Samsung Electronics (Commercial Tags)

Background

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (삼성전자 in Korean) is a South Korean electronics corporation headquartered in Suwon, South Korea. It is the main functioning subsidiary of the Samsung chaebol group of companies, being a manufacturer of diverse products such as electronic components, mobile phones, smartphones, televisions, cameras, computers and home appliances. As of 2019, Samsung Electronics is the world's second-largest technology company by revenue, and the 12th largest overall company in the world.

The company has also established ties within the game developing and publishing industry of South Korea within the electronics branding. Samsung mainly took a role on distributing computer games and Sega products during the late 1980s to early 2000s.

1st Logo (1985-1993)

Logo: Over a blue starfield, we see the former logo of the company, having three TV tubes in vertical position, with a star in each. The name "三星電子" or "삼성전자" is seen next to the logo glowing behind in blue. Above is some other Korean text.

Variants:

Early commercials had the name on Hanja, with later ones reworking the logo in Hangul.
There's a longer version where the logo trails in with a blue color, and then flashes, the glow then appears as it is revealed.

FX/SFX: The animation of the starfield; the trailing and light effects on the long variant.

Music/Sounds: A male Korean announcer saying the name. Some commercials have the logo silent.

Availability: Seen on Korean commercials from the time frame.

2nd Logo (1986-198?)

Logo: We zoom out from one of the stars of the Samsung logo. The background is a black/blue linear gradient, and the logo places slightly off-center to make room for the Hanja "三星電子" below.

FX/SFX: The logo zooming out, the fade.

Music/Sounds: A male Korean announcer saying the name.

Availability: Seen on a few Korean commercials from the late 1980s.

3rd Logo (1993)

Logo: Over a black background, the small blue Hangul text "삼성전자" is shown shining in the screen, similarly to the Sega logo.

FX/SFX: The text shining.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Seen on the Mega Drive game 우주거북선 (aka Uju Geobukseon). It was the only Korean game developed for the Mega Drive/Genesis system, and physical copies come really hard to find nowadays.

4th Logo (1995-2002)

Logo: Over a white background, the blue Samsung logo is shown with "삼성전자" or "ELECTRONICS" in bold.

Variants:

On early DOS games, a pixelated Samsung logo is shown with the Hangul text. It is seen without the Korean text in Van Slug X-Mission.
On Lars the Wanderer, the logo is superimposed on a marble background.
On Astrocounter of Crescents, the white logo is shown over a black background and "DISTRIBUTED BY" is shown above.
On Imjin-rok and GungGadin, the blue text "또 하나의 가족" is shown above the logo.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: Mostly none.

Music/Sounds Variants:

On Van Slug X-Mission, a mellow MIDI theme is heard.
On Imjin-rok, a harp glissando is heard.
On GungGadin, a bell arpeggio is heard.

Availability: Scarce. Seen on computer games published or developed by the company like the ones mentioned above. Also appears on the first two Korean Crayon Shin-chan games.

5th Logo (1995, 1998)

Logo: Over a black background, multiple blue fragments appear from the directions and join together to form the Samsung logo (a slanted oval with the "S/\MSUNG" trademark text) with "삼성전자" next to it.

Variant: On Laburynthos, the logo emerges from blue dust and the Korean text is changed to "ELECTRONICS".

FX/SFX: The logo emerging from the fragments.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Seen on the PC games Daehyeoljeon (Great Fighter) and Laburynthos.

6th Logo (1996-1997)

Logo: Over a starfield, we see the Samsung oval logo zooming out as the letters of "ELECTRONICS" shoot from the right side below, with a blue comet trail. The elements then place into the sides as the background changes into plain white, with the logo and text turning into plain blue.

FX/SFX: The logo zooming out, the text shooting in, and the background changing.

Music/Sounds: A dramatic synth fanfare.

Availability: Very rare; seen on the PC games My Love: Chaos Daejak-jeon and Kakkong.

7th Logo (1996-1999)

Logo: On a white background, the letters of "또 하나의 가족" fall into position while the Samsung logo with "삼성전자" fades in below.

Variants:

A variant had the oval emerge in the center, with "SAMSUNG" fading in after. The Korean text stands still.
In some cases the URL of the product would be seen below.
Later commercials had no animation of the logo.

FX/SFX: 2D animation.

Music/Sounds: A 5-note electric piano theme.

Availability: Extinct; was seen on Korean Samsung commercials of the era.

8th Logo (Late 1990s)

Logo: TBA

FX/SFX: 2D animation.

Music/Sounds: A repeating electric piano theme with strings, followed by a held note.

Availability: Unknown; probably from a Korean distributed game or demo disc.

9th Logo (2001-2002)

Logo: On a black background, we see the blue outline spinning. It spins faster and faster, finally forming an oval. "S", "/\", "M", "S", "U", "N", "G" appears one-by-one in the corporate font. Whole thing starting to flashing, making the background white. The Samsung logo is seen with the Korean "삼성전자" below.

FX/SFX: Outline and letters, done with CGI, whole flashing (computer effects), the logo appearing, making 3D to be combined with 2D.

Music/Sounds: A synthesized theme with whooshing sounds.

Availability: Very rare. Found on later PC games such as the fourth Korean Crayon Shin-chan game and Ki-Fighter Taerang.

10th Logo (2004-2006)

Logo: Over a black background, a CG-generated spiral galaxy appears, shrinks and glows into the Samsung oval design. There is a slight shine on the logo. The URL or additional info might appear below.

FX/SFX: CGI animation.

Music/Sounds: The ending audio of the commercial. However, in some instances a bright piano note would play.

Availability: Seen on (non-Korean) commercials from the era.

11th Logo (2006-2007)

Logo: Over a black background, a blue light moves to the right revealing the blue Samsung oval logo. The light then disappears, and another light passes through its borders. The URL (varying depending on the commercial) is shown below.

FX/SFX: The animation of the light.

Music/Sounds: An atmospheric 4-note synth piece.

Availability: Seen on international commercials from the era.

12th Logo (2007-2010)

Logo: The screen fades into a black background where multiple blue lights appear circling into the slanted oval of the Samsung logo. The lights further zoom out quickly before these disappear and change to the Samsung logo revealing.

Variant: On Samsung Mobile ads, the white background is retained. "mob!le" also appears at the center of the oval lights.

FX/SFX: The lights circling into the logo.

Music/Sounds: A more percussive remake of the last logo's music.

Availability: Seen on international commercials from the era.

13th Logo (2010-2014)

Nickname: "Turn On Tomorrow"

Logo: The Samsung logo is shown on a black background, and the slogan "TURN ON TOMORROW" in white fades next to it.

FX/SFX: The fade in of the text.

Music/Sounds: An acoustic remake of the 2006 music.

Music/Sounds Variant:

There is a slower version of the music.
The logo is silent in some cases.

Availability: Seen on international commercials from the era.

14th Logo (2014-)

Logo: The "S/\MSUNG" text without the oval is shown mostly over a black background.

Variant: Some later mobile commercials have the colors inverted.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: Mostly the ending audio of the commercial.

Availability: Current; seen on most of Samsung's recent commercials.