Sailboat 4 logo

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The "Sailboat 4" was the logo used by television station WTMJ in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It was retired in 2004 after having been in use (in some form) for a total of 31 years. It was referred to as such because the inside of the 4 made the shape of a sail, which could allude to the numerous sailboats found on Milwaukee's Lakefront in the summer months. During its run, it became one of the most recognizable local television station logos in the United States.

[edit] The "Unofficial" Sailboat 4's

Although it is not recognized as an "official" Sailboat 4, this version shares some similarities with the Sailboat 4 and in many ways can be seen as the precursor to the future logo. It debuted in 1967 with the television colors of red, blue and green chosen to promote the station's converson to full color capability. In 1976, the logo was given a makeover and skewed towards red, white and blue and a star was added to celebrate the American Bicentennial before giving way to the "Tube 4" the following year.

[edit] First Generation Sailboat 4/Peacock 4

The First Generation Sailboat 4 debuted in 1980. It would become a staple on Milwaukee television for the next 23 years, undergoing only evolutionary changes during that time. The current NBC Peacock was unvieled on May 12, 1986 and soon appeared alongside the Sailboat 4 per a mandate to all of the networks affiliates. The "Peacock 4" was shown numerous times in the 1988 movie Major League which was filmed on-location in Milwaukee. The movie even featured a scene where a player was being interviewed by a WTMJ reporter, but the station was based in Cleveland for continuity purposes.

[edit] "Today's TMJ" Version

The final version of the Sailboat 4 debuted in 1992 during the Summer Olympic Games to help launch a new campaign featuring the station's new marketing slogan "Today's TMJ." The slogan was also the first to acknowledge the colloquial term "TMJ" which had long been used by viewers to refer to the station. Minimal changes were made to the logo as it was slanted towards the right giving it the appearance of moving forward with the colors being skewed towards gold, purple and red. A second version using green and gold was used for broadcasts involving the Green Bay Packers. The reasons for this were two-fold. It not only showed the stations status as the "Official Packers Station" in Milwaukee, but it was also felt the regular colors too closely resembled the Packers' rivals, the Minnesota Vikings. The Sailboat 4 was finally retired in 2004 when it was thought to look too dated for the HDTV generation (Ironically, rival Milwaukee station WISN is still using its even older "12" logo). the current glossier 4 debuted during the 2004 Olympics, ending the Sailboat 4's run as the longest continuously used logo in the station's history.