Orange, blue and white text over black text on a silver background

MTV or Music Television is an American television channel that launched on August 1, 1981.  It originally aired music videos (the first being “Video Killed the Radio Star” by The Buggles) but programming has changed on MTV over the years to include gameshows, reality shows, documentaries, and other music and non-music related entertainment.

Yellow text over an illustration of a figure with wings on a black background

The British band Led Zeppelin formed their own music label, Swan Song, in 1974. The logo featured here is a simplified version of Swan Song’s (though it is heavily associated with Led Zeppelin), and it is based on art by William Rimmer. Rimmer’s painting, Evening: Fall of Day, depicts the winged figure of Apollo, rising at sunset into the sky. Apollo is often misidentified as Lucifer, Icarus, or Daedalus.

Swan Song released music by Led Zeppelin, but the band members were also interested in promoting other artists who hadn't had much luck in the music industry. After its launch, Swan Song released albums by Led Zeppelin, Bad Company, and Pretty Things, among others.

Black text and a red heart on a white background

The I heart NY logo was created in 1977 by Milton Glaser for an ad campaign created by advertising agency Wells Rich Greene. The marketing campaign was sought by then-Deputy Commissioner William S. Doyle to increase tourism in the state of New York. The campaign was a wild success. The original sketch of the logo is permanently on display at the MOMA.

The logo has become iconic in pop-culture and has been imitated in many forms around the world, like on this self-referential button. 

Illustration of a girl with red hair wearing a blue dress and holding a flower on a yellow background with black text

Marty Links (real name Martha Arguello) was a cartoonist whose professional work included syndicated newspaper comics, along with making ceramics and greeting cards later in her career. Her most famous creation was Emmy Lou, a teenage character for comic strips created in 1944 that ran in newspapers until 1979.  Links transitioned to creating her own cards in the 1970s and then began working for the Hallmark company. The Lollipops art series for Hallmark included greeting cards, Christmas ornaments, figurines, and other keepsakes with a variety of cherubic faced child characters involved in various activities. In an interview Links shared that she was recommended to Hallmark by friend and fellow cartoonist “Sparky” Charles Schulz, creator of the famous Peanuts comic strips. 

Black and red text, with a red heart on a yellow background.  T 

Dos Equis beer was brewed in Mexico by the German immigrant Wilhelm Hasse beginning in 1897. It was originally called Siglo XX to usher in the 20th century with the Roman numeral “XX” signifying 20, and the Spanish work “Siglo” meaning century. The bold “XX” design on Dos Equis bottles was first used in 1979 and continues to present day.

Blue text over a green circle with an outer white edge with black text on the bottom

“Touch the Earth” ran weekly on Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) Radio from 1974 to 1980. The program was focused on folk music and hosted by Sylvia Tyson. The show featured writer and poet Margaret Atwood (author of The Handmaid’s Tale and other novels), and folk artists like the late Stan Rogers, among others.

Black text over an illustration of a group of people and a fence on a silver background

The term Gulag refers to the Communist Soviet forced labor camps. Between 1958 and 1968, Russian novelist and historian, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn wrote a three-volume novel about life in the Gulag called The Gulag Archipelago. Solzhenitsyn used his own experiences as well as first hand testimony from over 200 of his fellow prisoners. Despite attempts from the Soviet government to destroy the original texts, the books originally circulated as an underground publication in 1973. It wasn't until 2009 that the books became a mandatory part of the Russian school curriculum.

Black text next to an illustration of a woman wearing sunglasses and wrapped in red and white stripes on a red background

“Without You I’m Nothing” is a film released in 1990 based on the 1988 Off-Broadway, one-woman show by Sandra Bernhard. The film’s narrative centers on the idea that Bernhard’s manager has sent her back to L.A. to perform at small jazz clubs because of her overwhelming success on the stages of New York City. Combining singing numbers and stand-up, this film is described as a work of performance art that explores ideas about performers and artists, as well as narcissism and self-loathing. The closing scene of the film shows Bernhard draped in an American Flag, only to reveal her near-nudity underneath, while she performs a go-go dance number to Prince’s “Little Red Corvette”. This shot of her covered by the America Flag went on to be the marketing image used to promote the film.

Illustration of a bright green t-shirt with black text on a black background

Remote Control was a TV game show that aired on MTV (Music Television) from 1987-1990. Contestants answered pop culture trivia questions for a chance to win prizes. One of the prizes in a 1988 episode was a Remote Control tee-shirt designed by Shah Safari. Shah Safari was a fashion brand created by Seattle based brothers Raj and Akhil Shah. The brothers went on to create other fashion brands such as Mecca USA, Quest, and Reactor, among others.

Blue illustration of a character on a cloud with blue text above and below on a white background

Beginning in 1972, Little Elmo Publications would publish excerpts of books from their company in Billboard magazine. Each excerpt or advertisement would include their logo, which was a bearded man sitting on or standing beside a floating cloud. The paragraphs that were published in the magazines from their books featured religious content. One such publication advertised Sun Child by Keith Colley, which was published by Little Elmo Publications in 1974.