great moments in commercial history

The Pop-Tart Commercials That Haunt My Dreams

Pretty girls, fruit hurtling in windows, giant toasters: it’s like something out of a terrifying hallucination. Only it’s not. These are the terrifying images that those of us who watched Pop-Tart commercials in the ’80s and ’90s are now trying to forget. [More]

Sears Commercials Through The Decades: Jingles, Car Repair, Bruises

By Laura Northrup 11.27.13

Sears: it was an iconic American retailer, and now has become more of a cautionary business tale as it struggles for relevance and tries to shed more real estate and scrap itself for parts. Many years ago, though, Sears was a central shopping experience in Americans’ lives. Americans who bought boom boxes and played “Space Invaders.” [More]

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First-Ever TV Commercial Was 10 Seconds Long, Hawked Bulova Watches

By Laura Northrup 8.9.13 — Updated: 8.14.14

One Tuesday in July, the Dodgers were playing the Phillies and the game was televised. There’s nothing unusual about that, except that it was July 1, 1941, the Dodgers were still in Brooklyn, and only about 4,000 people in New York City even owned televisions. American life and attention spans changed forever during that broadcast, because Bulova paid TV station WNBT $9 to run the very first television ad. [More]

nintendo it's a cereal wow

Nintendo Cereal System Is Part Of Your Super Nutritious Breakfast

By Laura Northrup 2.26.13

Last week’s launch of the PlayStation 4 wasn’t all that exciting. It was missing something… some would say a look at the actual PS4. But Sony should consider adding what every good game console needs: a branded breakfast cereal. They should take as a model this 1989 commercial for Nintendo cereal from Ralston-Purina. [More]

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