The Place to Be

"NBC: The Place To Be" is the slogan that NBC used in 1990, and the second of the campaigns to feature the current six-feathered peacock. During this period, several new series arrived to supplement shows such as The Cosby Show, Cheers and A Different World. Some of the most notable changes included the premiere of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, the short-lived Ferris Bueller, and Blossom, which replaced Bueller in January 1991.

Campaign Synopsis

The promo begins with a brief shot of a music stand/lecturn which from behind, a blue spotlight comes on. After this, some NBC stars seat themselves as audience members as they are waiting to what appears to be a concert. Meanwhile an orchestra featuring The Cosby Show's Keshia Knight Pulliam with an electric guitar is seen rehearsing for the musical number. The rehearsing abruptly stops when Bill Cosby arrives at the music stand where he takes on the role of conductor.

The video then cuts to a stage in the same theatre where various stars from NBC shows such as The Golden Girls, The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, and even Johnny Carson from The Tonight Show dancing or engaging in different activities/motions in front of a giant wall of television sets stacked one on top of each other often showing clips of NBC shows as well as the letters N, B, and C and the peacock logo. Midway through the promo, a segment featuring returning shows such as LA Law, The Cosby Show, and Empty Nest is shown followed by one featuring freshman shows; among them the now long running and Emmy Award winning Law & Order.

Towards the end of the program, the music ceases abruptly and the lights go out. The culprit was shown to be of then host of the Late Nights David Letterman (shown on a TV) who apparently tripped on a pair of power cords. Letterman briefly laughs then re-plugs it resuming the promo. As the promo winds down we see the NBC logo above yellow lettering stating "The Place to Be" amidst brownish black background with CGI glass squares of different colors moving in different directions. Finally as the music stops, Keisha hollers and exits the stage, as the audience applauses.

The full length promo was 2:57 in length. The promo also was different than its predecessors its jingle utilized a modern rock soundtrack. It was also presented in such a manner that resembled MTV's music videos in order to appropriately fit the '90s and target a much younger audience.

For TV ident bumpers, the NBC ident with the slogan was shown with Don LaFontaine saying, "NBC...is the Place to Be!".

Localized Versions

As with many campaigns for all "Big 3" networks, localized versions of these campaigns have been adopted. The following are some examples:

*WMAR-TV Baltimore, Maryland "Channel 2, The Place to Be!"
*WDIV-TV Detroit, Michigan "WDIV, The Place to Be!"
*WCSH-TV Portland, Maine "6 Alive, Count on Us!" (it used the same tune as the national campaign)
*WILX-TV Lansing, Michigan "WILX-TV, The Place to Be!"
*WSFA-TV Montgomery, Alabama "Channel 12, The Place to Be!"
*WKJG-TV Fort Wayne, Indiana "WKJG, The Place To Be!"
*WLIO-TV Lima, Ohio "WLIO, The Place To Be!"
*WGAL-TV Lancaster, Pennsylvania "WGAL, The Place To Be!"
*WLBZ-TV Bangor, Maine "Channel 2, Count on Us!"
*WNNE-TV Hartford, Vermont "31, Close to Home, It's the Place to Be!"
*WJAC-TV Johnstown, PA "Channel 6, the Place to Be!"
*WPXI-TV Pittsburgh, PA "WPXI-TV 11, the Place to Be!"

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