Nickelodeon Brings Back the Splat for New Brand Campaign

By Cameron Bonomolo

Cue The Nick Mnemonic: The Splat is back. As part of its first brand refresh in 14 years, Nickelodeon is bringing back the Splat logo that became an iconic part of The First Kids' Network in the '80s, '90s, and 2000s. On Monday, the network announced its new brand campaign and identity calling back to Nick's irreverent history, which includes a re-imagined Splat logo and beloved Nick characters "but with a modern feel for today's kids and families." The campaign launched Monday in the US with the 30-second "Quartet" hero spot across Nick's linear, digital and social platforms, featuring a new — but nostalgic — take on the classic mnemonic that millennials are sure to remember: Nick, nick, nick, nick, na-nick, nick, nick, Nick-e-lo-de-on! Watch it above.

"It was time for us to really look at the brand, and look at our audience, and talk with our audience and revisit all the pieces of Nickelodeon," Sabrina Caluori, EVP of global kids and family marketing at Nickelodeon and Paramount, told Adweek of restoring The Splat logo that the network discontinued in 2009.

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(Photo: Nickelodeon)

Launching May 8th in the US, the rebrand rolls out in the UK in July and in additional markets throughout 2023. Nick's "Portal to Fun" launch campaign features five Easter egg-filled mixed-media brand films depicting the Splat as a gateway to surprising experiences, which Nick will bring to life at schools around the country throughout the summer. Of course, there will be the green Nickelodeon Slime.

The "core DNA" of Nickelodeon's brand still resonates with kids today, Caluori said. "We take that to the best and the mess of being a kid. We did learn that, what's fundamentally different now than when the brand was initially taking shape, is kids' relationship to their parents and parents' relationship to their kids."

In a press release, Nickelodeon said it enlisted six US and international animation houses that used the new brand work to demonstrate Nick's "energy and sensibility" through its iconic characters: SpongeBob SquarePants, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, PAW Patrol, Blue's Clues, Baby Shark, The Loud House, and Monster High.

"That was an exciting unlock for us because it meant while we can continue to be the best and the mess of being a kid, we can use that to actually bring kids and families closer together, which they are longing for in this time," said Caluori. "It's the first brand I ever had any passion for as a kid, and now I'm a mom of three kids who are in the demo. It's been really exciting for me to be able to look at the brand and look at everything that we're doing through the eyes of my kids while also ensuring that everything that we're doing still spoke to the Nick kid inside me."

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