Cartoon Network recently launched a new logo, although the evolution is nicely subtle so it may take a few commercial breaks before you notice:
Here's what has gone before:
As you can tell, even though they're sticking with a nice, simple CN acronym, the network still has to confront the problem of defining what it means. Nobody calls the channel "C. N." and nobody ever has. So the subtitle text kinda has to remain... even though other acronym networks do not have the problem (MTV just lost their own "Music Television" subtitle, despite the channel being uber-commonly known as M. T. V. for decades.)
I was never against the middle logo - the perspectivized version - but I do like this new version better. Really, the notion that a cartoon channel would have a pure black-and-white logo has been odd since the network started. But at least they have managed to sidestep the "CARTOON LOGOS MUST BE WACKY" cliche. Then you'd have silly font choices and eye-rollingly oddball designs. So I like the channel's efforts to stay simple in the face of what has almost assuredly been a constant parade of consultants and execs saying "But shouldn't the logo be sillier? Cartoons are silly! Kids like silly!"
Now, I definitely do not care for the new slogan that is riding alongside the new logo: "Check it." I mean, whatever. Why do we even need a slogan for a cartoon channel? It lives and dies by the content; the slogan is not going to do anything.
I take some measure of smugness in noticing that Cartoon Network's efforts last year at turning into a live-action kids channel appear to have been grenaded. They have a new big live action show about to debut, Unnatural History, but all the cheaply produced, forced-kid-cred shows have quietly vanished from the lineup. Replaced with the return of animated shows, duh.
Cartoon Network still relies far too much on the same shows (really, Johnny Test is on again?) rather than padding out the key times with classic stuff... but at least the dawn of Adventure Time and Generator Rex shows that they're still producing new cartoons. Clone Wars is reliable, most of the time. Ben 10 is an evergreen. Batman: Brave and the Bold is fantastic but seems to be on a long, measured marketing fade.
Then there's Boomerang, which has been ignored forever. You can catch spots on Boomerang that were lifted from Cartoon Network 10+ years ago and still have the first logo on them. No effort is being put towards poor Boomerang, other than cycling shows into the lineup that are currently out of favor, like older seasons of Pokemon.
I wish Cartoon Network would get around to releasing genuine Season collections of Brave and the Bold and Ben 10: Alien Force. Their DVD strategy these days is truly reprehensible. For B&B, Bakugan and Alien Force, they're been sticking us with "Volumes" where you get four episodes ($10 to $15). Rather than releasing the entire season on one set. If you want the complete run, you're out quite a bit of cash.
Which is fine, to stick the diehards, if they had a complete Season One release on the horizon. But they don't. Instead, they've gone bonus-terrible and introduced the "Chapters" concept, where they take two Volumes and sell them to you again! So you're still not getting the entire season. I just hope they eventually get to a Season edition, because that's the only set I'm buying. These Volumes and Chapters are just birthday party fodder.
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