[all new phil]

It’s hard to believe it only lasted four and a half years. It was such a change for BBC One at the time it launched, in that up to the end their idents had been for decades various versions of the globe with (hard to believe now) no soundtrack whatsoever, just the announcers voice to accompany it. Quite iconic despite its short run on air, though it must be appreciated I guess at the time TV channels tended to change presentation a lot more frequently then seems to be the case now.

Agree with your points here. Always feels like the best pres gets the shortest run. I think that the balloon had such an impact because it was so different to what came before. I think the dancers maybe fit this as well (although clearly not as well received). Everything else that followed all kind of merges into one. 

Balloon was bold, dancers were bold, everything else has been meh. 

I reckon if you quizzed people on the street about what the BBC One logo was, a lot would still say a balloon or a globe.