As a kid of the 90s, the class on British idents yesterday took me back to Nickelodeon immediately. Essentially idents–full of characters, songs, and the Nick logo–these Nick promos are strong branders for the kids’ channel. What are called bumpers here in America were played alllll day (trust me, I know). Disney Channel also had its fair share of branding in ident-like shorts throughout its programming (ie: its shows’ stars drawing giant Mickey Mouse heads in the air with wands).
I can’t really think of non-childrens’ network which has something so similar to the British idents. Is that because loyalty among the few childrens’ outlets is more easily won for just one channel? Is it just a better bet that kids can be won over with this type of branding and adults can’t? Any other ideas?
Here are a few old Nick bumpers for the nostalgic out there (there are also hundreds on YouTube–I agree, totally impossible to stop once you’ve started)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&NR=1&v=WRpox_aXPlk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpb9F2m1aVI
I love that you thought of the Nickelodean bumpers in conjunction with the British idents. During that lecture, I kept wanting to compare to an American equivalent, but unfortunately, most broadcast channels focus on promoting their individuals programs or appeasing sponsors, much like this week’s reading suggests in terms of branding. In regards to Nickelodean, I also remember “Face”, the reoccurring character to guide kids through show transitions and new programming. I can’t remember exactly which shows I watched a kid were on Nickelodean, but I do remember Face appearing in-between many, proving such channel identification works to bring in an audience and keep them.