Last Updated 11/14/02
Anti-Logo Links Last updated 9/5/02
Check out this letter on the subject of logos.
I have another letter that will be added in soon.
I've not been as quick about it as I should be, but I am maintaining this site and keeping updates to the Anti-Logo links. Visit them.
Obnoxicons (a term that is a contraction of 'Obnoxious Icons') are those annoying little (or in some cases, friggin' huge) logos that appear in the corner of your TV while you are trying to watch a program.
Why they are there, no one has been able to give me a sensible sounding explanation for. What their effects are, is known. It varies, but some people find them so annoying that it prevents them from watching TV without covering corners of the picture with cardboard. To combat this, different stations use different corners, and some logos cover so much picture that blocking them takes out over 15% of the picture.
(Update: I have now been told that these pesky things are for 'Network Identity' purposes, or for copyright issues. On the copyright issue, there are ways of burying data in the same data streams that are used for Captioning and other purposes without defacing the picture. On the former point, I resent being thought so mind-meltingly stupid that I cannot remember what channel and network I am watching without a constant reminder on-screen.) The only way to get rid of these things is to voice our opinions in a way that even the biggest broadcasters must listen to. We have to rattle the advertisers. People who use the internet represent a demographic group that only a terminally insane corporation would ignore. While the sophistication of individuals is all over the map, the disposable income to afford a computer speaks loudly. Thus, a certain amount of attention must be paid.
I am building a list of companies that advertise where obnoxicons are seen. The only criteria to get on the list is that the company bought advertising time on a network, affiliate or program (some programs have their own obnoxicons) that uses/used one of the pesky things, and an address for the company could be found. The link to the list is below. People are encouraged to send me any addresses they can find and I'll add them if I can verify the fact. Please send addresses with a network and show that I can check for obnoxicons. Once verified, the entry gets made. I am only in a position to verify major broadcast and cable networks, and now that I have had the cable TV taken out , such verification takes time as I have to ask trusted people who still have service to verify this for me, please keep that in mind when submitting information.
The list does not include any information about where or when the offending ad(s) was(were) placed. The idea is to get rid of the things across the board, so individual networks, stations, or shows are not being listed. If you want to complain about a specific show, do so.
The original Squash the Bugs page seems to have gone off-line. This is unfortunate. I will be adding as much of the information that was on that page that I still have to this page as time permits, drop by and check it out. If the original author of Squash the Bugs would contact me, I would appreciate it. Some of the links from the old Squash the Bugs page can be found here. If anyone has information from that site, I'd like to get it for posting here. A new site of the same name but a different operator can be found in the Anti-Logo links section.
Update 1/1/02: Now things are getting interesting, according to the UK site The UK Campaign for Logo Free TV, television manufacturers are issuing warnings that permanent logos may damage your TV, and may not be covered under warranty repairs. You will have to read down a bit to find the links.
Update 12/13/99: Even the venerable institution of TV Guide has gotten annoyed enough by this to complain, and they cannot afford to annoy the industry. In the Dec. 11-17 1999 issue, in the Cheers and Jeers section on page 18, Superstation WTBS got a well-deserved razzing for not only loading up a film with 34 minutes of commercials (for a 101 minute film), they also pasted their awful SUPERSTATION logo in the corner for all non-commercial material. This is standard practice for all non-premium channels of which I am currently aware. (I have had friends that tell me some stations flash them then remove them, but when I check, their idea of a flash is in excess of two minutes, and except for that kind of checking, I no longer nave any tolerance for the things, so I'm gone as soon as they appear.) They should not be at all surprised by this. (The referenced Cheers and Jeers is not available on-line, because that section is not on-line as far as I can tell.)
Update 1/9/00: Even DVDs are getting infested with these pesky things, read about it here.
Have some comments about the ugly bugs? Send them here and I'll make up a page of responses.
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