Gold dancer. And the spandex colors... And totally ripped off from the Movie Channel. Reviving the '90s.
On May.28.2008 at 11:06 AM
Sean O’s comment is:
Wow....This is the stuff that haunts my nightmares as an in house designer. I think if given 20 minutes I could come up with something light-years better, or I will hang up my mouse and walk out.
Seriously, have some self-respect to just say no to crap like this.
On May.28.2008 at 11:12 AM
Jung’s comment is:
?
On May.28.2008 at 11:41 AM
Ragu’s comment is:
Is this 1993?
On May.28.2008 at 12:04 PM
Paul Riehle’s comment is:
april fools?
On May.28.2008 at 12:08 PM
jack’s comment is:
"In an earlier memo, Abrams said that he had sent WGN's creative director 'a few Pink Floyd albums' after she had turned in some uninspired art/voiceovers."
Maybe 'a few Pink Floyd albums' is their industry code phrase for 'drug of choice?'
I like the illustration, it would be great as an Cartoon Network (Adult Swim?) or Spike (James Bond marathon?) bug. Wrong cable channel.
On May.28.2008 at 12:16 PM
Adam’s comment is:
Great ... the Patrick Nagel reference has, honestly, made Rio run through my head all morning.
On May.28.2008 at 12:18 PM
Char’s comment is:
Portal to the early 90s!
It reminds of that tv channel in Reality Bites called IN YOUR FACE. I seriously lol'd when I read television branding for the twentyfirst century. Genius!
I wonder how much this joke of a Creative Director is getting paid.
OMG, this isn't going to help my splitting headache!
On May.28.2008 at 12:36 PM
Mark’s comment is:
STOP LOOKING AT ME!!!!!!!
as if the CBS eye wasn't creepy enough, the have to stick TWO eyes on the dang TV staring at me ALLL DAAAAY LOOONG!!!!!!
crap now this bug is going to COMPLETELY ruin every show I watch on WGN.
At least other logos are more abstract,and can be completely ignored, but NO this one is super realistic that I can't take my eyes of the stupid thing!!!!!!!
WTF is reasoning behind this? TO LOSE YOUR AUDIENCE???????
Hell I got a pretty big sized TV (length 21 1/2 inches,width 16 inches) and I measured it to be at lest MORE than 5 inches long argggggh, and the damn thing doesn't fade out either, so on many screens they're will definately be a lot of TV's with this idiotic logo burned in grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr..... >:(
this a logo for crying out loud not a piece of artwork, drop the dang face already geez less is more, you don't need to be literal with me, or SHRINK the dang thing, I KNOW what channel I'm watching.
and WTF is with they're television identification saying "Superstation WGN is then, WGN AMERICA is now" over a semi psychedelic looking sun background?, what the hell, did the station management get a hold of LSD, or hallucinogenic drugs or something? geez what are they STONED???? :P
good greif this whole thing seems like a really BAD joke.
On May.28.2008 at 01:08 PM
Mark’s comment is:
(((edited))))
STOP LOOKING AT ME!!!!!!!
as if the CBS eye wasn't creepy enough, the have to stick TWO eyes on the dang TV staring at me ALLL DAAAAY LOOONG!!!!!!
crap now this bug is going to COMPLETELY ruin every show I watch on WGN.
At least other logos are more abstract,and can be completely ignored, but NO this one is super realistic that I can't take my eyes of the stupid thing!!!!!!!
WTF is reasoning behind this? TO LOSE YOUR AUDIENCE???????
Hell I got a pretty big sized TV (length 21 1/2 inches,width 16 inches) and I measured the on screen bug to be at lest MORE than 5 inches long argggggh, and the damn thing doesn't fade out either, so on many screens they're will definately be a lot of TV's with this idiotic logo burned in grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr..... >:(
this a logo for crying out loud not a piece of artwork, drop the dang face already geez less is more, you don't need to be literal with me, or SHRINK the dang thing, I KNOW what channel I'm watching.
and WTF is with they're television identification saying "Superstation WGN is then, WGN AMERICA is now" over a semi psychedelic looking sun background?, what the hell, did the station management get a hold of LSD, or hallucinogenic drugs or something? geez what are they STONED???? :P
good greif this whole thing seems like a really BAD joke.
