Empire Today

Background
Empire Today is a home improvement servicing company based in Chicago, Illinois. It was founded in 1959 as Empire Plastic Covers, then expanded to home servicing in 1965, removing "Plastic Covers" from its name. In 2002, the company was sold, renaming itself to its current name, "Empire Today".

Logo (1979-1984)
(1979)=

(1980-1984)=

Special/Superimposed Variants=

Logo: Over a blue background, we see a stylized crown. Below is the text: Arial

Variants:
 * For early variants, the logo is smaller, "CALL" is seen to the left of it, and "HOME SERVICE, INC." is seen under "EMPIRE"..
 * "CALL" can be omitted, or placed above the number instead.
 * Additionally, "DAY OR NIGHT" can be seen above said text in some commercials.
 * The crown can also appear a few seconds into the end tag, with a "ding!" sound. This is prominent in commercials between 1980-1981.
 * Some versions have the text in the wrong place and with slightly different scaling.
 * A "window" of the commercial at the corner of the screen could also appear.
 * One variant appears on "What's the Name?": the logo appears over a black background and is squeezed to the bottom of the screen, below the commercial window. The crown also appears after a few seconds.
 * Another variant exists where "588-2300" is simply superimposed onto the commercial with no additional text. This was seen on "Empire Carpet Commercial #15".
 * Starting in 1980, credit card logos for MasterCard, Visa and American Express appear on the end tag.
 * The endtag is sometimes superimposed onto the commercial. One commercial exists where it also fades, and another where the logo is blue.
 * An ultra rare version appears on "Diner": this version does not have the crown, the logo is squeezed to the bottom, and "EMPIRE" fades in later, as the number was the only text visible at first.
 * A similar superimposed version exists, but everything fades in at the same time.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: The iconic Empire jingle: a barbershop quartet singing "five-eight-eight, two-three-hundred, Empire!" with the last note held out. Music/Sounds Variants:
 * Sometimes, the jingle doesn't finish. Usually this happens when Elmer Lynn Hauldren, the spokesperson for the commercials (known as the Empire Carpet Man), is announcing something else.
 * Sometimes, a ding sound can be heard as the logo appears, or when the crown appears in some variants.
 * Starting in 1982, the chorus sounds slightly different.
 * Specific variants for some commercials:
 * 1. "Yea! Boo!" The chorus is different and they cheer at the end.
 * 2. "Kiddie Look-Alike" A group of kids sing the jingle.
 * 3. "Piano" The first few notes are played on a piano, but the 1982 "Empire!" is played at the end.
 * 4. Some 1983 adverts A woman sings the jingle, over a pop-style instrumental.
 * The chorus was altered in 1983 and the jingle now includes a drum beat and an electric bass note at the end, derived from the above variant.

Availability: Currently extinct, however many Empire commercials between 1979 and 1983 have been preserved via YouTube, by Empire themselves, plus some other users.

Logo (1984-1986)
Regular=

Special Variants=

Logo: Over a cartoon Chicago city environment, a red carpet rolls in, carrying the yellow numbers "Arial". As the carpet moves throughout the city, it becomes nighttime, as a large gold "EMPIRE }}" monument stands between two skyscrapers (Sears Tower, now Willis Tower, and the John Hancock Center) and illuminates. The carpet then fully unrolls and settles below it, as the monument shines.

Variants:
 * There is a variant specific to the "Dynamite Sale" commercials where the tag is squeezed into a smaller box over a smoke background, and text advertising a "DYNAMITE CARPET SALE" appears below.
 * Similarly, another version exists where the logo squeezed into a split-screen with the said text below over a black background.
 * Some commercials have the logo shrunk down somewhere on the screen, to make room for advertising an additional benefit.
 * Like the previous tag, a version exists with credit card logos.
 * The commercial "Speed Up!" has the end tag played in warp speed.
 * On some shorter commercials, similar to the first superimposed variant of the 1979 tag, the carpet number animation is superimposed onto the commercial with no "EMPIRE" indicator.
 * In some commercials, the logo is still.

