Product Details

• Format: Black & White, Color, DVD, Flash, Full length, Full Screen, Original recording remastered, Restored, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: All Regions
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 2
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: A2ZCDS.com
• DVD Release Date: October 3, 2005
• Run Time: 125 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000BNMX3S
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #184,724 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

From the Studio

This 2-DVD set with 17 clips, is an invaluable resource for researchers, librarians, students and historians on the evolution of TV Commercials. A collector’s item, this 2-DVD set is a must have for all those interested in the birth of Television advertising in the 20th Century Advertising on the radio was well established when television made its debut in the 1940s. That’s when TV commercials gradually took over from radio commercials. Since then, television commercials have become the most effective, pervasive, and popular method of selling products. The first TV commercial in the United States was broadcast on 1st July, 1941, and aired just before a baseball game. It cost the company just ten dollars to run. Before the advent of the videotape, most television commercials were broadcasted live. However, with advancing technology, commercials would be produced either on film or on tape. The programming was intended to capture the attention of the audience, keeping viewers glued to the television set After World War II, the pace of life quickened and this was reflected in the TV commercials. Back in the 1950s and 1960s, the average length of a television commercial was one minute. As the years passed, they became 30 seconds long, and today a majority of commercials run in 15-second increments (often known as "hooks"). Most of these clips have been produced by The Jam Handy Company. The brilliant black & white industrial films for America's giant corporations, such as General Motors, preserve the finest classic image of America available anywhere. The Handy Collection is a testament to the industries & dreams that made America great and the image of the American dream, as interpreted by the Handy films, are truly the dream of products that everyone in America could own, or want to own, at that time.

Product Description

This 2-DVD set is a tribute to the early advertisers who made their entry into TV commercials. It is also a boon to all those interested in advertising and marketing since the beginning of 20th century. Though a bit lengthy by present day standards, these advertising shorts are simple and direct. The message and the products are not lost in gimmicks, and direct hard sell and product demos are aimed at audience satisfaction. Be it selling the dishwasher by Mullins Manufacturing Company, or American Beer by Pabst Brewing Company, or Chevrolets by General Motors, or Cigarettes by Montclair Cigarettes or even Insurance by Prudential Insurance, each clip has been thoughtfully conceived and executed, which speaks volumes for the advertising prowess of the agencies from the 1930s to the 1960s.Some of the producers, who paved the way for modern day TV ads, featured on these DVDs are Marquee Motion Pictures, Castle Films and of course the Jam Handy Organization. Some of the very classy ads (producers are not known) like "Montclair Cigarettes," "Beechnut Baby Food," and "Folgers Coffee" are no different from the ads of today. Oh yes, TV Commercials were coming of age.

Many of the earliest television shows were sponsored by single companies, who inserted their names and products into the shows as much as possible as in the case with the Youngtown Kitchen Dishwasher, or Prudential Insurance Company. But, as we move on over a period of time we notice a change of content and pace of these TV commercials, which denote that time, and money constraints were beginning to affect the ads. The message became short and to the point with the visuals concentrating on the product. They had learnt to say it all within a minute and the modern TV commercial was born.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Worth Watching, April 25, 2006

By 

Bart (Montpellier, France) - See all my reviews

This review is from: History of Advertising: Early TV Commercials - Volume One (DVD)

Boy, has television advertising changed over the years.

If you are used to the gloss, color CGI ads that dominate the tube today you'll be shocked at what ads were like when television was first starting out.

What they lack in techiclal details these ads more than make up for in how creative they were. They clearly didn't know what would work and what wouldn't so they tried every different type of approach they could think of.

The quality of the footage is surprisingly good considering how old the clips are.

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Buy The Bundle Pack, February 8, 2007

By 

M. Jirmanos "Amazon Junkie" (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: History of Advertising: Early TV Commercials - Volume One (DVD)

I got this DVD as part of the bundle pack. I wish I had just bought all the advertising DVDs that way. I have purchased most seperately. The content is great.