The Warner Brothers Television Network was commonly known simply as "The WB". CBS has the eye, NBC has the peacock, and WB has the frog. When launching the network in 1995, Warner Bros. execs decided it would be a good idea to use a Looney Tunes character to associate with the network. The first choice was naturally Bugs Bunny. But him and most of the WB characters were heavily merchandised and appealed more to kids - WB wanted something that could appeal to all ages. So they turned to a classic cartoon by Chuck Jones, "One Froggy Evening", which featured a singing frog who would do his act only when one person - his owner - was looking.
The character, later christened Michigan J. Frog, was used heavily in early WB imagery. Promos would feature him singing about the shows featured and generally appearing in end tags. Sponsor tags, a common practice in the US where the network would show the logos and announce the name of featured sponsors of the show, were actually sung by Michigan J. Today.
The WB Wednesday Promo2000
WB has always strongly branded itself with celebrities. The "backlot" branding has been in use since the network's 1995 launch and has been tweaked slightly every year since.
In this promo - it's the WB Wednesday and it's all about Dawson's Creek.
The WB Thursday Promo2003
Fresh from the frog... Steve Harvey's Big Time and All about the Anderson's.
Today the frog is mostly used just as a symbol.
The WB Friday Promo2004
In 2004 there's less use of the backlot and more use of abstract backgrounds and a general gold/brown/white colour pallette.