On May.28.2008 at 01:09 PM
Von Glitschka’s comment is:
If they needed a "Crazy Eyed" female spokesperson to match this new brand, then there is no better equity then the runaway bride from a few years ago.
On May.28.2008 at 01:22 PM
Darrel’s comment is:
Oh man...this is...well...huh...loss for words.
The review is great, though! Starts with a bad logo, then a Nagel reference, culminating in Middle Management citing Pink Floyd as art direction.
I feel so bad for the in-house team. I'm sure this is the typical case of in-house creatives likely being a talented bunch, but being art directed by general business managers to the point that they just cave and pump out the shit to make someone happy, get their paycheck, and escape the cubicle farm for the weekend.
"are a part of the web page this logo sits on."
Ahahaha! The logo blinks! THAT is what sold management on it. WHOA! BLINKING LOGO!
On May.28.2008 at 01:49 PM
Rachel’s comment is:
Umm...this HAS to be some kind of joke. This is not even a logo. And what's with the weird darker purple in the lower left corner?
On the other hand, the little girl looks like a cross between Emily the Strange and Evey from the comic book of "V for Vendetta." Very cool, but again, NOT A LOGO.
On May.28.2008 at 01:59 PM
Logo Critic’s comment is:
Not only is the logo anachronistic, it's SCARY! Is WGN a channel for goths and nocturnal animals now?
Also, I love the "swirly G" logo from 1995. It's friggin' timeless.
Tribune, this isn't 1992. Although I do like '90s designs, it's time to move on. Even the "Oval S" logo is better than that abomination they're using now.
On May.28.2008 at 02:24 PM
J.J.’s comment is:
Makes me want to get my nails did. Guuurrrrl.
On May.28.2008 at 02:34 PM
Colin’s comment is:
As far as I'm concerned, WGN, much like TBS, is just a rerun network that shows Cubs games every now and then. So, this logo does kind of fit with the value of the network, in my mind.
These idiots don't seem to understand that their programming line-up has more to do with their brand than a silly logo. Or maybe the in-house design team does understand this and decided to throw this on them as a bit of a joke. It's either completely genius, or completely stupid.
On May.28.2008 at 02:46 PM
Ray’s comment is:
reminds me of the few short days i did phonebook ads.
On May.28.2008 at 03:30 PM
Mark’s comment is:
Von, you naiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiled it!!!!!
AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAhHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!
BRILLIANT!!!!!
On May.28.2008 at 04:25 PM
John McCollum’s comment is:
What. The. Hell?
On May.28.2008 at 04:32 PM
John McCollum’s comment is:
I'm sorry. Let me rephrase that.
What. The. Fucking. Hell?
On May.28.2008 at 04:33 PM
Mark’s comment is:
Is it me or does this logo make WGN America look like a porn channel?
ka-pow!
ouch.
On May.28.2008 at 05:10 PM
Bendy’s comment is:
Wait, what year is it again?? This is really, really, REALLY bad.
On May.28.2008 at 05:14 PM
damon’s comment is:
in house strikes again.
lame.
Glenn Sakamoto’s comment is:
Wow. What a step backwards – both in time and in quality.
On May.28.2008 at 06:08 PM
Ryan’s comment is:
I wonder what a person with that kind of ego would think if he saw a blog like this ripping the shit out of something he figured would be revolutionary?
On May.28.2008 at 09:41 PM
Chris Mills’s comment is:
Bad design may just draw the attention they need?
On May.28.2008 at 11:01 PM
Jus’s comment is:
Looks like someone just found the Live Trace tool in Illy. Awful!!
On May.29.2008 at 03:34 AM
Dave’s comment is:
This page shows how the logo is used without a purple background.
On May.29.2008 at 05:38 AM
Zaphod’s comment is:
@Jus: Well, to their credit, they also discovered how to use the reflect tool :-)
On May.29.2008 at 07:17 AM
ScottS’s comment is:
Uhhhhhhhhhh....
On May.29.2008 at 08:52 AM
DrBear’s comment is:
In Soviet Chicago, WGN watches you!
