Commercials


The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation Presents

02:26

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Commercials describe advertisements created to sell a product, concept or service.

Highlights
John Amos on appearing in a well-known McDonalds commercial
04:36
Walter Cronkite on trying to correct grammatical ad copy; he antagonized Winston cigarettes and never did another commercial
02:36
Ricardo Montalban on his ads for Chrysler's Cordoba
01:22
Florence Henderson on the famous Wesson oil jingle
01:53
William Clotworthy on memorable TV commercials on which he worked
01:33
Barbara Feldon on the commercial she did for Revlon for Top Brass where she growls like a tiger
02:00
Who talked about this genre

Jason Alexander

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Jason Alexander on commercials he did when he was starting out
02:35

John Amos

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John Amos on appearing in commercials 
05:55
John Amos on appearing in a well-known McDonalds commercial
04:36

Alan A. Armer

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Alan A. Armer on appearing in commercials
04:00

Hank Azaria

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Hank Azaria on his first professional acting job in an Italian gum commercial
00:50

Rick Baker

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Rick Baker on working on various commercials
03:55

Paris Barclay

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Paris Barclay on co-directing a PSA for "AIDS: It's nobody's fault and everybody's problem" with Elizabeth Taylor
04:55

Frances Buss Buch

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Frances Buss Buch on directing the first color commercials during the 1951 CBS program Premiere
02:48

Allan Burns

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Allan Burns on creating "Cap'n Crunch"
06:59

Philip Carey

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Phil Carey on doing commercials for Granny Goose while under contract for Laredo
01:59

Marcy Carsey

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Marcy Carsey on acting in commercials
00:34

Stan Chambers

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Stan Chambers on selling and hosting ads for KTLA in the early 1950s
06:12

Art Clokey

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Art Clokey on animated TV advertising campaigns he did for Coca-Cola
05:32

William Clotworthy

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William Clotworthy on commercials for American Tobacco
01:29
William Clotworthy on the Lucky Strike bulls eye
01:30
William Clotworthy on the 1952 political campaign and BBDO representing the Republican party - Eisenhower; on how they got Ike to wear makeup
06:44
William Clotworthy on loving radio commercials
01:09
William Clotworthy on memorable TV commercials on which he worked
01:33

Barbara Feldon with Emerson College

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Barbara Feldon on acting in commercials
00:12

Henry Colman

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Henry Colman details being production coordinator on Kraft Television Theatre
07:00
Henry Colman on working in as a commercial producer at an Emil Mogul Advertising agency in 1956; on working on Pillsbury commercials for Arthur Godfrey and His Friends
08:26

Walter Cronkite

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Walter Cronkite on trying to correct grammatical ad copy; he antagonized Winston cigarettes and never did another commercial
02:36

Richard Donner

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Richard Donner on opening his own commercial company
03:51

Louis Dorfsman

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Louis Dorfsman on creating on-air promos for CBS
04:38

Patty Duke

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Patty Duke on commercials in which she acted as a child
01:16

Linda Ellerbee

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Linda Ellerbee on starting her production company, Lucky Duck Productions, and on her Maxwell House commercials
04:18

Danny Epstein

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Danny Epstein on he and Joe Raposo playing music for Jim Henson for his commercial appearances
00:40

Barbara Feldon

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Barbara Feldon on the commercial she did for Revlon for Top Brass where she growls like a tiger
02:00

Ray Forrest

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Ray Forrest on how senior radio announcers made money -- commercials -- and what "standby duty" was
01:22
Ray Forrest on his first job as a junior radio announcer and why he finally joined AFRA (the precursor to AFTRA)
02:09

James Garner

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James Garner on his popular Polaroid commercials
02:06

Marge Greene

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Marge Greene on writing and performing early television commercials
03:30
Marge Greene on performing in commercials when Marge and Jeff ended
04:25

Donald Hall

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Donald Hall on Hallmark's television commercials
04:16

Jon Hamm

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Jon Hamm on going to dark places while playing "Don Draper" on Mad Men and how "Don's" journey ends in the final episode (the Coca-Cola commercial)
05:48

