Advertising and Sponsorship

Alex Anderson on going to work for an advertising agency in the 1950s

Alex Anderson on the network dealings and sponsorship of Crusader Rabbit

Charlie Andrews on the role of ad agencies in early television

Paris Barclay on the state of television advertising when he worked in it

Paris Barclay on rarely seeing African Americans in production when he worked in television advertising

Erik Barnouw on the role of advertising agencies in controlling content on radio programs

Erik Barnouw on working on a radio ad campaign for Camel cigarettes and his criticism of advertising's impact on broadcasting in his subsequent writings

Erik Barnouw on some of the conclusions be came to about television advertising in his book "A History of Broadcasting in the United States"

Ted Bergmann on early TV's relationship between the network, sponsor, and ad agency

Ted Bergmann on what sponsors looked for in a show and how DuMont stayed competitive 

Milton Berle on the Texaco Star Theater theme song and its strong ties to the show's sponsor

Walter Bernstein on sponsor involvement on Danger

Walter Bernstein on sponsor involvement on Danger during the Blacklist

David Brinkley on becoming a spokesman for Archer Daniels Midland

Mark Burnett on sponsorship and advertising on Survivor

Steve Carlin on getting Revlon to sponsor The $64,000 Question and developing the show

Hugh Downs on the role of advertisers on The Tonight Show

Rebecca Eaton on how she dealt with Mobil, which was the sponsor of Masterpiece Theatre when she first began at PBS in the early 1970s

Rebecca Eaton on how funding for Masterpiece has changed over time, especially after Mobil ceased to be the sponsor

Rod Erickson on going to work for the advertising agency Foote, Cone & Belding as executive director of the radio version of "Your Hit Parade" on behalf of American Tobacco

Rod Erickson on subjects that were taboo on Proctor & Gamble's serials and getting Proctor & Gamble into television

Rod Erickson on Procter & Gamble's initial reluctance to sponsor television programs

Rod Erickson on going to work for Young & Rubicam and putting We, The People on television

Rod Erickson on pushing his clients into advertising on television while at Young & Rubicam, and on reading the television ratings of the day

Rod Erickson on how early advertising on television worked and on broadcasting We, The People

Rod Erickson on dealing with Gulf, the sponsor of We, The People

Rod Erickson on Gulf sponsoring The Gulf Road Show  and dealing with guest star Billie Holiday

Rod Erickson on delegating responsibility for We, The People and The Gulf Road Show

Rod Erickson on how Holiday Hotel, sponsored by Packard, got on the air produced by Felix Jackson

Rod Erickson on how commercials were inserted into shows in the early days of television

Rod Erickson on creating a commercial for Goodyear Tires

Rod Erickson on advertisers discovering that television was a great sales tool

Rod Erickson on the process of pairing advertisers with shows and attempting to pair Whitman Chocolates with The Red Skelton Show

Rod Erickson on the sponsorship of I Love Lucy by Phillip Morris and later by Jello

Rod Erickson on the preferred networks of sponsors in the 1950s

Rod Erickson on working with David Sarnoff at NBC and William S. Paley at CBS

Rod Erickson on the notion of networks providing a public service

Rod Erickson on the reasons companies have for sponsoring a television show

Rod Erickson on the types of shows that sponsors generally preferred

Rod Erickson on working on The Silver Theater

Rod Erickson on the construction of ABC's studios for Paul Whitman's Goodyear Revue

Rod Erickson on working on The Fred Waring Show sponsored by General Electric 

Rod Erickson on working on The Arrow Show, sponsored by Arrow Shirts

Rod Erickson on working on Hopalong Cassidy

Rod Erickson on the advent of packaging television shows by William Morris Agency and MCA

Rod Erickson on being involved in a lawsuit with MCA

Rod Erickson on networks being paid off by agencies to carry their packaged programs

Rod Erickson on his dealings with Desi Arnaz

Rod Erickson on his trips to California to meet clients

Rod Erickson on ad men dealing with the mob

Rod Erickson on advertising being a "people business" and the role of alcohol in the business

Rod Erickson on the factors that go into the decision to advertise on a show and the importance of the writer

Rod Erickson on turning down Danny Thomas' Make Room for Daddy

Rod Erickson on the advertisers control over time slot and other factors dealing with a show

Rod Erickson on the dearth of black actors on television in the 1950s and 1960s and anti-Semitism in the ad industry

Rod Erickson on the Hollywood Blacklist's effect on television advertising

Rod Erickson on the ethics of advertising cigarettes in television

Rod Erickson on product placement in television and movies

Rod Erickson on the shift away from sponsors owning a whole show

Rod Erickson on reading the Neilson ratings and predicting people's television viewing habits on given nights of the week

