A tragedy has occurred over at NBC’s streaming service Peacock. There’s been one casualty. No shows or films have been harmed in the violence, but one beloved campaign has been axed. Peacock fans nationwide are still recovering from the news.
Peacocktober has fallen.
NBC unveiled Peacocktober in October 2021, Peacock’s second Halloween season of existence in the world. The lineup of films, series, and specials included Halloween Kills, Unidentified with Demi Lovato, Snoop and Martha’s Very Tasty Halloween, and a handful of other spooky titles to get viewers into the Halloween spirit. How fun!
But thrills and chills weren’t exactly the appeal of Peacocktober. Sure, we wanted the return of Michael Myers. Yes, we did need to see bakers competing under the watchful eyes of Snoop Dogg and Martha Stewart. And yet, it was the name “Peacocktober” that brought us all together, the one-word phrase that launched a thousand memes.
Yes, “Peacocktober” is a clever combination of “Peacock,” the streaming service, and October, the spooky season during which branding and marketing opportunities for content are richer than ever. But it appears nobody realized that the name could be entirely lewd, too.
Have you ever received one of those dirty, nasty, full-of-emojis texts to celebrate a holiday? If you haven’t, it’s basically the text version of chain mail. This is totally NSFW, but you’ll find an example here. The word “Peacocktober” is just one small step away from being included in this text chain. (Remove “Pea” from the beginning of the portmanteau and you’ll understand what we mean.)
Now, just imagine the Zoom full of NBC’s marketing team landing on the concept for “Peacocktober.” Surely, some of them had to realize the blatant gaffe in this name. It was probably the table of young interns, too afraid to speak up, holding back laughs—perhaps they even had to turn their camera off to cackle.
“We have an ‘ock’ sound in our name, so why not use that in combination with the word October?” asks one of the marketing folks. “Peacocktober. It has a nice ring, doesn’t it?”
In the best-case scenario, the Peacock team was in on the joke here, capitalizing on the current trend of companies being as vulgar as possible on social media. In this reading of events, the Zoom was full of silent laughter at the first mention of “Peacocktober,” an exciting reaction that prompted higher ups of Peacock to say, “What the hell!” and go along with the charade.
Alas, that probably isn’t the case, as Peacock has run with a new title this year, meaning that Peacocktober has officially gone limp after its one meager month on the platform last year. Now, the programming is simply called “Halloween Horror.” Where’s the flavor? This bland title is soul-crushing for all of us ride-or-die Peacocktober fans. Hell, I don’t even know what streaming platform “Halloween Horror” belongs to, nor what month it launches. Peacocktober explained both in one fell swoop.
There’s some good news regarding this year’s Peacocktober—er, rather, Halloween Horror programming. Though it’s not an “official” part of the programming, Idris Elba’s big thriller Beast (in which he fights a lion in hand-to-hand combat) will land on the Peacock this weekend on Oct. 7. No, it’s not a spooky, creepy slasher, but it’s thrilling enough to count, in my book. Plus, Idris Elba and a lion would make for a great couple’s costume.
But while you stream, don’t forget the masterpiece that was Peacocktober. It was here for a good time, not a long time. This is an overwhelming loss in the Peacock family, so folks gathered together on Oct. 1 in mourning. Pour one out for Peacocktober.
This media fatality occurred faster than Quibi, which took seven months to collapse, as opposed to Peacocktober’s one month of blissful existence. We’ll never forget October 2021, the one and only year for Peacocktober. Rest in peace.
