Michelle Trachtenberg, Taylor Schilling, and Jaime Lee Kirchner of NBC's new fall show, 'Mercy.'
NBC

NBC is hoping that promoting its shows as "more colorful," as well as making ones people want to watch, will help its fortunes. The nurse drama Mercy (starring Michelle Trachtenberg, Taylor Schilling, and Jaime Lee Kirchner) is one of its limited supply of new fall offerings.

Expect to see the slogan "more colorful" popping up under the NBC peacock this fall. The network has decided to capitalize on the long history of the peacock and the fact that many people remember liking NBC programming at one time or another, and they're doing it by emphasizing the peacock. Everything is "more colorful," you see.

What's more, chief marketing officer John Miller says, "Our goal now is to make sure we have shows that people will want to watch."

Pardon me a moment while I bang my head against the table.

[Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.]

Not to underestimate the power of a good branding campaign, but isn't having "shows that people will want to watch" supposed to be the goal already? All the time? What is the value of a good promotional tagline if you don't have shows that people will want to watch? And while we are asking troubling questions, can you plausibly argue that your network is becoming "more colorful" as you eliminate 10:00 p.m. dramas in favor of five nights a week of Jay Leno? I realize "lower in cost" wouldn't look as good under the logo, but there's only so far you can stretch.

It's not up there with "Imagine Greater" in the world of weird rebranding campaigns, but as someone who has indeed enjoyed NBC programming from time to time (and still enjoys the Thursday night comedy block), I'm hopeful that they have more weapons to deploy than "more colorful."