Florence Henderson

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Florence Henderson on her commercials for Wesson Oil
03:55
Florence Henderson on appearing in live television commercials
00:28
Florence Henderson on the famous Wesson oil jingle
01:53

Paul Henning

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Producer Paul Henning on ending cigarette ads on The Beverly Hillbillies
01:56

Stanley Hubbard

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Stanley Hubbard on the then-current state and then-future of television advertising and the impact of the internet on television
06:37

Charles Lisanby

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Charles Lisanby on some of the commercials he art directed including Merrill Lynch and Dr. Pepper
03:52

Barry Livingston

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Barry Livingston on appearing in a Superbowl ad for Heineken directed by David Fincher and starring Brad Pitt
02:16

Stewart MacGregory

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Stewart MacGregory on live commercials for Kraft Television Theatre
03:32

Barry Manilow

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Barry Manilow on getting involved with writing commercial jingles
02:40
Barry Manilow on the various jingles he composed for commercials, including State Farm, Band Aids, Stridex, Dr. Pepper, and McDonald's
05:17

Penny Marshall

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Penny Marshall on her Head & Shoulders shampoo commercial with Farrah Fawcett
00:56

John A. Martinelli

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John Martinelli on the difference between editing commercials and television shows
04:23

Anne Meara

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Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara on their Blue Nun radio commercials
04:50

Eryn Krueger Mekash

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Eryn Krueger Mekash on her work on commercials and infomercials
03:05

Bill Melendez

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Bill Melendez on working for Playhouse Pictures animating spots for Ford Motor Company
02:04
Bill Melendez on animating spots for the Ford Falcon featuring Charles M .Schulz's "Peanuts" characters
04:32
Bill Melendez on the content of the Ford Motor Company commercials featuring the "Peanuts" gang
02:24
Bill Melendez on commercials produced by his production company
00:55

Ricardo Montalban

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Ricardo Montalban on his ads for Chrysler's Cordoba
01:22

Mary Tyler Moore

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Mary Tyler Moore on being "Happy Hotpoint" on commercials for the sponsor of The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet
01:59

Howard Morris

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Howard Morris on directing commercials, including one with George Burns
02:42

Bill Moyers

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Bill Moyers on the "Daisy" ad for the 1964 Presidential campaign
05:31

Bill Mumy

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Bill Mumy on doing commercials
02:05

Thomas Murphy

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Thomas Murphy on the role of the advertising agency in the television business in the '50s
02:39
Thomas Murphy on advertising in the early days of television
01:49
Thomas Murphy on working at the Kenyon & Eckhardt ad agency
03:25

Leonard Nimoy

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Leonard Nimoy on why villains were not allowed to smoke on Ziv Television Programs' syndicated shows, due to sponsorship, circa 1950s-60s
01:42

Don Pardo

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Don Pardo on his work in commercials
07:43

Estelle Parsons

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Estelle Parsons on her first acting roles on television and on appearing in commercials, and on Mort Werner
03:28

Charlotte Rae

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Charlotte Rae on appearing in several commercials in the '60s and '70s
02:06

Ed Resnick

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Ed Resnick on shooting television commercials
05:57

Maria Riva

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Actress Maria Riva on being the spokesperson for Alcoa (and learning how to demonstrate the use of aluminum foil on "live" TV) on The Alcoa Hour in the 1950s
00:59

Doris Roberts

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Doris Roberts on appearing in Glade commercials
00:36

Fatima Robinson

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Fatima Robinson on choreographing the "Khaki Soul" commercial for Gap, appearing in the commercial, and having a long relationship with the company
03:49

Phil Roman

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Phil Roman on animating commercials after his time with Disney
00:52

Isabel Sanford

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Isabel Sanford on appearing in a series of Old Navy and Denny's commercials with Sherman Hemsley
03:29

