Some of y'all have missed the point...
Airliners have to be repainted periodically (corrosion control, etc.). All that's happening is as these airplanes come in for new paint, they're gonna get the new "NWA" scheme instead of the bowling shoe scheme. It's not like they're going to try to repaint the whole fleet in a couple weeks.
Look at the new scheme: it's mostly white paint and not many fancy graphics or patterns...cheap. It'd actually cost more for them to keep the old livery.
And finally, as for product recognition, in these days of super-saver fares, low-cost carriers, etc., does anybody really think the flying public cares what the airplane looks like? New York Air, ValuJet, People Express, and others proved that people will fly anything as long as the fare is low.