Curious as to when SONY started using that orange matrix "S" script: "it's a Sony". Do you know when they started using it, and stopped? Used on many Sony products.

Also; the STAR used on some Walkmans, is it only used on Walkmans, and when/why was it used?

I know from this article when the Sony "S" logo began. I don't know when it stopped being used. Sony's legal notices show that it's still one of their copyrighted trademarks.

In 1982, Sony created a catchphrase and an additional logo to enhance the company's overall CI. When Morita was shown the design for this "S mark" logo, he thought that when people saw it for the first time, they would wonder what it represented. He reasoned that a brief, catchy description would be needed to explain the "S mark." The phrase he came up with was, "It's a Sony!" This, he believed, would add impact to the advertisement. Thereafter, all Sony TV commercials ended with the "S mark," followed by a voice-over saying, "It's a Sony!" This unique combination of picture and sound quickly became recognized around the world as a unique Sony trait.

As for the star, it's always been a mystery to me, too. I wonder if it signified anything at all! I hope someone who knows Sony history will respond!

Still don't have answers to the questions about when Sony stopped using the red "S" ("It's a Sony" logo) or the meaning of the star, but I've come up with a couple of examples from my collection that show these marks:

My pink/grey and grey/pink WM-F70 twins have the red "S":


And this WM-11 has the star:



Now... can anyone answer the questions???

I noticed in NGA's (spectacular!) collection here that his WM-11 has both a star and a red "It's a Sony" S. So, Sony was still using the S in 1985.

Actually, I think the latest I remember seeing the S on their products was '88-'89. That's a totally unscientific observation (my memory is the least reliable witness I can think of), but maybe we can narrow down the year if we all put our best recollections together.

So... who's next?

the 1988 sony sport WM-F45 has the S. whatever year the wm-d3 came out has one also. the WMAF-54 sport has one also but i am not sure of the year either.

I think I remember the star had something to do with the olympics, maybe they were a sponsor?

YES! That's it, the 1984, XXIII Olympiad in Los Angeles, USA.
L.A., California, Hollywood, Ronald Reagan and SONY Walkmans in the early eighties--that's the spirit! The sponsors usually start adding these doo-dads and ding-bats 2 years before the actual event.

THE 1984 star emblem: "The star is a universal symbol of the highest aspirations of mankind, the horizontal bars portray the speed with which the contestants pursue the excellence..."

No sony expert here but power of observation.
For the S Logo walkmans I have with actual sticker on them still are:
Earliest is my SRF-33W Release date Jan.81-83? note if it was made for more than one year then start of S may not be 81 but when stickers started being put on during model run?
WM-10 and WM-F10 1983
WM-DC2 1985
WM-F77 1986
From this deduction at least 1981 to 86?
Think the WMA-F54 was around 88 so that takes it 81-88 from rerooted post.

The only model I have with a Star on it is my WM-F5. Also noticed you find a Canadian Maple leaf logo on some early Walkmans have seen on WM-F1 maybe that was for Canadian sold models?

I have just seen a sony box that has the S symbol on it as best I can determine it is for sure either 91 or 92. So appears that the Red dotted S Sony symbol ran from 1981 to 1991/92 roughly a decade of use. Interesting topic Wombat thanks for starting.

quote:

THE 1984 star emblem

Here is pic of 84 Olympic star logo... actually its not that exact of whats on sony walkmans... any other guesses what star means?