THE FIRST TV AD IN THE WORLD WITH A CZECH FOOTPRINT
We have already written about the world’s first television advertisement for Bulova watches, which aired on 1 July 1941 on WBNT, in an article about TV advertising in the USA. However, you may not know that Czechia, or rather a Czech native, has a share in this first spot. In 1875, during the golden era of industrial development in America, a Czech immigrant Josef Bulova (born in Louny) opened a jewellery shop in the centre of New York. Soon after, he began to produce his own watches with his name on the dial. And it was at that moment that the history of a global brand started. Bulova’s watches not only made it to the moon but were also the first product ever to be featured in a television ad.
Video: Bulova (1941)
THE LARGEST NUMBER OF PROPS USED IN A TV AD
A total of 250,000 multi-coloured bouncy balls were used in a TV ad for Sony’s new BRAVIA LCD and 3LCD TV range. This, of course, earned it a place in the Guinness World Records. The ad was first shown in 2005. No computer graphics were used to create the visuals. The ad was filmed on Filbert and Leavenworth Streets in Russian Hill, San Francisco, California (USA) and directed by Nicolai Fuglsig (Denmark).
Video: Sony: Bouncy Balls – BRAVIA LCD
LONGEST RUNNING ADVERTISEMENT
The world’s longest-running television ad is the Discount Tire Company’s Thank You commercial. It was produced by Swartwout Productions (Arizona, USA) and first aired in 1975. The same ad is broadcast year after year in some parts of the USA. The spot features an old lady throwing an unwanted tire into the glass window of a Discount Tire Company store, while a voice behind the camera urges customers, “If ever you are not satisfied with one of your tires, please, feel free to bring it back. Thank you.” The ad gained such popularity that it earned the Hollywood Radio and Television Society’s award for best commercial aired in 1976. No wonder. It is very funny.
Video: Discount Tire – Thank You
THE MOST EXPENSIVE TV AD OF ALL TIME
Big brands can spend a lot of money on promotion. The most expensive ad so far is from 2004. No one has surpassed Chanel’s lead with the Chanel No. 5 spot, for which the company paid USD 33 million. The four-minute ad made by director Baz Lurhmann features Nicole Kidman as a world-famous actress who falls in love with a writer.
Video: Chanel No.5 – The Film (three-minute version)
In second place is an ad for Guinness beer, which was launched in 2006. Filmed in the small Argentinian village of Iruya, the spot starts with a domino avalanche that escalates, knocking over books, fridges and even cars until it finally stops at a large statue of a pint of Guinness. The ad cost “only” USD 16 million.
In third place is the British insurer Aviva (formerly Norwich Union), which launched its most expensive campaign in 2008. The USD 13.4 million spot starred Bruce Willis, Ringo Starr, Elle McPherson, and Alice Cooper.
They are followed by Chrysler and Bud Light (USD 12 million each), Carlton Draught (USD 9 million) and Pepsi (USD 8.1 million).
THE COMPANY FOUNDER WHO HAS APPEARED MOST OFTEN IN ADVERTISEMENTS FOR HIS COMPANY
Dave Thomas (USA, 1932-2002), the founder of Wendy’s Old Fashioned Hamburgers, made 652 television ads between April 1989 and May 1999 for his chain of hamburger restaurants, which he named after his daughter. Apparently, the Fates endowed him with a passion for acting in addition to a passion for hamburgers. He is not missing in the Guinness World Records.
Video: Wendy’s – Dave Thomas (1997)
THE AD THAT WON THE MOST AWARDS
We are talking about Levi’s 501, Drugstore 1995. This advertisement with its emotive soundtrack of “Mule Skinner Blues” was directed by Michel Gondry. The ad, which has won 33 awards, including the Cannes Film Festival’s Golden Lion, boasts an entry in the Guinness World Records for the most awards ever.
Video: Levi’s Drugstore – Mule Skinner Blues
WHEN PLANET EARTH IS NOT ENOUGH OR “SPACE ADVERTISEMENTS”
Companies are willing to do anything in the name of revenue, even send a chicken burger into space. The first in this respect was an advertisement for Israeli milk Tnuva. It is the first ever advert filmed in space, for which, of course, it was entered into the Guinness World Records. The Israeli “long-life” milk is launched to the former Russian space station Mir in the ad. Ground control then watches cosmonaut Vasily Tsibliyev swallowing a white milk bubble. The ad, which aired in August 1997, was not only the first advertising venture in space but also the first instance of astronauts drinking milk in space.
Video: Tnuva – Milk in space
RUBBER CHICKEN ON THE EDGE OF SPACE
JP Aerospace specialises in filming beyond planet Earth and has shot dozens of TV ads and promotions in the space frontier. It uses the funds raised to finance its research. Ad makers have transported everything from pillows to rubber chickens to the edge of space. It is all filmed using high-altitude balloons. If you would like to see how such ads are filmed, you can watch a short documentary that offers insider commentary from John Powell of JP Aerospace in addition to demonstrations.
Video: TV ads filmed on the edge of space
ADVERTISING AS A UNIFYING ELEMENT
In our journey around the world in search of TV advertising, we have found that the best advertisements have something in common that transcends borders and connects us as viewers, regardless of whether it is historic ads for a few dollars or the most expensive campaign in history. The unifying element of all successful ads is that they evoke emotion - be it through humour, storytelling, romantic love, or the power to make us feel moved.
EMOTIONS MOVE THE WORLD
A 2020 study entitled The Impact of Informational and Emotional TV Ad Content on Online Search and Sales, which examined more than 2,000 TV ads for 144 car models, found that an increase in the emotional content of ads leads to an increase in online search, while an increase in the informational content does not. However, both informational and emotional content have a positive impact on sales, according to the study. Interestingly, however, an increase in informational content led to an increase in sales for lower priced (and lower quality) models, while an increase in emotional content increased sales for higher priced cars. The study therefore suggests that more expensive brands should prioritise emotional over informational content in their ads. Cheaper brands should emphasise emotional content if they aim to increase online searches and informational content if they aim to increase sales.
EMOTIONS IN ADVERTISING AS WELL AS IN RELATED SHOWS HAVE AN IMPACT
Emotion in content is not the only thing that influences consumers and their relationship with advertising. In 2018, a study was conducted that looked at the impact of emotional context on the effectiveness of TV ads. Participants were exposed to either emotionally positive or emotionally negative stimuli before watching TV ads. The effectiveness of the television ads was then measured using 4 indicators, namely recall of the ad, attitudes towards the ad, attitudes towards the brand, and purchase intention. In the case of positive emotional stimuli, participants showed more positive attitudes towards the advertisement, attitudes towards the brand and purchase intention than did participants exposed to negative emotional stimuli. However, data from Experiment 2 suggest that both positive and negative emotional contexts positively influenced ad recognition compared to an emotionally neutral situation. Thus, the findings of the study indicate that the effectiveness of advertising messages depends on the emotional context. In other words, media planning should address the emotional context of the programme in which the TV ads are presented and the emotional context of other TV programmes.
Emotion is therefore a key factor that connects audiences around the world and makes advertising not only a message but also an experience. Even today, we find connection and inspiration in the world of TV advertising, no matter where we are on the planet. And that is definitely good news for the future of TV advertising.
