Rai Trade

Background
Rai Trade was Rai's international sales division. It was created in 1987 and got its then-current name in 1997. On February 23, 2011, Rai Trade was closed and incorporated back into its parent company.

1st (known) Logo (June 27, 1997-1999)


Visuals: Over a gradient background sits a golden eight-pointed star that turns into a picture of a sailing ship from above. The camera zooms in and moves from various directions. Then it fades to a white background with a sketch image of the ship, along with the RAI logo at the time in and "Serif" next to it.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: A dreamy soundtrack.

Availability: Appeared on international home video releases of Rai productions, most notably the Russian DVD of La Piovra 2.

2nd Logo (1999-July 27, 2000)


Visuals: On a dull glass-like surface, two lasers draw the ship from the previous logo, which rises and becomes three-dimensional as it zooms out, revealing the words "RAI" and "Serif" next to it. The whole logo is made of glass, before a shine makes the ship drawing and "RAI" white, and Serif".

Technique: CGI.

Audio: Some laser zaps, followed by an aerial sound with a timpani drumroll. After a second, a flashing synth note is heard.

Availability: Like the first logo, it appeared on international releases.

3rd Logo (July 27, 2000-2003)


Visuals: On a background, two lines move to the other side, making the Rai butterfly logo appear when they collide. As the logo zooms out, the words "Rai Trade" fade in on the left and right sides of it respectively. A streak of light moves under the words as they appear, and the logo shines.

Technique: 2D animation.

Audio: A calm synth theme.

Availability: Can be found on re-releases of La Piovra on DVDs, and international TV prints of their shows such as Sandokan (1998).

4th Logo (2003-May 17, 2010)


Visuals: On a background, the letters of the words "Rai Trade" in 3D fly around before coming together. As they settle on the background, the butterfly logo appears in a bright flash, briefly rotating. The logo then shines.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: A 5-note trumpet theme followed by a whoosh, some synth dings and a shining sound.

Availability: Still common on DVDs.

5th Logo (May 17, 2010-February 13, 2011)


Visuals: Over a dark blue background, light blue lines move fastly through the screen. They eventually collapse in a bright flash and create a transparent cube, which then becomes solid as the word "Rai" appears on it and "Trade" appears next to it.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: A dramatic triumphant fanfare.

Availability: Appeared on shows and documentaries released worldwide by Rai.