Joe Sedelmaier

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Joe Sedelmaier on the state of television advertising in the '60s
03:55
Joe Sedelmaier on incorporating more subtlety into television advertisements
06:14
Joe Sedelmaier on his Federal Express commercials
03:41
Joe Sedelmaier on his Alaska Airlines commercials
03:31
Joe Sedelmaier on his preference to use film in his advertisements
02:31
Joe Sedelmaier on turning down clients and his affinity for comedic commercials
05:39
Joe Sedelmaier on gaining creative control over his advertisements
03:53
Joe Sedelmaier on Southern Airways putting his TV commercial agency on the map
04:36
Joe Sedelmaier on Wendy's "Russian Fashion Show" commercials
05:34
Joe Sedelmaier on Wendy's "Where's the Beef?" campaign with Clara Peller
13:04
Joe Sedelmaier on discovering Clara Peller, Wendy's "Where's the Beef?" lady
05:12
Joe Sedelmaier on his famous, fast-talking Federal Express series of commercials
09:57
Joe Sedelmaier on creating commercials for Valvoline
03:15
Joe Sedelmaier on creating Eyewitness News commercials
01:57
Joe Sedelmaier on his Jartran commercials
03:06
Joe Sedelmaier on creating Mr. Coffee commercials
01:19
Joe Sedelmaier on foreign commercials he created
06:07
Joe Sedelmaier on Federal Express commercials he created
01:54
Joe Sedelmaier on structuring his commercial rates and dealing with the heads of the companies
02:25
Joe Sedelmaier on the effect his ads had on Wendy's
02:01
Joe Sedelmaier on Wendy's "Parts is Parts" commercial
02:07
Joe Sedelmaier on Wendy's "Russian Fashion Show" commercial
04:26
Joe Sedelmaier on the then-current state of advertising
01:32
Joe Sedelmaier on advice to aspiring advertising professionals
04:05
Joe Sedelmaier on creating commercials for AAMCO and HP
01:35
Joe Sedelmaier on creating commercials for Texaco Super Unleaded and the process of casting commercials
05:04

Hazel Shermet

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Hazel Shermet on the audition process for television commercials
03:12

John Silva

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John Silva on introducing Lawrence Welk to the ten-minute interval between commercials
04:08

Doris Singleton

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Doris Singleton on becoming active in radio, being introduced to writer Sanford Barnett, and auditioning for Lever Brothers commercials for Lux Radio Theatre
02:02
Doris Singleton on doing early television commercials
00:46

Ira Skutch

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Ira Skutch on directing commercials during the 1952 political conventions
03:19
Ira Skutch on the commercials that ran during Philco-Goodyear Television Playhouse and sponsors for the show
13:22
Ira Skutch on a photo of an Old Gold commercial
00:49

Jean Stapleton

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Jean Stapleton on refusing to reprise "Edith Bunker" or a likeness of her in television commercials
00:37

Mary Kay Stearns

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Mary Kay and Johnny Stearns on commercials they appeared in
03:27
Mary Kay and Johnny Stearns on their commercials as spokespeople for The U.S. Steel Hour
00:36

Johnny Stearns

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Mary Kay and Johnny Stearns on commercials they appeared in
03:27
Mary Kay and Johnny Stearns on their commercials as spokespeople for The U.S. Steel Hour
00:36

Leonard Stern

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Leonard Stern on Jackie Gleason, who memorized his lines, making a mistake on a commercial for Schick
01:43

Jerry Stiller

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Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara on their Blue Nun radio commercials
04:50

Daniel J. Travanti

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Daniel J. Travanti on moving to Los Angeles for his acting career, and on appearing in commercials
03:37

Helen Wagner

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Helen Wagner on appearing in Reynolds Wrap commercials on Mr. Peepers
01:27

Mike Wallace

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Mike Wallace on being a pitch man for Peter Pan peanut butter on Super Circus, and on a mishap on the show
04:05

Dennis Weaver

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Dennis Weaver on appearing in an ad for Pall Mall cigarettes
01:03

Matthew Weiner

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Matthew Weiner on his disapproval of real ads written in the style of Mad Men strategically placed during the show
05:06
Matthew Weiner on using real life products and companies on Mad Men, leading up to the Coca-Cola commercial finale
06:11

Joseph M. Wilcots

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Joseph M. Wilcots on shooting early commercials using doctored products
02:14
Joseph M. Wilcots on doing visual effects for commercials
02:31

Lauren Zalaznick

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Lauren Zalaznick on making the transition from feature films to television via making promos for MTV
10:04