It's hard to imagine a time before television commercials dominated our screens, but there was indeed a moment when it all began. On July 1, 1941, at 2:29 p.m., American television history was made when the very first commercial ever broadcast in the United States hit the airwaves. The Brooklyn Dodgers were squaring off against the Philadelphia Phillies at Ebbets Field, New York, and just before the first pitch was thrown, something unprecedented happened on NBC-owned WNBT (now WNBC). Viewers witnessed what would become the first-ever commercial in the history of television.
The Bulova Watch and Jewels Company was behind this groundbreaking spot, which clocked in at a mere ten seconds. A voiceover delivered the now-iconic line, "America runs on Bulova time," while a geographical map of the United States filled the screen alongside a picture of a watch bearing the name 'Bulova.' As for what this slice of history cost? According to the publication, the total price tag came to just $9 — with $5 going to the station and the remaining $4 covering air charges.
What many people don't realize is that before 1941, airing commercials on US television was actually illegal. Stations that attempted to broadcast ads faced censorship. A notable example occurred in 1930, when Lexington, Massachusetts-based station W1XAV was censored on similar grounds for experimenting with ads.
That didn't stop every station from pushing the boundaries, though. As early as 1939, certain TV stations found a workaround by reading out sponsor messages during broadcasts. Among the pioneering companies that took advantage of these early messages were General Mills and Procter & Gamble.
Everything changed when the Federal Communications Commission granted commercial licenses to ten US stations in May 1941. These licenses officially kicked in on July 1, 1941, and WNBT was among the first recipients — making it the station that aired this historic commercial. While WNBT stood alone in broadcasting commercials that day, others soon stood up to the challenge.
That single ten-second spot on July 1, 1941, opened the floodgates for the advertising revolution that followed. From that point forward, ever-increasing amounts of money, resources and creativity poured into television advertising.
The growth was staggering. By 1951, TV advertising spending had surged tenfold, climbing from the $12.5M witnessed in 1949 to $128M. The introduction of color TV in 1953 marked another major television milestone, and by 1955, the TV advertising industry had ballooned to an impressive $1B.