Background: Initially a subsidiary of Video Corporation of America, VidAmerica was purchased in 1986 by a consortium controlled by billionaire investor Ronald O. Perelman (his holdings also included Revlon, Four Star, and New World Entertainment).
1st Logo
(1979-80)[]
Nickname: "VidAmerica, the Videocassette Rental Club"
Logo: On a black background, different boxes appear in different parts of the screen, those being:
- MOVIES (people underneath a marquee reading "CINEMA," on an orange background in the upper left)
- SPORTS (a man playing golf, on a green background in the lower right)
- FAMILY (a clown juggling, on a light blue background in the lower left)
- ADULT FILMS (two people's heads, on a dark blue background in the upper right)
- SPECIALS (two masks, one smiling and one frowning, on a darker orange background in the bottom middle)
- The star-like symbol of the VidAmerica logo (in brown, on a white background in the upper middle)
After the symbol is shown, it spins toward the camera until it covers the entire screen, then it crossfades to white, with a white version of the logo spinning and zooming back. From underneath it, the logo zooms out piece-by-piece, and "The Videocassette Rental Club" cuts in underneath "VidAmerica" just as it stops spinning. "PRESENTS" soon fades in underneath.
Variant: At the end of the tapes, "a Presentation from" zooms toward the screen, and crossfades to the logo.
FX/SFX: The boxes appearing, and the logo zooming.
Music/Sounds: A bombastic disco fanfare, with prominent horns.
Availability: Extremely rare, to the point that it was only discovered in January of 2022. This was found on a Betamax of Hair.
2nd Logo
(1980-1985)[]
Nicknames: "Rainbow Trail", "Rainbow VidAmerica Trail"
Logo: On a black background, the VidAmerica logo (in white) flies toward us with a "rainbow trail" effect. On the left side of the VidAmerica logo is a star-like symbol, also in white. The words ''Special Interest Video Software'' in smaller lettering appears below, in white.
FX/SFX: The "trail" and the text.
Music/Sounds: A disco-style fanfare.
Availability: Very rare. Can be seen on some videotapes and CEDs from the time, such as Hey Abbott!, The Unseen, Baseball: Fun and Games, The Thing from Another World, and Flying Leathernecks. It may be on non-rental versions of United Artists material produced under their deal with them, but it is unknown at the present time.
Editor's Note: Between the rainbow Scanimation graphics and the disco music, this is very much a late '70s period piece. This is, however, a favorite of many, probably for that very reason.
3rd Logo
(1985-1992)[]
Nickname: "CGI VidAmerica"
Logo: On a violet background setting, we see lots of VidAmerica logos moving past us. One turns its color to gold and turns to face the screen. The logo shines.
FX/SFX: The logos moving, and the turning of the logo.
Music/Sounds: A synth tinkling sound, along with an orchestral note held out for the appearance of the gold VidAmerica logo.
Music/Sounds Variant: A closing variant was used for early releases with this logo. This time, the jingle ends with one last twinkle.
Availability: Seen on any VidAmerica release from the time. Most releases of cartoons from VidAmerica (e.g.: Speed Racer, Felix the Cat) had this logo.
Editor's Note: This logo uses top notch computer graphics for the time that hold up quite well today.