Hard to believe, but after five years of buildup, there’s just a little more than a month to go before Conan O’Brien takes over as host of “The Tonight Show.”

Expect a drip-drip-drip of announcements from NBC about the new show over the next few weeks. The latest tidbit: Conan’s “Tonight Show” logo, now posted on NBC’s PR Web site.
It’s got a cool, classy retro feel to it, with a very 1920s font. Like Jay Leno’s logo, and the old “Late Night With Conan O’Brien,” there’s a crescent moon involved. Apparently full moons don’t work for NBC’s graphics department.

O’Brien told TVGuideMagazine.com, which first unveiled the new logo, that the design has maximum product-placement appeal.

“I wanted a logo that acknowledged the long, rich tradition of ‘The Tonight Show’ while still looking good on hats, T-shirts, mugs, lawn furniture, notebooks, stemware, urns, defibrillators, water bottles, cell phones, sports equipment, pens, vacuums, chimes and our new line of unisex cologne,” he said.
One thing’s for sure: “Tonight Show” logos have come a long way from the 1980s. Johnny Carson used nothing more than simple text to identify his show.