Proud as a Peacock

"Proud as a Peacock" was the advertising campaign used by the NBC television and radio networks from 1979-1981. The campaign was used to promote NBC's programming and to introduce the "Proud N", a logo that would be used until 1986.

The campaign

By 1979, NBC was deeply mired in third place in the Nielsen ratings. Fred Silverman, who joined the network a year earlier, could not bring the same ratings success he had as programming whiz at ABC and CBS, resulting in a string of programs (such as Supertrain) that were derided by critics and/or tuned out by viewers.

In an attempt to present a positive image in the face of this failure, Silverman and NBC developed an ad campaign called "Proud as a Peacock". The campaign featured a revised version of the famous NBC Peacock logo, billed as the "Proud N", along with a catchy high-energy jingle (written for NBC by Joey Levine from Crushing Enterprises) that promotes a network ready to shed its losing reputation and project an image of excitement in its programming. Future R&B singing legend Luther Vandross was among the artists who performed on the jingle.