Evolution of a broadcast brand

And so the Corporation and the agency that has designed the latest

identity, Red Bee Media, prepare themselves for the public's reaction to
the 11th incarnation of BBC One's idents.

Martin Lambie-Nairn, chairman and executive creative director of
branding agency Lambie-Nairn, which oversaw the creation of three BBC
One idents between 1991 and 2002, says it is an extremely tough brief.
'People often ask me: "Did you do those dancers?" They either love it or
hate it. The challenge is to find a single-minded, relevant and
entertaining common denominator, and, for a generic channel like BBC
One, it is a hugely difficult task.'

After four years, the dancers are making way for a circular device based
on the 'O' of One, and alluding to the globe motif used in the first BBC
One identity of 1964. This time, however, the look sets out to be more
strategic than recent vignettes to encompass iconography that stretches
beyond TV, and to have a far longer shelf life. It's all a far cry from
the relatively simple requirements of four decades ago. So, how has the
identity changed over the years?

1964

Although BBC Television had been on-screen since 1936, the launch of BBC
Two in 1964 meant the two channels needed distinct identities. BBC One
adopted the globe motif introduced by BBC Television controller Donald
Baverstock a year earlier. The globe was designed to trumpet the BBC's,
and Great Britain's, position on the world stage. At home, BBC One had
to compete with a rampant ITV network making many of the nation's
most-watched programmes.

1966

The globe remained, but a fresh 'watch-strap' design was introduced,
complete with a striped band and clock. A strange concept, but then, TV
branding was still an inexact science. 'As there were very few TV
companies around at the time, the priority for branding channels was
very low indeed,' recalls Lambie-Nairn, who worked at the BBC in the
60s. 'It was just a question of getting your name on screen. There was
no strategy.'

1969

The 'high-tech' arrival of colour on BBC One, two years after BBC Two,
heralded a decidedly low-tech identity, with a blue and black mechanical
globe rotating in front of a curved mirror. Monty Python's Flying
Circus, which made its debut the same year, frequently used the identity
for spoof continuity announcements. To watch BBC One in colour, viewers
needed a new TV; within 10 years, there were 12m colour licences in the
UK.

1978

At last, a dash of colour for the ident, as a blue and yellow globe and
big bold font were introduced. However, the clocks and idents were still
rudimentary - filmed by a black and white camera, colour was added
electronically. For both BBC One and ITV, this was a golden era, with
audiences that can no longer be matched in a multichannel world. In
1977, the Christmas Day Morecambe and Wise Show attracted 28m viewers;
it remains the most-watched comedy programme in British television
history.

1985

A more futuristic version of the globe appeared, inelegantly christened
COW, an acronym for Computer Originated World. It debuted on the day
that Terry Wogan began a thrice-weekly chat show and the day before
EastEnders first went on air. With Channel 4's launch in 1982, the TV
landscape became more crowded, and the new channel's dynamic logo,
featuring interlocking coloured bars, significantly raised the standard
for TV identities. Credited as the first attempt to inject personality
into a TV brand, it conveyed Channel 4's diversity and independently
produced programmes.

1991

The BBC turned to Lambie-Nairn, which had created Channel 4's logo, to
update its identity. 'Being known as "Auntie" was a problem,' recalls
Lambie-Nairn. 'It needed to get from dull and following to exciting and
leading. There was also a lot more competition, so identity became very
important.' Notable among the competition was Sky, which launched in
1990. Lambie-Nairn's solution, the 'smoky globe', accentuated the number
'1' and made more dynamic use of the globe.

1997

Lambie-Nairn's second stab at BBC One's identity saw the ageing globe
reinvented as a hot-air balloon, filmed flying over 10 different
locations around Britain. The idea was to show how BBC One brought the
world to all corners of the United Kingdom. With devolution on the
political agenda, the balloon helped signify that the regions played an
important part in BBC programming. Although cleverly conceived and
popular with audiences, critics quipped that the balloon signified that
the BBC was slow, lumbering and full of hot air.

2002

BBC One controller Lorraine Heggessey ordered an identity that better
reflected her vision of a more entertaining and energetic BBC One. Then
BBC director-general Greg Dyke shared her view and Lambie-Nairn replaced
the balloon with another 'unifying' motif - dancing. Lambie-Nairn
describes the rhythm and movement idents, which dispensed with the globe
for the first time in 38 years, as 'the ultimate democracy of dance'.
Although some thought the globe was imperialist, the fresh idents did
not fare much better, criticised for being politically correct and
patronising.