"Late Night" Does it Right

People who know me know that I'm a big fan of Late Night with Conan O'Brien, although I don't get to see the show as much as I'd like because I don't own a TV. Of course, Conan had his last show last night, and taking his place on Late Night will be SNL alum, Jimmy Fallon. He's been going through all the motions that a new host goes through, including one of the most important: choosing a logo for the show. It is crucial that Fallon develop a different identity than Conan, while maintaining the "vibe" of late night. A refresher for those who don't remember Conan's logo:



Conan's logo worked because it was quirky - it reflected his brand of off-beat humor. The strings hanging the nameplate in front of a perspective skewed backdrop of New York was also much different than Leno (although Leno and Conan both had caricatures of their faces associated with the show) or anything on other networks.

So Fallon has big shoes to fill. Fortunately, I think that the Late Show has gotten a good start. Fallon is a lot less outrageous than Conan, and the new logo should reflect that. So, they narrowed it down to three logos:





Of these, I find Logo #1 to be the most compelling. It blends well with the skyline, and the stairstep pattern of the text is really appealing and draws your eye nicely to the name of the host. I think Logo #2 would be serviceable, but not ideal - it makes the name of the host too dominant - this is LATE NIGHT with Jimmy Fallon, not the Jimmy Fallon Show. Part of the reason Conan was so successful was because he had so many great supporting writers and cast. Abe Vigoda, for example.

Logo #3 looks too much like SNL, and while Fallon was on SNL, I think most people remember him from having to yell at him when he cracked up during every skit. Was there a single skit he was in where he didn't laugh the whole time? Besides, Late Night isn't just another SNL. It's nothing like it, and the branding should reflect that.

Watch Jimmy present the logos - the video is especially interesting because there are mockups of how the logos look on coffee cups, which is one of the major exposures that audiences will get.



By the way, the winning logo was #1: