BBC One 'Circle' idents

Since the 7 October 2006, BBC One has been branded with the 'Circle' idents, a set of idents that all consist of a circular theme and all feature a scene which is revealed to end in a circle formation.

Despite being considered a breath of fresh air when they first launched, replacing the critiqued 'Dancers' idents that preceded them - 8 years after they debuted, many now believe that the time has come for the channel to be refreshed and receive a new look that represents 2014 and not 2006.

They are also one of the longest running packages used by BBC One to date, as observed:

BBC One COW Globe (1986-1991) 5 years
BBC One Corporate Globe (1991-1997) 6 years
BBC One Balloon (1997-2002) 5 years
BBC One Circular Idents (2006-2014) 7.9 (>8 ) years

I think it's certainly time for a refresh, and I remember even when they debuted not being overly keen on the idents - I certainly think that when the BBC decided to distance themselves from Lambie-Nairn after 15 years that a certain finish/polish was lost. I realise that Red Bee produced these idents, maybe that's why they've been on so long!

I think many of us would agree with you. However the BBC cannot currently afford a rebranding exercise. Especially with the cuts in license fee, and the bad press that would follow the announcement that the BBC were spending £_____________ amount of public money.

I would agree also, but surely a re-brand would bring in more to the channel, refreshing the channel and hopefully bringing in a new audience.

The audiences arguably are interested in the programmes, be it Live, on DVR, or iPlayer - more than the channel branding.

I do wonder whether they would go down BBC2's route and just use some old branding just to give it a new lease of life. The balloon would go down very well I'm sure and in this day and age would give the channel a brand new lease of life, like it seems to have done on BBC2.

It's probably unlikely but with the licence fee not going up until 2016, this current branding could well push 10 years plus, when it already looked tired about 2 years ago. It would be a cheap fix until they could afford a total rebrand, much like the intention of BBC2.

I thought the balloon branding was fantastic but I'm not sure a balloon gently floating over the British landscape is what BBC1 wants to go for these days.

The difference between the circle idents and the "current" BBC2 ones is that the circle idents are quite good and can always be developed with new ones. The BBC2 ones are not great IMHO, and the 50th anniversary gives them an excuse to hark back to the 90s.

The obvious difference with BBC Two bringing back their idents is they don't stick out like a sore thumb - they are still centred around the channel's current symbol, the '2'. Bringing back balloons or dancers don't fit with the current look so would stick out.

I don't think there's anything wrong with the current package. It identifies the channel as BBC One well with the signature notes and obvious circle. I just think they need to make some more to add variety. Maybe a new trailer end board?

I agree that there is still enough life in the BBC1 package for them not to be replaced for the sake of it, but refreshing the look through changing the trailer design and non-ident components of the branding would probably give it a bit of new life.

There's no need to change it in my opinion, it may not be 'fresh' and perhaps a little dated, but there's nothing wrong with them.
They don't look overly old, imo they have a good few years left.
A refresh would be nice though, however unlikely.

I think the Doctor Who take over & the Love **Insert Year**, branding helps keep the idents 'from ageing too fast'.

The last time they tried to liven the surrounding pres up while retaining the current idents they wrecked BBC2.

But if they went about sensibly, ensuring everything remained in-keeping with the look (retaining the swirl animations, for example) I'm sure they could come up with something more visually exciting/interesting than the 2006 kit, which might be enough to get a few more years out of these yet.

Oh God no. I hate that 'Love' presentation. It doesn't mean anything. Maybe they should just stick with the current trailer endboard then....