FX/SFX: Cel/scanimate animation.

Music/Sounds: Same as the 1983 variant from the 1st logo.

Music/Sounds Variant: In some commercials, the Empire Man can say something else after the jingle had been sung. Examples include; "Empire today, carpet tomorrow." or simply announcing a sale.

Availability: Extinct, but again, Empire's YouTube channel has preserved many commercials with this end tag. Its first known appearance was in 1984 commercial "5 Years" in still form.

Logo (1986-1989)
Logo: Same as the last logo, but the logo now takes place in a starry night background with Chicago's skylines. At the center, a rainbow merges and forms, which reveal falling stars that form the "EMPIRE " monument from before. The camera stops, the carpet disappears, and the monument shines. Credit card logos appear below.

Variants:
 * There are some commercials where the logo is entirely still.
 * A short version exists where it starts when the rainbow forms. The jingle does not finish; the Empire Man just says "Empire." at the end after the number is sung.
 * A copyright notice may also appear.
 * Starting in 1988, " Arial " is sometimes chyroned in.

FX/SFX: Cel/scanimate animation.

Music/Sounds: Same as before.

Music/Sounds Variants:
 * Like the last tag, the Empire Man can also announce something else after the jingle.
 * An ultra rare variant exists where the jingle is replaced with a barbershop quartet singing "Why are you waiting?"
 * Another rare variant without the jingle exists where a violin/piano piece plays over the end part of the animation.

Availability: Same as before. It's not really known where its first appearance was, but one can guess it was introduced around December, based on the dates from SterlingProductions' upload. The 312 version first appeared in 1988 for the "Is Time Running Out On You?" commercial. The "Why are you waiting?" variant appeared on "Get A Free Football With Order", and the piano variant appeared on "Messing With That New York Company".

Logo (1989-1992)
Logo: On a black background, we see the silver numbers "588-2300" slide one-by-one, onto the top half of the screen. A few seconds later, the silver word "EMPIRE" zooms out and rotates into view. As a rainbow forms in the background, A chyroned "(312)" fades in on top of the number, and the text Empire today... Carpet tomorrow fades in below the logo. The logo shines. Credit card logos appear, in the same place as usual.

Variants:
 * In some cases, the rainbow, the additional text, and the credit cards don't appear. Additionally, "(312)" simply appears on screen, in a different font.
 * Some commercials with this variant will have the text "24-hour phones" fade in at the bottom.
 * On some 10-second commercials, the first half of the tag is cut off.

FX/SFX: CGI animation.

Music/Sounds: Same as before.

Music/Sounds Variant: On some 10-second commercials, the first half of the jingle is omitted. Usually, this is replaced by synth bells playing the "588-2300" part during the commercial before the shortened tag plays.

Availability: Extinct. Its first known use was "Warehouse Sale Late 1980's", and the version without the rainbow first appeared on "Carpet for the Holidays".

Logo (1992-2004)
Empire (1992-2003)=

Empire Today (2003-2004)=

Logo: The entire end tag is an cartoon sequence. We start over a shot of a telephone, on top of a night stand. A woman picks it up and dials it. We zoom out to reveal an apartment room, with each of the furniture having no color and with sad faces drawn on them. An orange cat is sitting next to the woman. As the camera settles, a colored Empire Man busts through the door holding a blue carpet. He tosses it down, making everything in the room bounce and become colored as well. In addition, all of the sad faces turn happy. As that happens, inside the carpet is a white "EMPIRE", bouncing into the screen. Throughout the duration of the tag, a blue "588-2300" flies in one-by-one to the jingle, coming from the telephone. At the end, a line rotates to the left of the number, and expands to reveal "(312)".

