Discovery Channel will unwrap a new brand campaign and refreshed logo during the season premiere of Deadliest Catch April 15, officials said Monday.
Clients and buyers will be treated to a first look at the campaign, “The World is Just Awesome”—and the new logo at the network’s upfront presentation today in Chicago.
“Over the past 23 years, Discovery has grown into a global icon—a destination for exploration and learning, and we wanted to showcase our earned place in the greater pop culture landscape,” Discovery Channel president and general manager John Ford said in a prepared statement.
“No other network delivers on the wonder, optimism and thrill of life on planet earth quite like Discovery,” he added. “Our viewers are true fans of the world and this campaign is their cheering section.”
The on-air campaign features the network’s signature talent in iconic settings including Dirty Jobs’s Mike Rowe knee deep in muck; Mythbusters Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage up to their usual antics in the lab and Man Vs. Wild’s Bear Grylls off in the middle of nowhere. In addition, that ultimate embodiment of knowledge with no limits, Stephen Hawking makes a cameo.
The spots premiere in conjunction with the network’s highest-rated series Deadliest Catch, which returns for its fourth season.
The Los Angeles-based advertising and design company, 72andSunny, developed the campaign together with Discovery Channel creative vice president Dan Bragg. The anthem is set to an old children’s song called, I Love the Mountains. The song’s lyrics were rewritten to better reflect Discovery’s personalities and passions.
Discovery turned to Boston-based Viewpoint Creative to develop a revitalized brand mark that would continue to leverage the equity of its signature “globe” icon. By linking the globe into the “D” of Discovery, Viewpoint fused the world and brand. The stylized earth, contemporary color palette and fresh typography all combine to bring the mark more in line with Discovery as the international communications company it is today, the network said.
The mark can also separate out the “D-globe” as a single entity, in order to create a unique and dynamic icon. This icon can be used as a shorthand “identifier” in the future.