On May.29.2008 at 10:52 AM
Gentleman Agitator’s comment is:
WGN Whacked Girl on Narcotics
Psycho Chicago
TV You Can't Ignore, Because We Are Watching You, Watching Us.
TV You Can't Ignore, obey the hypnogirl!
On May.29.2008 at 10:57 AM
Mammalpants’s comment is:
mmmmm complicated media pie!
*read "craziness" link
Hidden in the Fold’s comment is:
As an employee of Tribune, I am SOOOO SORRY for this monstrosity. It's been foisted on us by people who see television as nothing but radio with pictures.
This is what happens when design is dictated by morons.
On May.29.2008 at 12:12 PM
Richie Cunningham’s comment is:
I think the logo would look cool on a retro style t-shirt for female "tweens"....possibly sold at Urban Outfitters for $29.00!
On May.29.2008 at 01:07 PM
VonK’s comment is:
This is what happens when someone with a title like "Chief Innovation Officer" is involved.
Time to trim the rich, white fat.
On May.29.2008 at 01:43 PM
Creative1’s comment is:
As a Trib station employee...I really feel for the WGN design department. Please know your colleagues are thinking of you in this desperate time of bad design. Hang in there!
On May.29.2008 at 02:18 PM
TFHackett’s comment is:
"WGN America: TV that's Hungry Like the Wolf"
On May.29.2008 at 02:24 PM
Hibryd’s comment is:
Zaphod’s: Well, to their credit, they also discovered how to use the reflect tool :-)
Oh, wow, you're right. The highlights in her eyes are facing opposite directions! Now I'm seeing an album cover for a logo, with seriously lazy eyes!
On May.29.2008 at 02:45 PM
vics’s comment is:
it's like the sin city-fied version. pointless.
On May.29.2008 at 04:09 PM
Sean’s comment is:
I thought it was just a mix up when I caught a glimpse of it while channel surfing the other night, but no, it isn't! Oh, this pains me.
On May.29.2008 at 04:39 PM
John’s comment is:
Wow. Kinda leaves you speechless.
On May.29.2008 at 04:50 PM
Brad’s comment is:
"TV YOU CAN'T IGNORE"?
Trust me...I CAN ignore "Matlock", "The Cosby Show", "America's Funniest Home Videos", etc...
On May.29.2008 at 05:11 PM
Mammalpants’s comment is:
hey, you guys want any leftovers of my complicated media pie? im sorta stuffed.
On May.29.2008 at 10:40 PM
ZedZedEye’s comment is:
Von... I'd love to see some pulp fiction dance fingers swipe across those eyes. nice
On May.29.2008 at 11:18 PM
Mike’s comment is:
Is Liza Minelli getting residuals for using her likeness?
This whole mess is the result of the new regime giving their buddy Lee Abrams a station to "play with". Same old cronyism they criticize the previous Tribune management for! Just a bunch of radio guys thinking that TV is just "radio with pictures". Even their slogan is a copy of what they used at their radio stations which was "Noise You Can't Ignore".
travis’s comment is:
horrid. whoever linked the NAILS sign girls got it right on. It's almost scary that they would even consider this...did the art director not have a say, or are they really just self-indulgent animé hobbyists? you would think there is no way in hell anyone would ever pump something out like that without wanting to kill themselves anytime they flashed by the channel...
On May.30.2008 at 04:16 PM
Typegirl’s comment is:
Reminds me a lot of Uma Thurman from Pulp Fiction. I mean with the obvious changes.
On May.30.2008 at 05:30 PM
Niki’s comment is:
This is not helping my "not all in-house designers are bad" crusade.
On May.31.2008 at 02:56 AM
Paul C’s comment is:
I can't even believe how terrible it is....I wonder what the original logos looked like? The ones that needed just a little of "Pink Floyd" to get them going...
Awful...i think it beats out the Animal Planet trainwreck....maybe...
On May.31.2008 at 07:16 PM
Leland Witter’s comment is:
re: Mathias' comment: "this is just sad. the hyperlinked 1995 version kicks both asses."
If only someone would make the 1995 version 3-D and "shiny" - then we'd have something.
