Procter & Gamble Productions

Credits

Descriptions by
DavidR Jackson and AsdfTheRevival

Captures by
Thatvhstapeguy

Editions by
AsdfTheRevival, Shadeed A. Kelly, Michael Bass, Bob Fish, and Edc4

Video captures courtesy of
JohnnyL80 and VectraQS and ENunn and Chance's Logo Archive

Background

Procter & Gamble, a consumer products company, entered TV production in 1951 when the soap opera Search for Tomorrow premiered on CBS. As Procter & Gamble is known for their cleaning products, this is where the term "soap opera" came from. They didn't use a logo until 1986.

1st Logo (Early 1986-August 3, 2007)

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Nicknames: "PGP Neon Letter/Sign", "PGP", "Flashing PGP", "Blue PGP"

Logo: Against a black background, a group of rays in varying shades of blue rise up from bottom of the screen. The rays form a monolith with a bright, shiny back face, which pans backward (and slightly downward), rotates to face forward, then stops. As it rotates towards the screen, the rays are outlined to make "PGP" in a lined font, which pull into the back of the monolith. The letters shine in a "flash" (similar to the 1978 WGBH logo) and solidify in their color. After that, the words "PROCTER & GAMBLE PRODUCTIONS, INC." (in a white Avant Garde font) appear below "PGP", and are sandwiched by two blue lines which are formed left-to-right and right-to-left, respectively. This is PGP's first of two proper logos since PGP had no logo per sé until this one debuted.

Date Trivia: This logo made its first end credit appearances on the following Procter & Gamble shows on the following dates in 1986:

• Another World: late January or early February (on or before February 14)
• Search for Tomorrow: March or April
• As the World Turns: April 21
• Guiding Light: October 13

Variants:

• There are 2 short versions: one that has the "PGP" drawing then flashing, or one that just has the logo cut to the flash. Both play the same ending.
• Some versions exist with "in association with" below. This was seen on the 1991 TV movie A Triumph of the Heart: The Ricky Bell Story.
• On at least one December 1986 episode of Search for Tomorrow, the logo simply fades in without the flash effects.
• On Christmas on Division Street, this logo is still.
• On A Message from Holly, the logo is still, and is more grey-ish then blue.
• There exists a pink version.

FX/SFX: The blue rays and "blooming of light" effect. According to a comment on this upload, the logo was shot on 35 mm film using a 16-axis automated camera stand, programmed using BASIC commands.

Music/Sounds: A light, jaunty synth tune consisting of 2 descending bars of 6 notes, then a last bar of 8 notes, then a 4 note sounder as the last bass chord fades away (i.e. just after the rays in the PGP pull back). However, on September 20, 1999, CBS replaced the electronic music with generic network promo music. Sometimes, especially on Guiding Light episodes until 2002, CBS showed the PGP logo twice: with the normal music first, and then with the generic music the second time.

Music/Sounds Variants:

• The most common version just shows the flash and everything after, with the 4-note sounder as the music, which has a note sequence of A-F#-D-G.
• On one CTV airing of Another World, the music gets cut off halfway on the last note.
• Some variants of the logo end with the end credits music.
• The sounder is slower and deeper on the pink version.

Availability: Found on episodes of Procter & Gamble soaps from early 1986 to August 3, 2007 like As the World Turns, Guiding Light, Another World, and Search for Tomorrow. This was also seen on other programs co-produced by P&G, such as made-for-TV movies. The long version is an uncommon find, and was mostly used on the soaps' long credit rolls every Friday.

Editor's Note: While this logo isn't the most impressive logo ever today, it is a prime example of a high-quality 1980s professional logo and is a favorite of many soap opera fans.

2nd Logo (August 6, 2007-June 30, 2008, April 16, 2010, January 5, 2011-2013)

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Nicknames: "PGP Globe", "PGP Ball", "The Spinning Ball"

Logo: On a white background, a large, blue globe-like ball zooms onto the screen, diving into the bottom right, leaving a blue trail as it does so. The ball, now smaller, comes in from the right side of the screen to form the letters "PGP" (the "PG" is connected) in blue and aquamarine on its right, and the following text in the same colors below it:

PROCTER&GAMBLE
PRODUCTIONS,INC.

The ball has a blue crescent on it's right side, perhaps referencing P&G's historic moon logo.

Variant: At the end of the 2011 People's Choice Awards, only the second half of the logo (with the text appearing next to the ball) is shown.

FX/SFX: The spinning ball, and the blue trail.

Music/Sounds: A light orchestral horn tune with a rising synth sounder, but rarely used because of CBS' tendency to play generic network music over the logo. The version with the logo theme appeared on episodes of As the World Turns and Guiding Light on CBS.com.

Availability: Uncommon. It was used from August 6, 2007 until June 30, 2008 on the soaps As the World Turns and Guiding Light. The logo surprisingly appeared in April 2010 on the NBC TV movie Secrets of the Mountain, two years after ATWT and GL discontinued the logo (PGP continues to produce TV movies to this day), and was also spotted on the 2011 People's Choice Awards.

Editor's Note: Much blander and more corporate than the previous logo.

Final Note: A spin-off company of Procter & Gamble Productions known as "TeleNext Media" was created in 2008 to produce the final episodes of As the World Turns and Guiding Light (GL ended in September 2009, while ATWT followed in September 2010). In 2013, the company was renamed "Procter & Gamble Entertainment".