The Evolution of the TV Commercial

 Commercials have come a long way since 1941. While the concept of plugging or promoting a product during a broadcast has been around since the days of radio, the first ever televised commercial came about in 1941 during the Dodgers vs Phillies baseball game. Since then, televised commercials have been a staple of television, and has undergone many, many changes over it's more than 80 year run.

The commercial lasted ten seconds and was for the
Bulova Watch Company.

When I speak of TV on this blog, I normally talk about TV post 1950, as that more closely resembles TV we see today. In that way, by 1950, there were two types of commercials. They were either live, done on an adjacent set to the television show  in front of the studio audience, or they were pre-recorded, done away from the sets used to produce the shows. For situation comedies, or playhouse style shows with usually small, enclosed sets, the former was usually done. The pre-recorded commercials, which were often more expensive and took longer, were reserved for shows like westerns. Around that time, sponsorship was paramount to remaining on the air. If a show did not have a sponsor, interestingly, they did not have commercials. The most that would happen is an occasional pause for station ID. This was not a good position to be in, however, as if a show was not sponsored, it would invariably operate at a loss in revenue. 

Eventually, around the early 60s, live TV commercials faded into obscurity, as well as a show exclusively having one sponsor (Which is where the phrase, "Word from our sponsor" came from, as opposed to explicitly naming them) These early commercials have closer parallels to modern commercials. The use of jingles, the use of rhetorical questions, the use of conversational dialogue, time-lapses, all of these are techniques used by commercial makers today. This trend would continue with very few changes until about the 80s, when commercials began to have more of a comedic edge to them, with more of  a desire to appeal to a younger audience.

Another thing which would change with the times is the length of a commercial break. In the early 50s, the length of a commercial break would vary, but usually never exceed about 45 seconds. Commercials could be 30, 15, or even 8 seconds long, and would generally have one break in a 30 minute show. In the 60s, this length was increased to a minute, with about two commercial breaks for a 30 minute show. Every decade thereafter, the length of a commercial, as well as a commercial break would increase exponentially, with the current length being three minutes, three times for a 30 minute show. Just like back then, the length of a commercial individually could vary.

Commercials nowadays tend to focus more on memorable phrases and jokes than of the product itself. This works just as well if not better, as we immediately recognize the commercial and associate it with the product. Insurance companies are well-known for this. Without naming names, each one has a slogan, style, or even actors unique to them which are instantly recognizable. It's genius. Back there, commercials were designed to cost next to nothing. Nowadays, commercials have big budgets and employ big time actors. Commercials have directors and producers and key grips, they're made by legends, I'm pretty sure Martin Scorcese made a Taco Bell commercial sometime. 

Simply put, I love commercials from all eras. From the 60s housewife who never could make a serviceable cup of coffee, to the camel announcing the day of the week with pride and exuberance. From the toy commercial which uses CGI and never actually shows the product, to the superbowl commercial which was henceforth banned after its initial viewing. Even without naming brands, you probably have an idea what I'm talking about. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this small editorial on the necessary evil turned artform known as commercials.

I hope to see you back there.

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