Rod Erickson on ad agencies getting out of the business of producing shows and how his job changed as a result

Rod Erickson on the effectiveness of commercials

Rod Erickson on the research involved in making effective commercials and on the psychology of commercials

Rod Erickson on the power of television on violent television programming

Rod Erickson on retiring from the advertising industry in 1961

Rod Erickson on how the advertising industry had changed since he retired

Rod Erickson on the then-current state of television advertising

Rod Erickson on television ratings and demographics, and going to work for the American Research Bureau

Ruth Duskin Feldman on the sponsors of Quiz Kids

Ray Forrest on his sign-on for NBC experimental television -- before commercial television in 1941

Ray Forrest on the advent of commercial television -- July 1, 1941

Ray Forrest on the coming of commercial television and announcing the very first commercial (for Bulova) - July 1, 1941, and the first on-camera commercial

Ray Forrest on announcing that NBC was now a commercial station, WNBT, and no longer W2XBS

Ray Forrest on how commercials changed television in 1941 -- until the beginning of World War II

Ray Forrest on NBC TV becoming more professional once it went commercial

Ray Forrest on a photo of the first on-air, live commercial for television -- for Adam Hats on July 4, 1941

John Forsythe on Bachelor Father  switching between the three networks and on the sponsorship of the show

Albert Freedman on the head of Geritol (Twenty One's sponsor) wanting Herbert Stempel off the program and how Freedman convinced Charles Van Doren to become a contestant

Albert Freedman on Charles Van Doren becoming a celebrity because of his appearances of Twenty One and Freedman realizing the power of television

Eileen Fulton on the extent of Proctor & Gamble's involvement with As the World Turns, and on her distaste of focus groups

Leonard Goldberg on the deal with Ford on Starsky and Hutch

Leonard Goldberg on working for advertising agency BBD&O

Lewis Gomavitz on getting into advertising

Donald Hall on Hallmark's television commercials 

Robert Halmi, Sr. on producing the 1979 television movie My Old Man and financing it directly through advertisers, rather than the networks

Marilu Henner on doing commercials early in her career

Arthur Hiller on the "don't dos" list from the sponsors and the networks in early television

Silvio Horta on the presentation of Ugly Betty  at the upfront presentations to advertisers

Stanley Hubbard on the then-current state of television advertising and DVR technology

Stanley Hubbard on the then-future of television advertising and the impact of the internet on television

Eddie Kean on the heavy merchandizing and sponsorship of Howdy Doody

Norman Lear on controversial moments on The Martha Raye Show and why the show got canceled

Norman Lear on choosing his battles with Standards & Practices and sponsors on All in the Family

Hal Linden on doing voiceover for commercials and looping foreign films

Art Linkletter on the music and sponsors of Art Linkletter's House Party

Stewart MacGregory on live commercials for Kraft Television Theatre

John Martinelli on working at the Wakefield-Orloff Company

John Martinelli on the difference between editing commercials and television shows

Millie Moore on advice to an aspiring editor

Thomas W. Moore on the ban on cigarette advertising on television

Thomas W. Moore on the length of commercials and commercial breaks on network television

Bill Mumy on doing commercials 

Thomas Murphy on working at the Kenyon & Eckhardt ad agency

Thomas Murphy on advertising in the early days of television

Thomas Murphy on the role of the advertising agency in the television business in the '50s

Thomas Murphy on his plans for ABC when Capital Cities took over in 1986

Jan Murray on having The Toni Company and Mogen David wine company as sponsors

Jan Murray on his commercial for his sponsor, Mogen David wine company

Leonard Nimoy on why villains were not allowed to smoke on Ziv Television Programs' syndicated shows, due to sponsorship

Ward Quaal on advertising clutter

Lee Rich on how the advertising agencies worked with the television networks and sponsors during early television

Marlene Sanders on the sponsor of WABD-TV news

Ted Sarandos on how Netflix was able to use real, name brand products on Stranger Things

Edgar Scherick on getting a job at Dancer Fitzgerald Sample's advertising in New York; on Dancer Fitzgerald Sample's major clients at the time and on the power advertising agencies had over television content in the 1950s

Alfred Schneider on how an advertiser's displeasure with an episode of Howard K. Smith: News and Comment ("The Political Obituary of Richard M. Nixon") led to the formulation of a policy to protect news departments from the interference of sponsors

Alfred Schneider on the power of advertisers in decisions made by Standards & Practices

