Commercial firsts.
We, as Americans and advertisers, have a pretty significant celebration coming up in July. I know, you’re thinking “Duh, the 4th of July…” but as Americans and advertisers we have something maybe even more exciting to celebrate.
Seventy years ago, on July 1, 1941, first very first TV commercial aired in the U.S. The 4,000 American families who owned televisions were privileged to see a :10 spot for Bulova watch and clock company. The spot showed a map of the States with a Bulova watch above it, while the announcer recited the slogan “America runs on Bulova time!”
The spot aired during a good ol’ fashioned baseball game between the Brooklyn Dodgers and the Philadelphia Phillies on what is now WNBC–the New York City flagship station of NBC. (Could you imagine crowding around one of these babies to see that picture?)
The most amazing part? Bulova paid a whopping $9 to air the spot! Today, $9 would maybe fund the TV producer’s coffee needs during the shoot.
Now, there has been some controversy over whether this was the first TV spot. On December 7, 1930, W1XAV in Boston ran an ad by Massachusetts-based I. J. Fox Furriers. The issue? The FCC considered the spot an “experiment” rather than a commercial, and the station was fined because it broke regulations as commercials were not yet legal.
Bulova had another first, about fifteen years earlier. The company broadcast America’s first national radio commercial in 1926, which rang in the hour with, “At the tone, it’s eight o’clock, B‑U‑L‑O‑V‑A Watch Time.” It probably reached a lot more people than their TV spot did, since radio was then in its heyday.
So, now we have another event to celebrate this holiday weekend, and a few facts to throw around. And as for me, I’m going to take a break from all of this history, because I have shopping to do. After all, who wouldn’t want a watch made by this trend-setting company?
Tagged with Bulova, commercial, FCC