# NBC penguin - not peacock **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** commercials-ads\ **Created:** [June 4, 2022, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nbc-penguin-not-peacock/965663 "2022-06-04T14:41:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mark\_Finn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/34f0e0/32.png) [@Mark\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mark_Finn)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2022, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nbc-penguin-not-peacock/965663/1 "2022-06-04T14:41:48Z")
Back in the 1960’s, NBC intro’d its color programs with a peacock. [1962 NBC Laramie Peacock - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VE_oHJt_V5M) . However - on October 24, 1967, NBC was about to show “A Hard Day’s Night” (with the Beatles), which was filmed in black and white. The intro used a penguin (rather than a peacock), using the same announcer behind the “peacock” intro. [The NBC Penguin (1967) - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eK75N-zS1JY) ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2022, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nbc-penguin-not-peacock/965663/2 "2022-06-04T17:43:44Z")
I enjoyed that very much. I don’t recall it personally, but I bet it was because anyone who bought one of those new fangled color TVs would think that their sets were broken. I recall the warning at the start of _The Wizard of Oz_ about how it starts in black and white (before the sepia toned version was commonly known). The cynical person would say NBC pushed their color programming so that their parent company, RCA, would sell more color TVs. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2022, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nbc-penguin-not-peacock/965663/3 "2022-06-04T17:52:26Z")
[![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/ZZ7oht6TD9c/maxresdefault.jpg "30 rock vertical integration") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZ7oht6TD9c) ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2022, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nbc-penguin-not-peacock/965663/4 "2022-06-04T20:48:59Z")
> [@JohnGalt](#): > > The cynical person would say NBC pushed their color programming so that their parent company, RCA, would sell more color TVs. Nothing cynical about that observation. NBC heavily subsidized program producers to film their shows in color, and pushed them to use costumes and scenery so vibrant they made _The Wizard of Oz_ look like film noir. That meant NBC paid more for its programming. Parent company RCA never blinked an eye over it. In return, RCA’s color TV advertising featured NBC programs, often _Bonanza_ or _Star Trek._ [![](https://i.etsystatic.com/12848481/r/il/83ee44/3542621290/il_794xN.3542621290_sd3g.jpg) ](https://i.etsystatic.com/12848481/r/il/83ee44/3542621290/il_794xN.3542621290_sd3g.jpg) [![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/productimages.goantiques.gemr/45407/7794833_fullsize.jpg) ](https://s3.amazonaws.com/productimages.goantiques.gemr/45407/7794833_fullsize.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2022, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nbc-penguin-not-peacock/965663/5 "2022-06-04T22:23:11Z")
> [@Mark\_Finn](#): > > Back in the 1960’s, NBC intro’d its color programs with a peacock. [1962 NBC Laramie Peacock - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VE_oHJt_V5M) . > > However - on October 24, 1967, NBC was about to show “A Hard Day’s Night” (with the Beatles), which was filmed in black and white. The intro used a penguin (rather than a peacock), using the same announcer behind the “peacock” intro. [The NBC Penguin (1967) - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eK75N-zS1JY) I was today years old when I found out that little guy wasn’t part of the movie. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2022, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nbc-penguin-not-peacock/965663/6 "2022-06-04T23:19:45Z")
> [@Kent\_Clark](#): > > n return, RCA’s color TV advertising featured NBC programs, often _Bonanza_ or _Star Trek._ Wow. $400 in 1965 is $3,671 today. No wonder we didn’t go color until 1970. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2022, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nbc-penguin-not-peacock/965663/7 "2022-06-04T23:39:38Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > Wow. $400 in 1965 is $3,671 today. No wonder we didn’t go color until 1970. When did color TV prices come down to reasonable levels?