Reese Schonfeld on CNN's initial advertisers

Reese Schonfeld on CNN's initial advertisers when it first went on the air

Joe Sedelmaier on becoming interested in film and getting into advertising

Joe Sedelmaier on working for Young & Rubicam, Clinton Frank, and Leo Burnett

Joe Sedelmaier on the state of television advertising in the '60s

Joe Sedelmaier on incorporating more subtlety into television advertisements 

Joe Sedelmaier on starting his own advertising agency

Joe Sedelmaier on the early days of his advertising agency

Joe Sedelmaier on his early clients

Joe Sedelmaier on Southern Airways putting his agency on the map

Joe Sedelmaier on gaining creative control over his advertisements 

Joe Sedelmaier on buying out his partner and taking control

Joe Sedelmaier on turning down clients and his affinity for comedic commercials

Joe Sedelmaier on his preference to use film in his advertisements 

Joe Sedelmaier on his Alaska Airlines commercials

Joe Sedelmaier on his Federal Express commercials 

Joe Sedelmaier on his famous, fast-talking Federal Express series of commercials 

Joe Sedelmaier on discovering Clara Peller, Wendy's "Where's the Beef?" lady

Joe Sedelmaier on Wendy's "Where's the Beef?" campaign with Clara Peller

Joe Sedelmaier on Wendy's "Russian Fashion Show" commercials 

Joe Sedelmaier on Wendy's "Russian Fashion Show" commercial 

Joe Sedelmaier on Wendy's "Parts is Parts" commercial

Joe Sedelmaier on the effect his ads had on Wendy's

Joe Sedelmaier on structuring his commercial rates and dealing with the heads of the companies

Joe Sedelmaier on Federal Express commercials he created

Joe Sedelmaier on foreign commercials he created

Joe Sedelmaier on creating Mr. Coffee commercials 

Joe Sedelmaier on his Jartran commercials 

Joe Sedelmaier on creating Eyewitness News commercials

Joe Sedelmaier on creating commercials for Valvoline 

Joe Sedelmaier on creating commercials for Texaco Super Unleaded and the process of casting commercials 

Joe Sedelmaier on creating commercials for AAMCO and HP

Joe Sedelmaier on the then-current state of advertising 

Joe Sedelmaier on his style

Joe Sedelmaier on market research 

Joe Sedelmaier on gauging the success of an ad

Joe Sedelmaier on advice to aspiring advertising professionals 

Joe Sedelmaier on his greatest career achievement and how he'd like to be remembered

Richard and Esther Shapiro on writing the made-for-TV movie Intimate Strangers

Richard and Esther Shapiro on writing the made-for-TV movie Intimate Strangers

Cybill Shepherd on television commercials she appeared in and how she made the adjustment from print work to television acting

Cybill Shepherd on television commercials she appeared in

Doris Singleton on becoming active in radio, being introduced to writer Sanford Barnett, and auditioning for Lever Brothers commercials for Lux Radio Theatre

Doris Singleton on her role in The Frank Sinatra Show on radio

Doris Singleton on sponsor spots on several of Dinah Shore's shows

Ira Skutch on Goodyear joining Philco as a sponsor for Philco-Goodyear Television Playhouse

Ira Skutch on the production of the commercials that ran during Philco-Goodyear Television Playhouse

Ira Skutch on directing commercials during the 1952 political conventions

Jaclyn Smith on being a "Breck Girl" and appearing on McCloud

John Strauss on the value of both publicity and advertising

Publicist John Strauss on working with sponsors and ad agencies

William Tankersley on CBS Standards & Practices having issues with shows paying for commercial plugs

William Tankersley on CBS Standards & Practices' workings with early TV sponsors

William Tankersley on being promoted to Vice President of Program Practices at CBS and dealing with advertisers

William Tankersley on CBS Standards & Practices' problems with advertisers' competitive complaints and false advertising

Grant Tinker on the development and sponsorship of The Dick Van Dyke Show

Ted Turner on finding advertisers for CNN

Jac Venza on sponsorship for Masterpiece Theatre and Great Performances

Bob Vila on his role being limited to host of This Old House as the show went on, and being forced out of the show after ten seasons; on the beginning of his association with Sears Craftsman Tools and starting Bob Vila's Home Again

Bob Vila on Bob Vila's Home Again and its middle class target audience; on the involvement of the sponsor (Sears Craftsman Tools) on the program

Bob Vila on Bob Vila's Home Again and its middle class target audience; on the involvement of the sponsor (Sears Craftsman Tools) on the program

Bob Vila on changing the title of Bob Vila's Home Again to Bob Vila after Sears pulled out as a sponsor

Bob Vila on changing the title of Bob Vila's Home Again to Bob Vila after Sears pulled out as a sponsor

John Wells on issues the ER producers had with some advertisers

Dick Wolf on the then-future of advertising on television