Television commercials today consist of brief advertisements paid for and aired during television programming. Many television advertisements feature catchy jingles or catch phrases that remain in the minds of the viewers long after the advertisement has passed. The promotion of a product is meant for viewers to see and then proceed to purchasing that product. Television commercials are a sure way for advertisements to reach society through the means of media. Commercials can range from channel to channel but each time a commercial is played, the advertising company is charged for screen time.
Aside from annoying you when you are watching your favorite television program, commercials interrupt television programming in intervals. These advertisements are meant to keep the viewers watching the channel hopefully in turn staying tuned in for the advertisements while waiting for the next segment of the show to start after the commercial break. The Nielsen Ratings System exists so television stations can determine how successful their television shows are. The Nielsen rating system is essentially a ‘viewer counter’ and programming stations use this information to decide what rates to charge advertisers. Have you ever noticed how when you stay up until 4am doing homework in front of the TV, the commercials are weak and boring compared to day-time TV and again compared to evening programming? The reason for this is because the view ratings are very low at 4am compared to evening televising. In conjunction with high viewing rates the cost for advertising also rises during the 'hot' air time.
Aside from annoying you when you are watching your favorite television program, commercials interrupt television programming in intervals. These advertisements are meant to keep the viewers watching the channel hopefully in turn staying tuned in for the advertisements while waiting for the next segment of the show to start after the commercial break. The Nielsen Ratings System exists so television stations can determine how successful their television shows are. The Nielsen rating system is essentially a ‘viewer counter’ and programming stations use this information to decide what rates to charge advertisers. Have you ever noticed how when you stay up until 4am doing homework in front of the TV, the commercials are weak and boring compared to day-time TV and again compared to evening programming? The reason for this is because the view ratings are very low at 4am compared to evening televising. In conjunction with high viewing rates the cost for advertising also rises during the 'hot' air time.
Commercials are produced and paid for by an organization that wants to convey a message about their product. The revenue from advertisements alone provides most television networks with all of the needed funding to stay on air. Television advertisements are generally the most effective mass-market advertising format. Until the early 1990s advertising on television was only affordable for larger industries as an investment, but today most companies large and small, use television advertisements to promote their product during commercials. The first television commercial dates back to 1941 where Bolova advertised brand name watch making before a Dodgers and Philies baseball game on WNBT. The cost of this airtime: $9. As television advertising climbs through history the popularity of televising ads has climbs drastically in price. As there is a broad range of television shows on air today, the cost of advertising today also ranges. For example, the Super Bowl, which seems to be just as known for it’s commercials advertisements as it is for the game itself is estimated to have 90 million viewers during the game. In February 2011 the estimated cost for a single 30-second commercial: $3 million dollars.
The cost of advertising has not only changed in history but the length of single ads has also changed. In the early 1950s and 1960s, the average advertisement length was one minute. Over the years the length dropped to 30 seconds and there would be only one or two commercial breaks during a program. Today, the majority of commercials run in 15-second increments at an average of 22 minutes total of commercial breaks during one program. So, in the 1960s the typical hour long television show would run for 51 minutes excluding advertisements. Today, the same program runs for 42 minutes compensating for the 20 minutes of added commercial breaks.
So in conclusion, commercials have made a bang throughout history increasing in assets like value and duration through time.
Here, I have a solution! Get a PVR!!!
The following are two commercials (Boluva watches) from the beginning of advertisements to today. Notice the difference in duration and quality from the 1960s commercials to 2010.
1960s
2010
