Compilation by David R. Jackson and AsdfTheRevival
Editions by AsdfTheRevival, Shadeed A. Kelly and Bob Fish


Background: Procter & Gamble didn't enter TV production until 1951 when the soap opera Search for Tomorrow premiered on TV.


1st Logo
(1951-1971?)

Logo: During the end credits, we see a disclaimer in a white font on a black background that reads:

[NAME OF THE SHOW]

is a

Procter & Gamble

Presentation

Variant: On The Guiding Light, this disclaimer was used instead (and it faded in like the rest of the credits and used the same background as the credits):

THE

GUIDING

LIGHT

Presented By

PROCTER & GAMBLE

FX: Fades in with a wipe effect.

Music/Sounds: The closing theme of whatever TV show the logo came on.

Availability: Was on Procter & Gamble soaps during the 1950s and 1960s, such as As the World Turns, The Guiding Light, and Search for Tomorrow.

Scare Factor: Depends on what you think of the theme playing over the credits.



2nd Logo
(1971?-1980)

Logo: Same as above, consisting of the words:


in Lydian font.

Variants:

• On Another World, the notice was centered inside a wreath of interlocking circles (in the same motif as the open to the show in that period).
• A later variant on As the World Turns has the disclaimer scrolling up with the rest of the credits and used the same font as the credits.

FX: None, it's a superimposed disclaimer.

Music/Sounds: The closing theme of whatever TV show the logo came on.

Availability: Was on soap operas such as As the World Turns, Another World, and Guiding Light from at least the early 1970s to 1980. After this logo was last used on Friday, May 30, 1980, the P&G soaps began using copyright disclaimers (either on the show's title card or scrolling in the credits) on Monday, June 2, 1980, to acknowledge that P&G produced their shows, and had no logo whatsoever until logo #3 was introduced. However, P&G's soaps continue to use copyright stamps today, along with the fourth and current logo.

Scare Factor: Low for Another World; if the "kaleidoscope wreath" open used on Another World bothered you, the custom P&G wreath logo may be scary as well, but being superimposed, it's fairly tame. Other than that, it depends on what you think of the end theme playing over the credits.



3rd Logo
(1985-2007)

Nicknames: "PGP Neon Letter/Sign", "PGP", "Flashing PGP", "Blue PGP", "PGP Flash of Doom" (not to be confused with WGBH's "flash of doom")

Logo: A group of multifaceted rays in varying shades of blue rises up from bottom screen. The rays form a monolith with a bright, shiny back face, which pans backward (and slightly downward), rotates to face forward, then stops. The rays then pull back to form the letters "PGP" in a lined font, and letters shine in a "flash" (similar to the 1978 WGBH logo). After that, the words "PROCTER & GAMBLE PRODUCTIONS, INC." (in white Avant Garde font) appear below the "PGP", and are bordered top and bottom by two blue lines (same color as the PGP) which form left to right and right to left, respectively.

Variants: 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.

Trivia: This logo made its first end credit appearances on the following Procter and Gamble shows around the following dates:

• Another World: February 14, 1985
• Search for Tomorrow: February 26, 1986
• As the World Turns: No later than June 13, 1986
• Guiding Light: October 1986.

FX: The blue rays, "blooming of light" effect, but was very good quality CGI for 1985.

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, CBS in August 1999 replaced the electronic music with generic network promo music. The generic music has a quiet synthesizer and piano piece (d-f#-a-e'-d'). The music accompanying the As the World Turns version of the short PGP is a string-dominated pseudo-symphonic waltz (la-di-dah, di-dah, di-dahhh).

Music/Sound Variant: 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.

Availability: Found on episodes of Procter & Gamble soaps from 1985 to 2007 like As the World Turns, Guiding Light, Another World, and Search for Tomorrow, and on other programs co-produced by P&G, such as made-for-TV movies. The long version was usually only used on soaps and is a fairly uncommon find.

Scare Factor: Depends on the version shown:

• The short version would be low.
• The long version is medium, bordering on high; the synth theme is pretty friendly, but the dramatics may get to some.

4th Logo
(2007-2008)

Nicknames: "PGP Globe", "PGP Ball", "The Spinning Ball", "Ball of Boredom", "Ball of Annoyance"

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 left of the screen, while the letters "PGP" in blue appear next to it. "PROCTER & GAMBLE PRODUCTIONS, INC." appears under the PGP letters.

FX: The spinning ball, the blue trail.

Music/Sounds: A light piano theme, but rarely used because of CBS's tendency to play generic network music over the logo. The version with the logo theme appears on As the World Turns and Guiding Light on CBS.com (and will possibly be intact on GL episodes reran from the era which will be reran on SoapNet sometime in 2008).

Availability: Current, used since August 2007 on the soaps As the World Turns and Guiding Light.

Scare Factor: Low; the ball coming towards the screen may be unnerving, but it's otherwise harmless compared to its predecessor. However, this logo may annoy people who liked the previous logo.


Note: Procter And Gamble merged with Telecast Media in 2008