On May.31.2008 at 08:27 PM
ricky’s comment is:
What a trainwreck.
On Jun.01.2008 at 12:23 AM
mog’s comment is:
It's, um, different.
Yeah, there's some technical issues ("W GN," anyone?) but I think the biggest problem with the logo is that it just doesn't fit WGN. At all. It looks like the logo for some edgy new sci-fi/anime cable channel. Not the "Superstation."
I guess if they're desperate for attention, it'll get people to look twice. But then they'll be all "Scrubs reruns? WTF?" and change the channel.
On Jun.01.2008 at 09:59 AM
Anonymous’s comment is:
the OLD movie channel logo.
On Jun.02.2008 at 01:27 AM
Anonymous’s comment is:
this looks like the old 1989-1997 Movie Channel logo.
On Jun.02.2008 at 01:29 AM
Alba’s comment is:
I think I've seen those eyes before in a video game on my Sega Master System in 1986.
On Jun.04.2008 at 05:24 PM
noelle’s comment is:
i will never forgive them for taking away my america's funniest home videos reruns. now what will i watch with my parents?
On Jun.04.2008 at 07:59 PM
carlin’s comment is:
I think someone slipped me some of the drugs the designer got. I was looking at the web site and the girl winked at me! The logo is scary on so many levels.
On Jun.05.2008 at 01:43 PM
MADPHILL’s comment is:
this is the kind of crap that muddies the waters in our industry and exploits the ignorance of the business community when it comes to great design. That looks like a bad community college class project mark. Good Lord, it makes me furious. It complements the quality of their crap programming though.
On Jun.08.2008 at 10:57 AM
John’s comment is:
Whilst flipping channels yesterday, I finally saw this used as an on-screen bug. I can now safely say in no uncertain terms that I absolutely despise this mark.
On Jun.08.2008 at 12:29 PM
Mark’s comment is:
for what seemed to be a few fleeting moments,they actually forgot to put the logo on the screen during the show.
not a piece of screen graffiti was seen, so clean.
It was the best moment of TV in decades.
Later on, they remembered to put it back on, that's when I changed the channel.
Marty’s comment is:
Well done, Trib Co. Now a generation of kids are going to be frightened as hell of watching WGN.
WGN America: What the Screen Gems "S from Hell" was, we are now! BWA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!!!
On Jun.10.2008 at 12:32 PM
Charlei’s comment is:
oh my god. stop complaining. I like the logo, her eyes look like mine, I find them appealing, they are attractive and unique. chill people
On Jul.07.2008 at 08:24 PM
Charlei’s comment is:
IT'S JUST A FREAKING LOGO PEOPLE, GET OVER IT.
IT'S A GREAT SYMBOL, EVERYONE ACCEPT.
Anonymous’s comment is:
"Is this 1993?"
No, it's 1984. Ugh.
On Jul.08.2008 at 01:33 AM
Corey Buckner’s comment is:
Thank God you posted this... I saw it maybe two weeks ago and thought it was the creepiest, crapiest thing ever. "Are you watching TV or is it watching you" came to mind immediately.
I first thought iit wass an advert for an upcoming TV show until after about 20 minutes of trying to figure out wht it was I leaned over and said to my wife, "There's no way that's their new logo." It was, cuz 10 minutes later they showed a television commercial promoting their new image.
Two words come to mind everytime I turn to WGN to wath AFV reruns... Big Brother. Sorry, I hate this one.
On Jul.12.2008 at 12:43 AM
lilkunta’s comment is:
The new logo ssssuuuxx.
The blinking eyes r scary.
They shoulda just stayed w the simple WGN logo or the curved S in the cirle logo.
Lee Abrams eyes & brain must not be working bc the new logo ssssuuuuuuxxx.
On Jan.18.2009 at 03:32 AM
don’s comment is:
replace the bob @tom show. That show doesnt belong on tv. That show is sick. It will never replace wkrp.
On Mar.25.2009 at 12:05 PM
Mark’s comment is:
I have an update, it seems they're wisely fading out the eyes altogether,and are opting for a stacked wordmark of "WGN" on top of "America". Thank goodness.
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