Rai Trade

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

1st (known) Logo (1997-1998)
Nickname: "The Trade Ship"

Logo: We see a sailing ship from above, then 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 gray and "Serif" in red next to it.

FX/SFX: The animation of the ship.

Music/Sounds: A dreamy soundtrack.

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

Editor's Note: None.

2nd Logo (1998-Summer 2000)


Nickname: "The Trade Ship II"

Logo: On a dull glass-like surface, we see 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 gray glass, before a shine makes the ship drawing and "RAI" white, and Serif" red.

FX/SFX: Great animation of the ship.

Music/Sounds: TBA.

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

Editor's Note: None.

3rd Logo (Summer 2000-Mid 2000's)


Nickname: "RAI Butterfly"

Logo: On a blue background, we see 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.

FX/SFX: The lines forming the logo, the text fading in, the streak moving.

Music/Sounds: A calm synth theme.

Availability: Uncommon. Can be found on re-releases of La Piovra on DVDs.

Editor's Note: None.

4th Logo (Mid 2000's-May 17, 2010)


Nickname: "RAI Butterfly II"

Logo: On a blue background, we see 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.

FX/SFX: The flying letters, the logo appearing.

Music/Sounds: A 5-note trumpet theme, a whoosh when the logo appears, some synth dings and a shining sound.

Availability: Still common on DVDs.

Editor's Note: None.

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


Nickname: "RAI Square"

Logo: On a dark blue background, we see light blue lines moving 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.

FX/SFX: Good CGI animation.

Music/Sounds: A new synth theme.

Availability: Uncommon due to its short lifespan. Appeared on shows and documentaries released worldwide by Rai.

Editor's Note: None.