Variants:
 * The logo can sometimes be in warp-speed.
 * A rare variant simply has the "(312)" cheaply rotate in.
 * Starting in 1994, the "(312)" is replaced with "(800)", which rotates in at the start of the end tag.
 * A rare early version has "1-800" animate instead, similar to how the (312) animates.
 * Some commercials starting 1995 have the "EMPIRE" text slide up to make room for "TOLL FREE 24 HOUR PHONE SERVICE".
 * Starting in 1996, a URL may sometimes appear. It would then fade out to make room for the EMPIRE text.
 * In 2002, the text below "EMPIRE" was changed to "CARPET AND WINDOW TREATMENTS". A URL is also shown below.
 * The above text may be in a different font and "AND" is replaced with an ampersand.
 * The text could sometimes say "HOME SERVICES, LLC" instead.
 * Starting in 2003, "EMPIRE" is replaced with a computer-animated "EMPIRE TODAY" that simply slides in.
 * The text that appears under can vary.
 * "Carpet - Window Treatments"
 * "Custom Windows - Vinyl Siding"
 * "Laminate - Hardwood - Ceramic"
 * The text could appear in Spanish.
 * A URL could just appear below.

FX/SFX: Traditional animation.

Music/Sounds: There were many different variants of the jingle:
 * 1992-1995: Same as before.
 * 1995-2003: A different sounding chorus sings "800..." before segueing into the 1983 jingle. This recording would later be recycled for the current Empire Today jingle.
 * An early version exists, with an off-key, fast-tempo chorus.
 * Later, the 1983 jingle was sped up to compensate for the "800" part.
 * 2003: To coincide with the company rename, a short-lived jingle was recorded with an entirely different chorus that is fast-paced. The chorus sings "800-588-2300, empire today!"
 * 2004: The 1995 recording was recycled, but this time used in full. The Empire Man then says "Today!" at the end, and a bass note plays.

Availability: As one of the longest-used end tags, its fairly easy to find on YouTube when searching for Empire commercials between 1992 and 2004. Empire's channel doesn't have a ton of uploads with it, however many Chicago-based commercial uploaders (like gtp2day) certainly do. Otherwise, it's extinct.

Logo (2004-2015)
Logo: It depends on the variant. On all animations, "800-588-2300" pop in one-by-one to the jingle, then it slides down to make way for "EMPIRE TODAY", as an animated Empire Man slides from the left of the screen, holding a suitcase reading the company name. He then says "Today!" as he raises his arm, syncing with the end of the jingle.
 * Flooring (2004-2015): An animated Empire Man is seen holding a carpet. He then drops it down, and it unrolls onto the ground. As he shakes off his hands, another worker is seen installing window blinds. Then, the first worker grabs a large hardwood floor from the left and pulls it towards the carpet, with a couch on top of it. A cat then jumps on top of it, as the first worker sits back onto the ground and extends his arms, and the second closes the blinds.
 * Windows & Gutters (2004-2007): Three workers are working on the exterior of a 2-story house. One is installing gutters, another installing windows, a third installing wood siding.
 * All Services (2004-2007): It starts out as an inverted and faster version of Flooring's animation, but then the camera zooms out to reveal that it takes place inside of the 2-story house from the previous animation. A man is seen working outside.

FX/SFX: CGI animation.

Music/Sounds: Same as the 5th logo's 4th music variant. A later version adds jazz drum music before the chorus sings "EMPIRE".

Availability: Very common, especially when it comes to YouTube uploads. Empire themselves has a high-quality YouTube upload of the end tag by itself. Many commercials between 2008 and 2015 containing this tag have been uploaded to YouTube.

Legacy: By far Empire's most infamous end tag, it has seen numerous memes involving the jingle and/or end tag, even from outside the logo community.

Logo (November 4, 2015-)
Logo: It's the same concept as the Flooring animation of the previous logo, except with the following differences: The animated Empire Man at the end walks up with the suitcase and jumps, transforming into a 2D version as "EMPIRE" slides in from the left next to the text. A smaller "TODAY" slides in from the right of it and flashes. A URL and website information appear below.
 * The logo now takes place in a larger model house that now has a kitchen.
 * The animation is noticably simpler.
 * The number is black and fully 2D.

FX/SFX: CGI animation.

Music/Sounds: Same as the last logo.

Availability: Empire first introduced this tag by uploading it standalone on November 4, 2015. It has since seen common use, on both YouTube commercial uploads and on television.